Deuteronomy 13:7

7 gods of the peoples surrounding you, whether near or far away from you, anywhere in the world -

Deuteronomy 13:7 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 13:7

Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you,
&c.] As of the Edomites, Moabites, Ammonites, and Phoenicians:

nigh unto thee;
as the above were, being on the borders of their land: the Targum of Jonathan interprets this of the idols of the seven nations, that is, of the land of Canaan: or

far off from thee;
as the Babylonians, Persians, and others:

from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth;
which includes all the idols in the world, worshipped by whatsoever nation, and which were forbidden; and which shows the universality of idolatry in those times, and that that is an insufficient argument in its favour. Jarchi interprets this of the sun and moon, and the host of heaven, who go from one end of the world to the other; and this seems to have been the first and most common idolatry of the Gentile world, and which were worshipped in the several deities they set up.

Deuteronomy 13:7 In-Context

5 and that prophet or dreamer is to be put to death; because he urged rebellion against ADONAI your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from a life of slavery; in order to seduce you away from the path ADONAI your God ordered you to follow. This is how you are to rid your community of this wickedness.

6 "If your brother the son of your mother, or your son, or your daughter, or your wife whom you love, or your friend who means as much to you as yourself, secretly tries to entice you to go and serve other gods, which you haven't known, neither you nor your ancestors -

7 gods of the peoples surrounding you, whether near or far away from you, anywhere in the world -

8 you are not to consent, and you are not to listen to him; and you must not pity him or spare him; and you may not conceal him.

9 Rather, you must kill him! Your own hand must be the first one on him in putting him to death, and afterwards the hands of all the people.