Deuteronomy 13-14

Complete Jewish Bible

13 ^(12:32)“Everything I am commanding you, you are to take care to do. Do not add to it or subtract from it.

²⁽¹⁾“If a prophet or someone who gets messages while dreaming arises among you and he gives you a sign or wonder, ³⁽²⁾and the sign or wonder comes about as he predicted when he said, ‘Let’s follow other gods, which you have not known; and let us serve them,’ ⁴⁽³⁾you are not to listen to what that prophet or dreamer says. For Adonai your God is testing you, in order to find out whether you really do love Adonai your God with all your heart and being. ⁵⁽⁴⁾You are to follow Adonai your God, fear him, obey his mitzvot, listen to what he says, serve him and cling to him; ⁶⁽⁵⁾and that prophet or dreamer is to be put to death; because he urged rebellion against Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from a life of slavery; in order to seduce you away from the path Adonai your God ordered you to follow. This is how you are to rid your community of this wickedness.

⁷⁽⁶⁾“If your brother the son of your mother, or your son, or your daughter, or your wife whom you love, or your friend who means as much to you as yourself, secretly tries to entice you to go and serve other gods, which you haven’t known, neither you nor your ancestors — ⁸⁽⁷⁾gods of the peoples surrounding you, whether near or far away from you, anywhere in the world — ⁹⁽⁸⁾you are not to consent, and you are not to listen to him; and you must not pity him or spare him; and you may not conceal him. ¹⁰⁽⁹⁾Rather, you must kill him! Your own hand must be the first one on him in putting him to death, and afterwards the hands of all the people. ¹¹⁽¹⁰⁾You are to stone him to death; because he has tried to draw you away from Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of a life of slavery. ¹²⁽¹¹⁾Then all Isra’el will hear about it and be afraid, so that they will stop doing such wickedness as this among themselves.

¹³⁽¹²⁾“If you hear it told that in one of your cities which Adonai your God is giving you to live in, ¹⁴⁽¹³⁾certain scoundrels have sprung up among you and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city by saying, ‘Let’s go and serve other gods, which you haven’t known,’ ¹⁵⁽¹⁴⁾then you are to investigate the matter, inquiring and searching diligently. If the rumor is true, if it is confirmed that such detestable things are being done among you, ¹⁶⁽¹⁵⁾you must put the inhabitants of that city to death with the sword, destroying it completely with the sword, everything in it, including its livestock. ¹⁷⁽¹⁶⁾Heap all its spoils in an open space, and burn the city with its spoils to the ground for Adonai your God; it will remain a tel forever and not be built again — ¹⁸⁽¹⁷⁾none of what has been set apart for destruction is to stay in your hands. Then Adonai will turn from his fierce anger and show you mercy, have compassion on you and increase your numbers, as he swore to your ancestors — ¹⁹⁽¹⁸⁾provided you listen to what Adonai says and obey all his mitzvot that I am giving you today, thus doing what Adonai your God sees as right.

14 (iv) “You are the people of Adonai your God. You are not to gash yourselves or shave the hair above your foreheads in mourning for the dead, ²because you are a people set apart as holy for Adonai your God. Adonai your God has chosen you to be his own unique treasure out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.

³“You are not to eat anything disgusting. ⁴The animals which you may eat are: ox, sheep, goat, ⁵deer, gazelle, roebuck, ibex, antelope, oryx and mountain sheep. ⁶Any animal that has a separate hoof that is completely divided and also chews the cud, these animals you may eat. ⁷But you are not to eat those that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof. For example, the camel, the hare and the coney are unclean for you because they chew the cud but don’t have a separate hoof; ⁸while the pig is unclean for you because, although it has a separate hoof, it doesn’t chew the cud. You are not to eat meat from these or touch their carcasses.

⁹“Of all that lives in the water, you may eat these: anything in the water that has fins and scales, these you may eat. ¹⁰But whatever lacks fins and scales you are not to eat; it is unclean for you.

¹¹“You may eat any clean bird; ¹²but these you are not to eat: eagles, vultures, ospreys, ¹³kites, any kind of buzzard, ¹⁴any kind of raven, ¹⁵ostriches, screech-owls, seagulls, any kind of hawk, ¹⁶little owls, great owls, horned owls, ¹⁷pelicans, barn owls, cormorants, ¹⁸storks, any kind of heron, hoopoes and bats.

¹⁹“All winged swarming creatures are unclean for you; they are not to be eaten; ²⁰but all clean flying creatures you may eat.

²¹“You are not to eat any animal that dies naturally; although you may let a stranger staying with you eat it, or sell it to a foreigner; because you are a holy people for Adonai your God.

“You are not to boil a young animal in its mother’s milk.

(v) ²²“Every year you must take one tenth of everything your seed produces in the field, ²³and eat it in the presence of Adonai your God. In the place where he chooses to have his name live you will eat the tenth of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the firstborn of your cattle and sheep, so that you will learn to fear Adonai your God always. ²⁴But if the distance is too great for you, so that you are unable to transport it, because the place where Adonai chooses to put his name is too far away from you; then, when Adonai your God prospers you, ²⁵you are to convert it into money, take the money with you, go to the place which Adonai your God will choose, ²⁶and exchange the money for anything you want — cattle, sheep, wine, other intoxicating liquor, or anything you please — and you are to eat there in the presence of Adonai your God, and enjoy yourselves, you and your household.

²⁷“But don’t neglect the Levi staying with you, because he has no share or inheritance like yours. ²⁸At the end of every three years you are to take all the tenths of your produce from that year and store it in your towns. ²⁹Then the Levi, because he has no share or inheritance like yours, along with the foreigner, the orphan and the widow living in your towns, will come, eat and be satisfied — so that Adonai your God will bless you in everything your hands produce.