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Deuteronomy 13

New International Reader’s Version



1 Suppose a prophet appears among you. Or someone comes who uses dreams to tell what’s going to happen. He tells you that a sign or something amazing is going to take place. 2 The sign or amazing thing he has spoken about might really take place. And then the prophet might say, ‘Let’s serve other gods. Let’s worship them.’ But you haven’t known anything about those gods before. 3 So you must not listen to what that prophet or dreamer has said. The LORD your God is testing you. He wants to know whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 You must worship him. You must honour him. Keep his commands. Obey him. Serve him. Remain true to him. 5 That prophet or dreamer must be put to death. He told you not to obey the LORD your God. The LORD brought you out of Egypt. He set you free from the land where you were slaves. He commanded you to live the way he wants you to. But that prophet or dreamer has tried to get you to be unfaithful to the LORD. Get rid of that evil person. 6 Suppose your very own brother or sister secretly tempts you to do something wrong. Or your child or the wife you love tempts you. Or your closest friend does it. Suppose one of them says, ‘Let’s go and worship other gods.’ But you and your people of long ago hadn’t known anything about those gods before. 7 They are the gods of the nations around you. Those nations might be near or far away. In fact, they might reach from one end of the land to the other. 8 Don’t give in to those who are tempting you. Don’t listen to them. Don’t feel sorry for them. Don’t spare them or save them. 9 You must certainly put them to death. You must be the first to throw stones at them. Then all the people must do the same thing. 10 Put them to death by throwing stones at them. They tried to turn you away from the LORD your God. He brought you out of Egypt. That’s the land where you were slaves. 11 After you kill those who tempted you, all the Israelites will hear about it. And they will be too scared to do an evil thing like that again. 12 The LORD your God is giving you towns to live in. But suppose you hear something bad about one of those towns. 13 You hear that people who cause trouble have appeared among you. They’ve tried to get the people of their town to do something wrong. They’ve said, ‘Let’s go and worship other gods.’ But you haven’t known anything about those gods before. 14 So you must ask people some questions. You must check out the matter carefully. If it’s true, an evil thing has really happened among you. It’s something the LORD hates. 15 Then you must certainly kill with your swords everyone who lives in that town. You must destroy it completely. You must wipe out its people and livestock. 16 You must gather all the goods of that town into the middle of the main street. You must burn the town completely. You must burn up everything in it. It’s a whole burnt offering to the LORD your God. The town must remain a pile of stones for ever. It must never be built again. 17 Don’t keep anything that should be destroyed. Then the LORD will turn away from his great anger. He will show you mercy. He’ll have deep concern for you. He’ll cause there to be many of you. That’s what he promised your people of long ago. He gave his word when he made the promise. 18 The LORD your God will do those things if you obey him. I’m giving you his commands today. And you must obey all of them. You must do what is right in his eyes. 

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Deuteronomy 13

English Standard Version

1 “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, (Jer 23:25; Jer 23:32; Jer 27:9; Jer 29:8; Zec 10:2) 2 and 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,’ (De 18:22; Jer 28:9) 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. (De 8:2) 4 You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him. (De 10:20; 2Ki 23:3; 2Ch 34:31) 5 But 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. So you shall purge the evil[1] from your midst. (De 17:7; De 18:20; De 19:19; De 21:21; De 22:21; De 24:7; Jer 2:8; Jer 14:14; Zec 13:3; 1Co 5:13) 6 “If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter or the wife you embrace[2] or your friend who is as your own soul entices you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which neither you nor your fathers have known, (De 17:2; De 28:54; De 28:56; De 28:64; 1Sa 18:1; 1Sa 18:3; 1Sa 20:17; Mic 7:5) 7 some 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, (De 6:14) 8 you shall not yield to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him, nor shall you conceal him. (De 7:16; Pr 1:10) 9 But you shall kill him. Your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. (De 17:7) 10 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. (De 17:5; Jos 7:25) 11 And all Israel shall hear and fear and never again do any such wickedness as this among you. (De 17:13; De 19:20; De 21:21) 12 “If you hear in one of your cities, which the Lord your God is giving you to dwell there, 13 that certain 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, (Jud 19:22; Jud 20:13; 1Sa 2:12; 1Sa 25:17; 2Sa 16:7; 2Sa 20:1; 1Ki 21:10; 1Ki 21:13) 14 then you shall inquire and make search and ask diligently. And behold, if it be true and certain that such an abomination has been done among you, (De 17:4; De 19:18) 15 you shall surely put the inhabitants of that city to the sword, devoting it to destruction,[3] 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 burn the city and all its spoil with fire, as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. It shall be a heap forever. It shall not be built again. (Jos 6:24; Jos 8:28; Isa 17:1; Isa 25:2; Jer 30:18; Jer 49:2) 17 None of the devoted things shall stick to your hand, that the Lord may turn from the fierceness of his anger and show you mercy and have compassion on you and multiply you, as he swore to your fathers, (Ge 50:24; Jos 6:18; Jos 7:26) 18 if you obey the voice of the Lord your God, keeping all his commandments that I am commanding you today, and doing what is right in the sight of the Lord your God. (De 12:25; De 12:28) 

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