13 “If a prophet or (A)a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and (B)the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘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 (C)is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall (D)walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and (E)hold fast to him. But (F)that 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. (G)So you shall purge the evil[a] from your midst.

(H)“If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter or (I)the wife you embrace[b] or your friend (J)who is as your own soul entices you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ (K)which neither you nor your fathers have known, some (L)of 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, you shall (M)not yield to him or listen to him, nor (N)shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him, nor shall you conceal him. But you shall kill him. (O)Your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. 10 (P)You 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 (Q)all 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 (R)worthless 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, 14 then you shall inquire and make search and ask (S)diligently. And behold, if it be true and certain that such an abomination has been done among you, 15 you shall surely put the inhabitants of that city to the sword, devoting it to destruction,[c] all who are in it and its cattle, with the edge of the sword. 16 You shall gather all its spoil into the midst of its open square and (T)burn the city and all its spoil with fire, as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. It shall be a (U)heap forever. It shall not be built again. 17 (V)None of the devoted things shall stick to your hand, (W)that the Lord may turn from the fierceness of his anger and show you mercy and have compassion on you and multiply you, (X)as he swore to your fathers, 18 if you obey the voice of the Lord your God, (Y)keeping all his commandments that I am commanding you today, and doing what is right in the sight of the Lord your God.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 13:5 Or evil person
  2. Deuteronomy 13:6 Hebrew the wife of your bosom
  3. Deuteronomy 13:15 That is, setting apart (devoting) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)

How Israel Is to Deal with False Prophets

13 [a]One of your people, claiming to be a prophet or to have prophetic dreams, may predict a miraculous sign or an amazing thing. What he predicts may even take place. But don’t listen to that prophet or dreamer[b] if he says, “Let’s worship and serve other gods.” (Those gods may be gods you’ve never heard of.) Yahweh your Elohim is testing you to find out if you really love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul. Worship Yahweh your Elohim, fear him, obey his commands, listen to what he says, serve him, and be loyal to him. That prophet or dreamer must be put to death because he preached rebellion against Yahweh your Elohim, who brought you out of Egypt and freed you from slavery. He was trying to lead you away from following the directions Yahweh your Elohim gave you. You must get rid of this evil.

Your own brother, son, or daughter, the wife you love, or your best friend may secretly tempt you, saying, “Let’s go worship other gods.” (Those gods may be gods that you and your ancestors never knew. They may be the gods of the people around you, who live near or far, from one end of the land to the other.) Don’t be influenced by any of these people or listen to them. Have no pity on them. Don’t feel sorry for them or protect them. You must put them to death. You must start the execution. Then all the other people will join you in putting them to death. 10 Stone them to death because they were trying to lead you away from Yahweh your Elohim, who brought you out of slavery in Egypt. 11 All Israel will hear about it and be afraid. Then no one among you will ever do such a wicked thing again.

12 You may hear that the residents in one of the cities which Yahweh your Elohim is giving you to live in 13 have been led away from the Lord your God by worthless people. You may hear that these people have been saying, “Let’s worship other gods.” (Those gods may be gods you’ve never heard of.) 14 Then make a thorough investigation. If it is true, and you can prove that this disgusting thing has been done among you, 15 you must kill the residents of that city with swords and destroy that city and everyone in it, including the animals, because they are claimed by God. 16 Gather their goods into the middle of the city square. Then burn their city and all their goods as a burnt offering to Yahweh your Elohim. It must remain a mound of ruins and never be rebuilt. 17 Don’t ever take any of the things claimed for destruction. Then Yahweh will stop being angry and will show you mercy. In his mercy he will make your population increase, as he swore to your ancestors. 18 Yahweh your Elohim will do this if you listen to him, obey all the commands that I’m giving you today, and do what Yahweh your Elohim considers right.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 13:1 Deuteronomy 13:1–18 in English Bibles is Deuteronomy 13:2–19 in the Hebrew Bible.
  2. Deuteronomy 13:2 The first part of verse 3 (in Hebrew) has been placed in verse 2 to express the complex Hebrew paragraph structure more clearly in English.