Deuteronomy 13:6-16

6 "¹If your brother, your mother's son, or your son or daughter, or the wife you cherish, or your friend who is as your own soul, entice you secretly, saying, '²Let us go and serve other gods ' (whom neither you nor your fathers have known,

7 of the gods of the peoples who are around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other end ),

8 ³you shall not yield to him or listen to him; ⁴and your eye shall not pity him, nor shall you spare or conceal him.

9 "⁵But you shall surely kill him; ⁶your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.

10 "So you shall stone him to death because he has sought ⁷to seduce you from the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

11 "Then ⁸all Israel will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such a wicked thing among you.

12 "If you hear in one of your cities, which the LORD your God is giving you to live in, anyone saying that

13 some worthless men have gone out from among you and have seduced the inhabitants of their city, saying, '⁹Let us go and serve other gods ' (whom you have not known ),

14 then you shall investigate and search out and inquire thoroughly. If it is true and the matter established that this abomination has been done among you,

15 ¹⁰you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying it and all that is in it and its cattle with the edge of the sword.

16 "¹¹Then you shall gather all its booty into the middle of its open square and burn the city and all its booty with fire as a whole burnt offering to the LORD your God; and it shall be a ¹²ruin forever. It shall never be rebuilt.

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Deuteronomy 13:6-16 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 13

In this chapter the Israelites are taught how to discern a false prophet, shun and punish him, De 13:1-5, what to do with enticers to idolatry, not only not to consent to them, but, without favour and affection to them, endeavour to bring them to just punishment, and be the first that should inflict it on them, De 13:6-11 and how to behave towards a city drawn into idolatry, as to inquire the truth of it; then make war against it; destroy all in it, men, women, children, and cattle; and burn the spoil of it, and suffer not anything at all belonging to it to cleave unto them, De 13:12-18.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 12

1. Deuteronomy 17:2-7; Deuteronomy 29:18
2. Deuteronomy 13:2
3. Proverbs 1:10
4. Deuteronomy 7:2
5. Deuteronomy 13:5
6. Leviticus 24:14; Deuteronomy 17:7
7. Deuteronomy 13:5
8. Deuteronomy 19:20
9. Deuteronomy 13:2
10. Deuteronomy 13:5
11. Deuteronomy 7:25, 26
12. Joshua 8:28; Isaiah 17:1; Isaiah 25:2; Jeremiah 49:2

Footnotes 5

[a]. Lit "of your bosom"
[b]. Lit "with stones so that he dies"
[c]. Lit "slaves"
[d]. Or "putting it under the ban"
[e]. Lit "mound"