Punishment of Apostates

13 “If there arises among you a prophet or a (A)dreamer of dreams, (B)and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and (C)the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God (D)is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall (E)walk[a] after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and (F)hold fast to Him. But (G)that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. (H)So you shall [b]put away the evil from your midst.

(I)“If your brother, the son of your mother, your son or your daughter, (J)the wife [c]of your bosom, or your friend (K)who is as your own soul, secretly entices you, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers, of the gods of the people which are all around you, near to you or far off from you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth, you shall (L)not [d]consent to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him or conceal him; but you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to (M)death, and afterward the hand of all the people. 10 And you shall stone him with stones until he dies, because he sought to entice you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 11 So all Israel shall hear and (N)fear, and not again do such wickedness as this among you.

12 (O)“If you hear someone in one of your cities, which the Lord your God gives you to dwell in, saying, 13 [e]‘Corrupt men have gone out from among you and enticed the inhabitants of their city, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods” ’—which you have not known— 14 then you shall inquire, search out, and ask diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an [f]abomination was committed among you, 15 you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying it, all that is in it and its livestock—with the edge of the sword. 16 And you shall gather all its plunder into the middle of the street, and [g]completely (P)burn with fire the city and all its plunder, for the Lord your God. It shall be (Q)a [h]heap forever; it shall not be built again. 17 (R)So none of the accursed things shall remain in your hand, that the Lord may (S)turn from the fierceness of His anger and show you mercy, have compassion on you and [i]multiply you, just as He swore to your fathers, 18 because you have listened to the voice of the Lord your God, (T)to keep all His commandments which I command you today, to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord your God.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 13:4 follow the Lord
  2. Deuteronomy 13:5 exterminate
  3. Deuteronomy 13:6 Whom you cherish
  4. Deuteronomy 13:8 yield
  5. Deuteronomy 13:13 Lit. Sons of Belial
  6. Deuteronomy 13:14 detestable action
  7. Deuteronomy 13:16 Or as a whole-offering
  8. Deuteronomy 13:16 Lit. mound or ruin
  9. Deuteronomy 13:17 increase

13 If there arise among you a navi, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee an ot (sign) or a mofet (wonder),

(13:3) And the ot (sign) or the mofet (wonder) come to pass, whereof he spoke unto thee, saying, Let us go after elohim acherim, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;

(13:4) Thou shalt not give heed unto the devarim of that navi, or that dreamer of dreams; for Hashem Eloheichem is testing you, to know whether ye love Hashem Eloheichem with all your lev and with all your nefesh.

(13:5) Ye shall walk after Hashem Eloheichem, and fear Him, and be shomer over His mitzvot, and obey His voice, and ye shall serve Him, and have deveykus unto Him.

(13:6) And that navi, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from Hashem Eloheichem, which brought you out of Eretz Mitzrayim, and redeemed you out of the bais avadim, to entice thee from HaDerech which Hashem Eloheicha commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put harah away from the midst of thee.

(13:7) If achicha (thy brother), the ben of thy em, or thy ben, or thy bat, or the eshet kheyk of thee (wife of thy bosom), or thy friend, which is as thine own nefesh, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve elohim acherim, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy avot;

(13:8) Namely, of the elohei ha’amim which are round about you, near unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one ketzeh ha’aretz (end of the earth) even unto the other ketzeh ha’aretz;

(13:9) Thou shalt not yield unto him, nor give heed unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him;

(13:10) But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of kol HaAm.

10 (13:11) And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from Hashem Eloheicha, which brought thee out of Eretz Mitzrayim, from the bais avadim.

11 (13:12) And kol Yisroel shall hear, and fear, and shall not again do such wickedness as this is among you.

12 (13:13) If thou shalt hear say in one of thy towns, which Hashem Eloheicha hath given thee to dwell there, saying,

13 (13:14) Certain men, the bnei Beliyaal (reprobate, worthless men), are gone out from among you, and have enticed the inhabitants of their town, saying, Let us go and serve elohim acherim, which ye have not known;

14 (13:15) Then shalt thou inquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, hinei, if it be emes, and the thing certain, that such to’evah (abomination, detestable action) is wrought among you;

15 (13:16) Thou shalt surely strike the inhabitants of that town with the edge of the cherev, in cherem destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the cherev.

16 (13:17) And thou shalt gather all the plunder of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with eish the town, and all the plunder thereof completely for Hashem Eloheicha; and it shall be a tel olam (heap forever); it shall not be built again.

17 (13:18) And there shall cling none of the accursed thing to thine hand; that Hashem may turn from the fierceness of His anger, and show thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as He hath sworn unto Avoteicha;

18 (13:19) When thou shalt give heed to the voice of Hashem Eloheicha, to be shomer over all His mitzvot which I command thee today, to do that which is yashar (right, straight) in the eyes of Hashem Eloheicha.