Deuteronomy 13:8

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.

Deuteronomy 13:8 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 13:8

Thou shall not consent unto him
To commit the idolatry enticed unto, or join with him in it:

nor hearken to him;
not so much as patiently to hear him, but at once express an abhorrence of and indignation at what he recommends:

neither shall thine eye pity him;
pitied he might be for his ignorance, stupidity, and wickedness, and on account of the miserable estate and condition he was in, and of those dreadful consequences which would follow upon it, if not converted from it; but no mercy was to be shown him on account of nearness of relation:

neither shall thou spare;
to reprove him sharply and to expose him to public vengeance:

neither shall thou conceal him;
neither him nor his sin, but make both public, acquaint others with it, and endeavour to bring him before the civil magistrate to be examined, tried, and judged; so far should they be from hiding his offence from others, or excusing and extenuating it, or from harbouring his person privately when sought for upon information.

Deuteronomy 13:8 In-Context

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.
10 And you shall stone him with stones and let him die, for he tried to seduce you from Yahweh your God, the [one] bringing you from [the] land of Egypt, from the house of slavery.

Footnotes 1

Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.