Deuteronomy 13

Deuteronomy 13:1 “If a prophet or someone who has dreams arises among you and proclaims a sign or wonder to you,

Deuteronomy 13:2 and that sign or wonder he has promised you comes about, but he speaks to you, and this is what he says: ‘Let us follow other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us worship them,’

Deuteronomy 13:3 do not listen to that prophet’s words or to that dreamer. You see, Yahveh, your God, is testing you to know whether you care about Yahveh, your God, with all your heart and all your throat.

Deuteronomy 13:4 You must follow Yahveh, your God, and fear him. You must watch his commands and listen to him; you must worship him and remain faithful to him.

Deuteronomy 13:5 That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he has urged rebellion against Yahveh your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the place of slavery, to turn you from the way Yahveh your God has commanded you to walk. You must purge the evil from you.

Deuteronomy 13:6 “If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your friend like your throat secretly entices you, and this is what he says: ‘Let us go and worship other gods’ – which neither you nor your fathers have known,

Deuteronomy 13:7 any of the gods of the peoples around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the land to the other –

Deuteronomy 13:8 do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity, and do not spare him or shield him.

Deuteronomy 13:9 Instead, you must kill him. Your hand is to be the first against him to put him to death, and then the hands of all the people.

Deuteronomy 13:10 Stone him to death for trying to turn you away from Yahveh, your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.

Deuteronomy 13:11 All Israel will hear and be afraid, and they will not do anything evil like this among you again.

Deuteronomy 13:12 “If you hear it said about one of your cities Yahveh your God is giving you to stay in, and this is what they say:

Deuteronomy 13:13 that wicked men have sprung up among you and led the inhabitants of their city astray, and this is what they said: ‘Let us go and worship other gods,’ which you have not known,

Deuteronomy 13:14 you are to inquire, investigate, and interrogate thoroughly. Notice if the report turns out to be true that this repulsive act has been done among you,

Deuteronomy 13:15 you must strike down the inhabitants of that city with the sword. Destroy everyone in it as well as its livestock with the sword.

Deuteronomy 13:16 You are to gather all its spoil in the middle of the city square and completely burn the city and all its spoil for Yahveh your God. The town is to remain a mound of ruins permanently; it is not to be rebuilt.

Deuteronomy 13:17 Nothing set apart for destruction is to remain in your hand so that Yahveh will turn from his burning anger and grant you mercy, show you compassion, and multiply you as he swore to your fathers.

Deuteronomy 13:18 This will occur if you obey Yahveh, your God, following all his commands I am giving you today and doing what is right in the sight of Yahveh, your God.

Deuteronomy 13 quotes:

“Here we have divine provision made for all eases of false teaching and false religious influence. “We all know how easily the poor human heart is led astray b}^ any thing in the shape of a sign or a wonder, and especially- when such things stand connected with religion. This is not confined to the nation of Israel ; we see it every where and at all times. An}- thing supernatural, any thing involving &S infringement of what are called the ordinary laws of nature, is almost sure to act powerfully on the human mind. A prophet rising up in the midst of the people and confirming his teaching by miracles, signs, and wonders, would be almost sure to get a healing and obtain an influence.

In this way, Satan has worked in all ages, and he will work yet more powerfully, at the end of this present age, in order to deceive and lead to their everlasting destruction those who will not hearken to the precious truth of the gospel. “The mastery of iniquity,” which has been working in the professing church for eighteen centuries, will be headed up in the person of ‘that Wicked wliom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming ; even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan, with a\l power a.nd signs and lying v:o7iders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish ; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”

Mackintosh Charles Henry. Notes on the Book of Deuteronomy. Loizeaux Bros 1880. pp. 139-140.

“The Israelites were forbidden outright to listen to the words of that prophet or to that dreamer of dreams (v. 4); whatever claims to validity he might appear to have on the basis of his performance of a sign or a wonder, they were not to listen to him (i.e., “obey” him). Because the Lord your God is testing you (v. 4)—the words emphasize God’s sovereignty and permission.4 The temptation would test the true disposition of the hearts of the Israelites, and while the temptation was genuinely dangerous, the overcoming of that temptation would strengthen the people in their love of God and obedience to his commandments. The sovereignty of God is also seen in another manner: the performance of a sign or wonder did not mean that the gods advocated by a false prophet or dreamer had any real power, but only that the true God would permit certain things to happen in order to test and thereby strengthen his people. Moses then stresses once again God’s basic requirements of his people: with v. 5, compare 10:12–13 and commentary.”

Craigie, Peter C.. The Book of Deuteronomy (The New International Commentary on the Old Testament) (p. 223). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition.

“The temptation to worship other gods need not be culturally driven from the ‘outside’. Chapter 13 warns us that the most sinister enemy can lie ‘within’, beginning with Israel’s religious leadership (in this case the prophet), family members and close friends, and finally a whole town. Each must be resisted and shown no pity, the penalty being death itself. This only served to reveal the radical seriousness of the sin of idolatry as a total breach of covenant loyalty and love towards the Lord, who alone had saved Israel from the slavery of Egypt.”

Woods, Edward J.. Deuteronomy: An Introduction and Commentary (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries Book 5) . InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.

The DEUTERONOMY shelf in Jeff’s library.

Day: December 3, 2025

Deuteronomy 13

Deuteronomy 13

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