Deuteronomy 13

1 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 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 not more any such wickedness as this is in the midst of thee.

12 If thou shalt hear tell concerning one of thy cities, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to dwell there, saying,13 Certain 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, 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 every whit, unto Jehovah thy God: and it shall be a 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.

Deuteronomy 13

Idolatry and False Prophets

1 Suppose a prophet or one who foretells by dreamst should appear among you and show you a sign or wonder,t2 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,t for the Lord your God will be testing you to see if you love himt with all your mind and being.t4 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,t 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 out evil from within.t

False Prophets in the Family

6 Suppose your own full brother,t your son, your daughter, your beloved wife, or your closest friend should seduce you secretly and encourage you to go and serve other godst that neither you nor your ancestorst have previously known,t7 the gods of the surrounding people (whether near you or far from you, from one end of the eartht 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!t Your own hand must be the first to strike him,t and then the hands of the whole community.10 You must stone him to deaths 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.s

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, that13 some evil peoplet have departed from among you to entice the inhabitants of their cities,s saying, “Let’s go and serve other gods” (whom you have not known before).t14 You must investigate thoroughly and inquire carefully. If it is indeed true that such a disgraceful thing is being done among you,s15 you must by all meanst slaughter the inhabitants of that city with the sword; annihilatet with the sword everyone in it, as well as the livestock.16 You must gather all of its plunder into the middle of the plazat and burn the city and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. It will be an abandoned ruint forever – it must never be rebuilt again.17 You must not take for yourself anything that has been placed under judgment.t 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 givingt you today and doing what is rights before him.t