Deuteronomy 13:3-13

3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the LORD your God ¹is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

4 You shall ²walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and ³hold fast to him.

5 But ⁴that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. ⁵So you shall purge the evil^[a] from your midst.

6 ⁶"If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter or ⁷the wife you embrace^[b] or your friend ⁸who is as your own soul entices you secretly, saying, 'Let us go and serve other gods,'⁹which neither you nor your fathers have known,

7 some ¹⁰of the gods of the peoples who are around you, whether near you or far off from you, from the one end of the earth to the other,

8 you shall ¹¹not yield to him or listen to him, nor ¹²shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him, nor shall you conceal him.

9 But you shall kill him. ¹³Your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people.

10 ¹⁴You shall stone him to death with stones, because he sought to draw you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

11 And ¹⁵all Israel shall hear and fear and never again do any such wickedness as this among you.

12 "If you hear in one of your cities, which the LORD your God is giving you to dwell there,

13 that certain ¹⁶worthless fellows have gone out among you and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city, saying, 'Let us go and serve other gods,' which you have not known,

Deuteronomy 13:3-13 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.

Cross References

• 1. Deuteronomy 8:2
• 2. 2 Kings 23:3; 2 Chronicles 34:31
• 3. See Deuteronomy 10:20
• 4. Deuteronomy 18:20; [Jeremiah 2:8; Jeremiah 14:14, 15; Zechariah 13:3]
• 5. Deuteronomy 17:7; Deuteronomy 19:19; Deuteronomy 21:21; Deuteronomy 22:21; Deuteronomy 24:7; [1 Corinthians 5:13]
• 6. Deuteronomy 17:2
• 7. Deuteronomy 28:54, 56; Micah 7:5
• 8. [1 Samuel 18:1, 3; 1 Samuel 20:17]
• 9. Deuteronomy 28:64
• 10. Deuteronomy 6:14
• 11. Proverbs 1:10
• 12. See Deuteronomy 7:16
• 13. Deuteronomy 17:7
• 14. Deuteronomy 17:5; See Joshua 7:25
• 15. Deuteronomy 17:13; Deuteronomy 19:20; Deuteronomy 21:21
• 16. Judges 19:22; 2 Samuel 20:13">2 Samuel 20:13; 1 Samuel 2:12; 1 Samuel 25:17; 2 Samuel 16:7; 2 Samuel 20:1; 1 Kings 21:10, 13

Footnotes

• [a]. Or evil person
• [b]. Hebrew the wife of your bosom