Deuteronomy 13:5

5 And that prophet or visionary must be put to death. He has urged mutiny against God, your God, who rescued you from Egypt, who redeemed you from a world of slavery and put you on the road on which God, your God, has commanded you to walk. Purge the evil from your company.

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 don't pay any attention to what that prophet or visionary says. God, your God, is testing you to find out if you totally love him with everything you have in you.
4 You are to follow only God, your God, hold him in deep reverence, keep his commandments, listen obediently to what he says, serve him - hold on to him for dear life!
5 And that prophet or visionary must be put to death. He has urged mutiny against God, your God, who rescued you from Egypt, who redeemed you from a world of slavery and put you on the road on which God, your God, has commanded you to walk. Purge the evil from your company.
6 And when your brother or son or daughter, or even your dear wife or lifelong friend, comes to you in secret and whispers, "Let's go and worship some other gods" (gods that you know nothing about, neither you nor your ancestors,
7 the gods of the peoples around you near and far, from one end of the Earth to the other),
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.