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Deuteronomy 13
New American Bible (Revised Edition)

Chapter 13

Penalties for Enticing to Idolatry. 1 Every word that I command you, you shall be careful to observe, neither adding to it nor subtracting from it.

2 (A)If there arises in your midst a prophet or a dreamer[a] who promises you a sign or wonder, 3 saying, “Let us go after other gods,” whom you have not known, “and let us serve them,” and the sign or wonder foretold to you comes to pass, 4 do not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer; for the Lord, your God, is testing you to know whether you really love the Lord, your God, with all your heart and soul.(B) 5 The Lord, your God, shall you follow, and him shall you fear; his commandments shall you observe, and to his voice shall you listen; him you shall serve, and to him you shall hold fast.(C) 6 But that prophet or that dreamer shall be put to death, because, in order to lead you astray from the way which the Lord, your God, has commanded you to take, the prophet or dreamer has spoken apostasy against the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery. Thus shall you purge the evil from your midst.(D)

7 If your brother, your father’s child or your mother’s child, your son or daughter, your beloved spouse, or your intimate friend entices you secretly, saying, “Come, let us serve other gods,” whom you and your ancestors have not known, 8 any of the gods of the surrounding peoples, near to you or far away, from one end of the earth to the other: 9 do not yield or listen to any such person; show no pity or compassion and do not shield such a one,(E) 10 (F)but kill that person. Your hand shall be the first raised to put such a one to death; the hand of all the people shall follow. 11 You shall stone that person to death, for seeking to lead you astray from the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 12 And all Israel shall hear of it and fear, and never again do such evil as this in your midst.(G)

13 If you hear it said concerning one of the cities which the Lord, your God, gives you to dwell in, 14 that certain scoundrels have sprung up in your midst and have led astray the inhabitants of their city, saying, “Come, let us serve other gods,” whom you have not known, 15 you must inquire carefully into the matter and investigate it thoroughly. If you find that it is true and an established fact that this abomination has been committed in your midst,(H) 16 (I)you shall put the inhabitants of that city to the sword, placing the city and all that is in it, even its livestock, under the ban. 17 Having heaped up all its spoils in the middle of its square, you shall burn the city with all its spoils as a whole burnt offering to the Lord, your God. Let it be a heap of ruins forever, never to be rebuilt. 18 You shall not hold on to anything that is under the ban; then the Lord will turn from his burning anger and show you mercy, and in showing you mercy multiply you as he swore to your ancestors, 19 because you have listened to the voice of the Lord, your God, keeping all his commandments, which I give you today, doing what is right in the sight of the Lord, your God.

Footnotes

  1. 13:2, 4, 6 Dreamer: a false prophet who pretended to have received revelations from God in a dream; cf. Jer 23:25–32; 27:9; Zec 10:2. But dreams could also be a means of true prophecy (Nm 12:6; Jl 3:1) and of genuine revelations (Gn 20:3, 6; 31:11, 24; 37:5, 9; Mt 1:20; 2:12, 13, 19; etc.).
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Deuteronomy 13
New English Translation

13 1 Suppose a prophet or one who foretells by dreams[a] should appear among you and show you a sign or wonder,[b] 2 and the sign or wonder should come to pass concerning what he said to you, namely, “Let us follow other gods”—gods whom you have not previously known—“and let us serve them.” 3 You must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer,[c] for the Lord your God will be testing you to see if you love him[d] with all your mind and being.[e] 4 You must follow the Lord your God and revere only him; and you must observe his commandments, obey him, serve him, and remain loyal to him. 5 As for that prophet or dreamer,[f] he must be executed because he encouraged rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt, redeeming you from that place of slavery, and because he has tried to entice you from the way the Lord your God has commanded you to go. In this way you must purge evil from among you.[g]

False Prophets in the Family

6 Suppose your own full brother,[h] your son, your daughter, your beloved wife, or your closest friend should seduce you secretly and encourage you to go and serve other gods[i] that neither you nor your ancestors[j] have previously known,[k] 7 the gods of the surrounding people (whether near you or far from you, from one end of the earth[l] to the other). 8 You must not give in to him or even listen to him; do not feel sympathy for him or spare him or cover up for him. 9 Instead, you must kill him without fail![m] Your own hand must be the first to strike him,[n] and then the hands of the whole community. 10 You must stone him to death[o] because he tried to entice you away from the Lord your God, who delivered you from the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. 11 Thus all Israel will hear and be afraid; no longer will they continue to do evil like this among you.[p]

Punishment of Community Idolatry

12 Suppose you should hear in one of your cities, which the Lord your God is giving you as a place to live, that 13 some evil people[q] have departed from among you to entice the inhabitants of their cities,[r] saying, “Let’s go and serve other gods” (whom you have not known before).[s] 14 You must investigate thoroughly and inquire carefully. If it is indeed true that such a disgraceful thing is being done among you,[t] 15 you must by all means[u] slaughter the inhabitants of that city with the sword; annihilate[v] with the sword everyone in it, as well as the livestock. 16 You must gather all of its plunder into the middle of the plaza[w] and burn the city and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. It will be an abandoned ruin[x] forever—it must never be rebuilt again. 17 You must not take for yourself anything that has been placed under judgment.[y] Then the Lord will relent from his intense anger, show you compassion, have mercy on you, and multiply you as he promised your ancestors. 18 Thus you must obey the Lord your God, keeping all his commandments that I am giving[z] you today and doing what is right[aa] before him.[ab]

