Deuteronomy 13:5

5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death because he has spoken rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and ransomed you out of the house of slavery, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.

Deuteronomy 13:5 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 13:5

And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to
death
Which death, according to the Targum of Jonathan, was to be killed with the sword:

because he hath spoken to turn you away from the Lord your God;
or "spoken revolt against the Lord" ^F12, high treason against him, delivering out doctrine that tends to cause his subjects to rebel against him, and revolt from him; and therefore he is justly deserving of death, to draw off a people from him he had been so good and kind unto; so that to apostasy would be added the sin of ingratitude:

which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the
house of bondage;
and so was not only their Lord by creation whom they ought to serve, but by redemption, which laid them under double obligation to serve him:

to thrust thee out of the way which the Lord thy God commanded thee to
walk in;
not by external force, but by the power of persuasion, by enticing words and arguments:

so shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee;
the evil man, by putting him to death, and the evil of idolatry, by not listening to the words of the false prophet.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F12 (hro) "apostasiam", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "defectionem", Tigurine version.

Deuteronomy 13:5 In-Context

3 thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God proves you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

4 Ye shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and hear his voice, and ye shall serve him and cleave unto him.

5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death because he has spoken rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and ransomed you out of the house of slavery, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.

6 If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son or thy daughter or the wife of thy bosom or thy friend who is as thine own soul should entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou nor thy fathers have known,

7 namely, of the gods of the peoples who are round about you, near unto thee or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth,