Deuteronomy 13
Lexham English Bible
13 “If a prophet stands up in your midst or a dreamer of dreams[a] and he gives to you a sign or wonder, 2 and the sign or[b] the wonder comes about that he spoke[c] to you, saying,[d] ‘Let us go after other gods (those whom you have not known), and let us serve them,’ 3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet or to that dreamer, for Yahweh your God is testing you to know whether you love[e] Yahweh your God with all of your heart and with all of your inner self.[f] 4 You shall go after Yahweh your God, and him you shall revere, and his commandment you shall keep, and to his voice you shall listen, and him you shall serve, and to him you shall hold fast. 5 But that prophet or the dreamer of that dream shall be executed, for he spoke falsely about Yahweh your God, the one bringing you out from the land of Egypt and the one redeeming you from the house of slavery, in order to seduce you from the way that Yahweh your God commanded you to go in it; so in this way you shall purge the evil from your midst.
6 “If your brother, the son of your mother or your son or your daughter or your wife whom you embrace[g] or your intimate friend[h] in secrecy says,[i] ‘Let us go and let us serve other gods!’ gods that you and your ancestors[j] have not known, 7 from among the gods of the people who are around you, those near you or those far from you,[k] 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[l] 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. 11 And all of Israel shall hear, and they shall fear, and they shall not continue to act[m] according to this evil thing in your midst.
12 “If you hear in one of your towns which Yahweh your God is giving to you to live in, someone saying that[n] 13 worthless men[o] have gone out from your midst and have seduced the inhabitants of their town, saying,[p] ‘Let us go and serve other gods!’ whom you have not known, 14 then you shall inquire and examine and interrogate thoroughly, and, look! It is true; the thing has actually been done, this detestable thing in your midst, 15 then you shall certainly strike down the inhabitants of that town with the edge[q] of the sword; you shall destroy it and everything in it, its domestic animals with the edge[r] of the sword. 16 And then you shall gather all of its booty into the middle of its public square, and you shall burn the town and all of its war-booty totally for Yahweh your God, and it shall be a pile of rubble forever;[s] it shall not be built again. 17 And let not something cling to your hand from the things devoted to destruction, so that Yahweh may turn back from his burning anger,[t] and he may show compassion to you and he may continue to show compassion and so multiply you just as he swore[u] to your ancestors,[v] 18 if you listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, to keep all of his commandments that I am commanding to you today[w] so as to do the right thing in the eyes of Yahweh your God.”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 13:1 Hebrew “dream”
- Deuteronomy 13:2 Hebrew “and”
- Deuteronomy 13:2 Or “promised/declared”
- Deuteronomy 13:2 Literally “to say”
- Deuteronomy 13:3 Literally “a testing of Yahweh your God concerning you in order to know whether there is you loving”
- Deuteronomy 13:3 Or “soul”
- Deuteronomy 13:6 Literally “or the wife of your embrace”
- Deuteronomy 13:6 Literally “your friend who is like your soul/inner self”
- Deuteronomy 13:6 Literally “to say”
- Deuteronomy 13:6 Or “fathers”
- Deuteronomy 13:7 Literally “the near ones to you or the distant ones from you”
- Deuteronomy 13:8 Or “conceal” him
- Deuteronomy 13:11 Literally “they shall not add to do”
- Deuteronomy 13:12 Literally “to say”
- Deuteronomy 13:13 Literally “sons of Belial”
- Deuteronomy 13:13 Literally “to say”
- Deuteronomy 13:15 Literally “mouth”
- Deuteronomy 13:15 Literally “mouth”
- Deuteronomy 13:16 Literally “a tell/ruin forever”
- Deuteronomy 13:17 Literally “from the burning of his nose”
- Deuteronomy 13:17 Literally “as that he swore”
- Deuteronomy 13:17 Or “fathers”
- Deuteronomy 13:18 Literally “the day”
Deuteronomy 13
American Standard Version
13 If there arise in the midst of thee a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and he give thee a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; 3 thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or unto that dreamer of dreams: for Jehovah your God proveth you, to know whether ye love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 Ye shall walk after Jehovah your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. 5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death, because he hath spoken [a]rebellion against Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of bondage, to draw thee aside out of the way which Jehovah thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee.
6 If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, that is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; 7 of the gods of the peoples that are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; 8 thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: 9 but thou shalt surely kill him; thy hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. 10 And thou shalt stone him to death with stones, because he hath sought to draw thee away from Jehovah thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 11 And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is in the midst of thee.
12 If thou shalt hear tell [b]concerning one of thy cities, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to dwell there, saying, 13 Certain [c]base fellows are gone out from the midst of thee, and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known; 14 then shalt thou inquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in the midst of thee, 15 thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, [d]destroying it utterly, and all that is therein and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword. 16 And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof [e]every whit, unto Jehovah thy God: and it shall be a [f]heap for ever; it shall not be built again. 17 And there shall cleave nought of the devoted thing to thy hand; that Jehovah 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 thy fathers; 18 when thou shalt hearken to the voice of Jehovah thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah thy God.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 13:5 Hebrew turning aside.
- Deuteronomy 13:12 Or, in
- Deuteronomy 13:13 Hebrew sons of worthlessness.
- Deuteronomy 13:15 Hebrew devoting it.
- Deuteronomy 13:16 Or, as a whole burnt-offering
- Deuteronomy 13:16 Or, mound. Hebrew tel.
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