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The Torah · Old Testament

Deuteronomy 13

Enticement to other gods and the prescribed penalties

General context

The chapter addresses attempts within Israel to turn people toward other gods. Even a prophet whose sign comes true must not be followed if that is the message; the case is described as a test of Israel's love for the Lord. The prophet is to be put to death. A close relative or friend who secretly urges the same departure is likewise subject to death by stoning, with the person approached taking the first part. A report that a city's inhabitants have been led astray requires diligent inquiry. If established, the prescribed response is the killing of the inhabitants and livestock, burning the city and spoil, and leaving the place unbuilt.

Cited passages: Deuteronomy 13:1, Deuteronomy 13:2, Deuteronomy 13:3, Deuteronomy 13:4, Deuteronomy 13:5, Deuteronomy 13:6, Deuteronomy 13:7, Deuteronomy 13:8, Deuteronomy 13:9, Deuteronomy 13:10, Deuteronomy 13:11, Deuteronomy 13:12, Deuteronomy 13:13, Deuteronomy 13:14, Deuteronomy 13:15, Deuteronomy 13:16, Deuteronomy 13:17, Deuteronomy 13:18

Deuteronomy 13 (KJV)

1If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,

2And 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;

3Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

4Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.

5And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the Lord thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.

6If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which 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;

7Namely, of the gods of the people which 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;

8Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him:

9But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.

10And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

11And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you.

12If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities, which the Lord thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying,

13Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known;

14Then shalt thou enquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you;

15Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword.

16And 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 every whit, for the Lord thy God: and it shall be an heap for ever; it shall not be built again.

17And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand: that the Lord may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and shew thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers;

18When thou shalt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of the Lord thy God.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

The cases move among Israel's own people, naming a prophet, intimate family or friendship ties, and a city given to Israel to inhabit. The household case includes brother, son, daughter, wife and a friend loved as one's own soul. In the city case, the KJV's children of Belial is rendered base fellows in the ASV and good-for-nothing persons in the BBE. The text requires investigation before the city's destruction and forbids taking its condemned goods. It presents legal scenarios and penalties, not an account of named executions already performed.

Cited passages: Deuteronomy 13:1, Deuteronomy 13:6, Deuteronomy 13:7, Deuteronomy 13:8, Deuteronomy 13:9, Deuteronomy 13:10, Deuteronomy 13:11, Deuteronomy 13:12, Deuteronomy 13:13, Deuteronomy 13:14, Deuteronomy 13:15, Deuteronomy 13:16, Deuteronomy 13:17

Literary context

The repeated invitation to serve other gods ties together threats arising through public authority, private affection and communal influence. Loyalty to the Lord takes precedence even where a sign succeeds or a relationship is closest. Hear and fear appears as the stated intended effect of punishment. The city's complete destruction and ban on private gain bring the third case to a severe conclusion, followed by conditional language of mercy and renewed obedience.

Cited passages: Deuteronomy 13:2, Deuteronomy 13:3, Deuteronomy 13:4, Deuteronomy 13:5, Deuteronomy 13:6, Deuteronomy 13:7, Deuteronomy 13:8, Deuteronomy 13:9, Deuteronomy 13:10, Deuteronomy 13:11, Deuteronomy 13:13, Deuteronomy 13:14, Deuteronomy 13:15, Deuteronomy 13:16, Deuteronomy 13:17, Deuteronomy 13:18

Key moments

  1. A fulfilled sign is not enough (Deuteronomy 13:2). The imagined sign comes true, but its accompanying call is to serve other gods.
  2. A close relationship is named (Deuteronomy 13:6). The warning includes even an intimate family member or trusted friend.
  3. Diligent inquiry is required (Deuteronomy 13:14). The city accusation must be investigated and established before the prescribed judgment.

For reflection

How does the chapter distinguish a persuasive sign or close relationship from a reason to follow a message? What questions arise from the penalties it prescribes for that departure?

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