Deuteronomy 13:7

7 from [among] the gods of the people who are around you, {those near you or those far from you}, from [one] end of the earth and up to the [other] end of the earth,

Deuteronomy 13:7 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 13:7

Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you,
&c.] As of the Edomites, Moabites, Ammonites, and Phoenicians:

nigh unto thee;
as the above were, being on the borders of their land: the Targum of Jonathan interprets this of the idols of the seven nations, that is, of the land of Canaan: or

far off from thee;
as the Babylonians, Persians, and others:

from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth;
which includes all the idols in the world, worshipped by whatsoever nation, and which were forbidden; and which shows the universality of idolatry in those times, and that that is an insufficient argument in its favour. Jarchi interprets this of the sun and moon, and the host of heaven, who go from one end of the world to the other; and this seems to have been the first and most common idolatry of the Gentile world, and which were worshipped in the several deities they set up.

Deuteronomy 13:7 In-Context

5 But that prophet or the dreamer of that dream shall be executed, for he spoke falsely about Yahweh your God, the [one] bringing you out from the land of Egypt and the [one] redeeming you from the house of slavery, in order to seduce you from the way that Yahweh your God commanded you to go in it; so [in this way] you shall purge the evil from your midst.
6 "If your brother, the son of your mother or your son or your daughter {or your wife whom you embrace} or {your intimate friend} in secrecy {says}, 'Let us go and let us serve other gods!' [gods] that you and your ancestors have not known,
7 from [among] the gods of the people who are around you, {those near you or those far from you}, from [one] end of the earth and up to the [other] end of the earth,
8 you must not give in to him, and you shall not listen to him, and your eye shall not take pity on him, and you shall not have compassion, and you shall not cover [up] for him.
9 But you shall certainly kill him; your hand shall be first against him to kill him and next the hand of all [of] the people.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Literally "the near ones to you or the distant ones from you"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.