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Deuteronomy 13-14
New King James Version
Deuteronomy 13-14
New King James Version
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, 2 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,’ 3 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. 4 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. 5 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.
6 (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, 7 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, 8 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; 9 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.
Improper Mourning
14 “You are (U)the children of the Lord your God; (V)you shall not cut yourselves nor [j]shave the front of your head for the dead. 2 (W)For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
Clean and Unclean Meat(X)
3 (Y)“You shall not eat any [k]detestable thing. 4 (Z)These are the animals which you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, 5 the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat, the [l]mountain goat, the antelope, and the mountain sheep. 6 And you may eat every animal with cloven hooves, having the hoof split into two parts, and that chews the cud, among the animals. 7 Nevertheless, of those that chew the cud or have cloven hooves, you shall not eat, such as these: the camel, the hare, and the rock hyrax; for they chew the cud but do not have cloven hooves; they are unclean for you. 8 Also the swine is unclean for you, because it has cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud; you shall not eat their flesh (AA)or touch their dead carcasses.
9 (AB)“These you may eat of all that are in the waters: you may eat all that have fins and scales. 10 And whatever does not have fins and scales you shall not eat; it is unclean for you.
11 “All clean birds you may eat. 12 (AC)But these you shall not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the buzzard, 13 the red kite, the falcon, and the kite after their kinds; 14 every raven after its kind; 15 the ostrich, the short-eared owl, the sea gull, and the hawk after their kinds; 16 the little owl, the screech owl, the white owl, 17 the jackdaw, the carrion vulture, the fisher owl, 18 the stork, the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe and the bat.
19 “Also (AD)every [m]creeping thing that flies is unclean for you; (AE)they shall not be eaten.
20 “You may eat all clean birds.
21 (AF)“You shall not eat anything that dies of itself; you may give it to the alien who is within your gates, that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner; (AG)for you are a holy people to the Lord your God.
“(AH)You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
Tithing Principles
22 (AI)“You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year. 23 (AJ)And you shall eat before the Lord your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of (AK)the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. 24 But if the journey is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, or (AL)if the place where the Lord your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, when the Lord your God has blessed you, 25 then you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses. 26 And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the Lord your God, and you shall (AM)rejoice, you and your household. 27 You shall not [n]forsake the (AN)Levite who is within your gates, for he has no part nor inheritance with you.
28 (AO)“At the end of every third year you shall bring out the (AP)tithe of your produce of that year and store it up within your gates. 29 And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 13:4 follow the Lord
- Deuteronomy 13:5 exterminate
- Deuteronomy 13:6 Whom you cherish
- Deuteronomy 13:8 yield
- Deuteronomy 13:13 Lit. Sons of Belial
- Deuteronomy 13:14 detestable action
- Deuteronomy 13:16 Or as a whole-offering
- Deuteronomy 13:16 Lit. mound or ruin
- Deuteronomy 13:17 increase
- Deuteronomy 14:1 make any baldness between your eyes
- Deuteronomy 14:3 abominable
- Deuteronomy 14:5 Or addax
- Deuteronomy 14:19 swarming
- Deuteronomy 14:27 neglect
Deuteronomy 13-14
New International Version
Deuteronomy 13-14
New International Version
Worshiping Other Gods
13 [a]If a prophet,(A) or one who foretells by dreams,(B) appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, 2 and if the sign(C) or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, “Let us follow other gods”(D) (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” 3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet(E) or dreamer.(F) The Lord your God is testing(G) you to find out whether you love(H) him with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 It is the Lord your God you must follow,(I) and him you must revere.(J) Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast(K) to him. 5 That prophet or dreamer must be put to death(L) for inciting rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. That prophet or dreamer tried to turn(M) you from the way the Lord your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil(N) from among you.
6 If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices(O) you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods”(P) (gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, 7 gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), 8 do not yield(Q) to them or listen to them. Show them no pity.(R) Do not spare them or shield them. 9 You must certainly put them to death.(S) Your hand(T) must be the first in putting them to death, and then the hands of all the people. 10 Stone them to death, because they tried to turn you away(U) from the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 11 Then all Israel will hear and be afraid,(V) and no one among you will do such an evil thing again.
12 If you hear it said about one of the towns the Lord your God is giving you to live in 13 that troublemakers(W) have arisen among you and have led the people of their town astray, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods you have not known), 14 then you must inquire, probe and investigate it thoroughly.(X) And if it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done among you,(Y) 15 you must certainly put to the sword all who live in that town. You must destroy it completely,[b](Z) both its people and its livestock.(AA) 16 You are to gather all the plunder of the town into the middle of the public square and completely burn the town(AB) and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God.(AC) That town is to remain a ruin(AD) forever, never to be rebuilt, 17 and none of the condemned things[c] are to be found in your hands. Then the Lord will turn from his fierce anger,(AE) will show you mercy,(AF) and will have compassion(AG) on you. He will increase your numbers,(AH) as he promised(AI) on oath to your ancestors— 18 because you obey the Lord your God by keeping all his commands that I am giving you today and doing what is right(AJ) in his eyes.
Clean and Unclean Food(AK)
14 You are the children(AL) of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave the front of your heads for the dead, 2 for you are a people holy(AM) to the Lord your God.(AN) Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be his treasured possession.(AO)
3 Do not eat any detestable thing.(AP) 4 These are the animals you may eat:(AQ) the ox, the sheep, the goat,(AR) 5 the deer,(AS) the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat,(AT) the ibex, the antelope and the mountain sheep.[d] 6 You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud. 7 However, of those that chew the cud or that have a divided hoof you may not eat the camel, the rabbit or the hyrax. Although they chew the cud, they do not have a divided hoof; they are ceremonially unclean for you. 8 The pig is also unclean; although it has a divided hoof, it does not chew the cud. You are not to eat their meat or touch their carcasses.(AU)
9 Of all the creatures living in the water, you may eat any that has fins and scales. 10 But anything that does not have fins and scales you may not eat; for you it is unclean.
11 You may eat any clean bird. 12 But these you may not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, 13 the red kite, the black kite, any kind(AV) of falcon,(AW) 14 any kind of raven,(AX) 15 the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, 16 the little owl, the great owl, the white owl, 17 the desert owl,(AY) the osprey, the cormorant, 18 the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.
19 All flying insects are unclean to you; do not eat them. 20 But any winged creature that is clean you may eat.(AZ)
21 Do not eat anything you find already dead.(BA) You may give it to the foreigner residing in any of your towns, and they may eat it, or you may sell it to any other foreigner. But you are a people holy to the Lord your God.(BB)
Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.(BC)
Tithes
22 Be sure to set aside a tenth(BD) of all that your fields produce each year. 23 Eat(BE) the tithe of your grain, new wine(BF) and olive oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name,(BG) so that you may learn(BH) to revere(BI) the Lord your God always. 24 But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the Lord your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the Lord will choose to put his Name is so far away), 25 then exchange(BJ) your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the Lord your God will choose. 26 Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink,(BK) or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice.(BL) 27 And do not neglect the Levites(BM) living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own.(BN)
28 At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes(BO) of that year’s produce and store it in your towns,(BP) 29 so that the Levites (who have no allotment(BQ) or inheritance(BR) of their own) and the foreigners,(BS) the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied,(BT) and so that the Lord your God may bless(BU) you in all the work of your hands.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 13:1 In Hebrew texts 13:1-18 is numbered 13:2-19.
- Deuteronomy 13:15 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
- Deuteronomy 13:17 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
- Deuteronomy 14:5 The precise identification of some of the birds and animals in this chapter is uncertain.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.