Witch hunters were often inspired by religious zeal. Claiming to doing God’s work, they set out to rid their communities of Devil’s confederates and thereby create a godly state. The Biblical condemnation of witchcraft, “Thou shalt not suffer a itch to live” (Exodus 22:18) strengthened the determination of both ecclesiastical and secular judges to bring witches to justice. Protestant and Catholic reformers, inspired by a heightened fear of the Devil, were among the most zealous witch-hunters, although the person they identified as witches were usually nominal members of their own religious faith. Individuals, suspected of various forms of moral deviance or of not attending religious