Deuteronomy 13:4

4 You must follow him. You must have respect for him. Keep his commands. Obey him. Serve him. Remain true to him.

Deuteronomy 13:4 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 13:4

Ye shall walk after the Lord your God
As he has directed, according to the laws and rules which he has given, both with respect to their moral and civil conduct, and their religious worship of him; and so the Targum of Jonathan,

``ye shall walk after the worship of the Lord your God:''

and fear him, and keep his commandments;
fear to offend him, and so keep his commandments; or keep his commandments from or through fear; not a servile but a filial one, a reverential affection for him; this is the whole duty of man, ( Ecclesiastes 12:13 ) ,

and obey his voice;
in his word, or by his prophets and ministers: it may very well be understood of the voice of Christ, the Angel that went before them, whose voice they were continually to hearken to and obey, ( Exodus 23:21 Exodus 23:22 )

and you shall serve him, and cleave unto him;
it may respect all religious worship, both private and public; the Targum of Jonathan restrains it to prayer, but it not only includes that, but all other acts of piety and devotion, and which are to be constantly performed and not departed from; for so to do is to cleave to the Lord as a man to his wife, or a woman to her husband, in which conjugal relation God and his people Israel were, he was an husband unto them, and to do otherwise is to go a whoring from him after other gods.

Deuteronomy 13:4 In-Context

2 The sign or wonder he has spoken about might really take place. And he might say, "Let's follow other gods. Let's worship them." But you haven't known anything about those gods before.

3 So you must not listen to what that prophet or dreamer has said. The LORD your God is putting you to the test. He wants to know whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul.

4 You must follow him. You must have respect for him. Keep his commands. Obey him. Serve him. Remain true to him.

5 That prophet or dreamer must be put to death. He told you not to obey the LORD your God. The LORD brought you out of Egypt. He set you free from the land where you were slaves. He commanded you to live the way he wants you to. But that prophet or dreamer has tried to make you turn away from it. Get rid of that evil person.

6 Suppose your very own brother or sister secretly tempts you to do something wrong. Or your child or the wife you love tempts you. Or your closest friend does it. Suppose one of them says, "Let's go and worship other gods." But you and your people long ago hadn't known anything about those gods before.