Chapter Thirteen

Protection of the Israelites from false prophets and others who might lead them into idol worship.

Deuteronomy 13:1. If a prophet arises among you, or a dreamer of dreams, and gives you a sign or a wonder, Deuteronomy 13:2. and the sign or wonder comes to pass that he spoke to you, and he says: “Let us go after other gods, which you have not known, and let us serve them” — Deuteronomy 13:3. do not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for through this 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; Deuteronomy 13:4. You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, keep His commandments and obey His voice, and serve Him and hold fast to Him; (Heb. 2–5). The gift of working miracles is not yet an unmistakable sign of the divine mission of the miracle-worker. Miracles were also performed by the Egyptian sorcerers (Exod 7:11 and following), and the last enemy of the human race, the antichrist, will also perform great signs and wonders (Matt 24:24; 2 Thess 2:9). “Let us learn from this not to pay attention to signs when the one performing them teaches what is contrary to true religion” (Theodoret, on Deuteronomy, question 12). The primary distinguishing mark of the divine mission of a miracle-worker and preacher is the content and tone of his preaching. If a person preaches apostasy from the God who is confessed, he is not a messenger of God (Gal 1:8).

Deuteronomy 13:5. but that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has urged you to turn away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, wishing to make you stray from the way that the Lord your God commanded you to walk; so you shall purge the evil from your midst. Deuteronomy 13:6. If your brother, [the son of your father or] the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter, or the wife of your bosom, 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” — Deuteronomy 13:7. the gods of the peoples who are around you, whether near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other — Deuteronomy 13:8. you shall not consent to him or listen to him; and your eye shall not pity him, you shall not spare him nor shield him, Deuteronomy 13:9. but you shall kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people; Deuteronomy 13:10. and you shall stone him to death, 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; Deuteronomy 13:11. And all Israel will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such evil in your midst. Deuteronomy 13:12. If you hear in one of your cities, which the Lord your God is giving you to dwell in, Deuteronomy 13:13. that worthless men have gone out from among you and have led astray the inhabitants of their city, saying: “Let us go and serve other gods, which you have not known” — Deuteronomy 13:14. then you shall inquire, investigate, and ask carefully; and if it is true and certain that this abomination has been done among you, Deuteronomy 13:15. you shall strike down the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, devoting it to destruction and everything in it, and its livestock, with the edge of the sword; Deuteronomy 13:16. and all its spoil you shall gather into the middle of its 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 of ruins forever and shall never be rebuilt; Deuteronomy 13:17. and nothing of what is devoted to destruction shall cling to your hand, so that the Lord may turn from His fierce anger and show you mercy and have compassion on you and multiply you, [as He promised you,] as He swore to your fathers, Deuteronomy 13:18. if you listen to the voice of the Lord your God, keeping all His commandments that I am commanding you today, doing what is [good and] right in the sight of the Lord your God. (Heb. 6–19). A false prophet and any other person who preaches apostasy from God in favor of pagan deities must be put to death; a city found guilty of preaching apostasy must be subjected to the complete destruction of its inhabitants together with everything in the city, and must never be rebuilt — in accordance with the precise meaning of the laws concerning one who leads others into idol worship. Serving as a punitive measure, the law concerning those who lead others astray has at the same time a preventive character: “And all Israel will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such evil in your midst” (v. 11). “So you shall purge the evil from your midst” (v. 5; cf. Deut 19:19-20).