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 13:1 tn Heb “or a dreamer of dreams” (so KJV, ASV, NASB). The difference between a prophet (נָבִיא, naviʾ) and one who foretells by dreams (חֹלֵם, kholem) was not so much one of office—for both received revelation by dreams (cf. Num 12:6)—as it was of function or emphasis. The prophet was more a proclaimer and interpreter of revelation whereas the one who foretold by dreams was a receiver of revelation. In later times the role of the one who foretold by dreams was abused and thus denigrated as compared to that of the prophet (cf. Jer 23:28).
  2. Deuteronomy 13:1 tn The expression אוֹת אוֹ מוֹפֵת (ʾot ʾo mofet) became a formulaic way of speaking of ways of authenticating prophetic messages or other works of God (cf. Deut 28:46; Isa 20:3). The NT equivalent is the Greek term σημεῖον (sēmeion), a sign performed (used frequently in the Gospel of John, cf. 2:11, 18; 20:30-31). They could, however, be counterfeited or (as here) permitted by the Lord to false prophets as a means of testing his people.
  3. Deuteronomy 13:3 tn Heb “or dreamer of dreams.” See note on this expression in v. 1.
  4. Deuteronomy 13:3 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
  5. Deuteronomy 13:3 tn Heb “all your heart and soul” (so NRSV, CEV, NLT); or “heart and being” (NCV “your whole being”). See note on the word “being” in Deut 6:5.
  6. Deuteronomy 13:5 tn Heb “or dreamer of dreams.” See note on this expression in v. 1.
  7. Deuteronomy 13:5 tn Heb “your midst” (so NAB, NRSV). The severity of the judgment here (i.e., capital punishment) is because of the severity of the sin, namely, high treason against the Great King. Idolatry is a violation of the first two commandments (Deut 5:6-10) as well as the spirit and intent of the Shema (Deut 6:4-5).
  8. Deuteronomy 13:6 tn Heb “your brother, the son of your mother.” In a polygamous society it was not rare to have half brothers and sisters by way of a common father and different mothers.
  9. Deuteronomy 13:6 tn In the Hebrew text these words are in the form of a brief quotation: “entice you secretly saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods.’”
  10. Deuteronomy 13:6 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 17).
  11. Deuteronomy 13:6 tn Heb “which you have not known, you or your fathers.” (cf. KJV, ASV; on “fathers” cf. v. 18).
  12. Deuteronomy 13:7 tn Or “land” (so NIV, NCV); the same Hebrew word can be translated “land” or “earth.”
  13. Deuteronomy 13:9 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with the words “without fail” (cf. NIV “you must certainly put him to death”).
  14. Deuteronomy 13:9 tn Heb “to put him to death,” but this is misleading in English for such an action would leave nothing for the others to do.
  15. Deuteronomy 13:10 sn Execution by means of pelting the offender with stones afforded a mechanism whereby the whole community could share in it. In a very real sense it could be done not only in the name of the community and on its behalf but by its members (cf. Lev 24:14; Num 15:35; Deut 21:21; Josh 7:25).
  16. Deuteronomy 13:11 sn Some see in this statement an argument for the deterrent effect of capital punishment (Deut 17:13; 19:20; 21:21).
  17. Deuteronomy 13:13 tn Heb “men, sons of Belial.” The Hebrew term בְּלִיַּעַל (beliyyaʿal) has the idea of worthlessness, without morals or scruples (HALOT 133-34 s.v.). Cf. NAB, NRSV “scoundrels”; TEV, CEV “worthless people”; NLT “worthless rabble.”
  18. Deuteronomy 13:13 tc The LXX and Tg read “your” for the MT’s “their.”
  19. Deuteronomy 13:13 tn The translation understands the relative clause as a statement by Moses, not as part of the quotation from the evildoers. See also v. 2.
  20. Deuteronomy 13:14 tc Theodotian adds “in Israel,” perhaps to broaden the matter beyond the local village.
  21. Deuteronomy 13:15 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, indicated in the translation by the words “by all means.” Cf. KJV, NASB “surely”; NIV “certainly.”
  22. Deuteronomy 13:15 tn Or “put under divine judgment. The Hebrew word (חֵרֶם, kherem) refers to placing persons or things under God’s judgment, usually to the extent of their complete destruction. Though primarily applied against the heathen, this severe judgment could also fall upon unrepentant Israelites (cf. the story of Achan in Josh 7). See also the note on the phrase “divine judgment” in Deut 2:34.
  23. Deuteronomy 13:16 tn Heb “street.”
  24. Deuteronomy 13:16 tn Heb “mound”; NAB “a heap of ruins.” The Hebrew word תֵּל (tel) refers to this day to a ruin represented especially by a built-up mound of dirt or debris (cf. Tel Aviv, “mound of grain”).
  25. Deuteronomy 13:17 tn Or “anything that has been put under the divine curse”; Heb “anything of the ban” (cf. NASB). See note on the phrase “divine judgment” in Deut 2:34.
  26. Deuteronomy 13:18 tn Heb “commanding” (so NASB, NRSV).
  27. Deuteronomy 13:18 tc The LXX and Smr add “and good” to bring the phrase in line with a familiar cliché (cf. Deut 6:18; Josh 9:25; 2 Kgs 10:3; 2 Chr 14:1; etc.). This is an unnecessary and improper attempt to force a text into a preconceived mold.
  28. Deuteronomy 13:18 tn Heb “in the eyes of the Lord your God.” See note on the word “him” in v. 3.
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