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13 If there arise among you a navi, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee an ot (sign) or a mofet (wonder),

(13:3) And the ot (sign) or the mofet (wonder) come to pass, whereof he spoke unto thee, saying, Let us go after elohim acherim, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;

(13:4) Thou shalt not give heed unto the devarim of that navi, or that dreamer of dreams; for Hashem Eloheichem is testing you, to know whether ye love Hashem Eloheichem with all your lev and with all your nefesh.

(13:5) Ye shall walk after Hashem Eloheichem, and fear Him, and be shomer over His mitzvot, and obey His voice, and ye shall serve Him, and have deveykus unto Him.

(13:6) And that navi, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from Hashem Eloheichem, which brought you out of Eretz Mitzrayim, and redeemed you out of the bais avadim, to entice thee from HaDerech which Hashem Eloheicha commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put harah away from the midst of thee.

(13:7) If achicha (thy brother), the ben of thy em, or thy ben, or thy bat, or the eshet kheyk of thee (wife of thy bosom), or thy friend, which is as thine own nefesh, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve elohim acherim, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy avot;

(13:8) Namely, of the elohei ha’amim which are round about you, near unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one ketzeh ha’aretz (end of the earth) even unto the other ketzeh ha’aretz;

(13:9) Thou shalt not yield unto him, nor give heed unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him;

(13:10) But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of kol HaAm.

10 (13:11) And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from Hashem Eloheicha, which brought thee out of Eretz Mitzrayim, from the bais avadim.

11 (13:12) And kol Yisroel shall hear, and fear, and shall not again do such wickedness as this is among you.

12 (13:13) If thou shalt hear say in one of thy towns, which Hashem Eloheicha hath given thee to dwell there, saying,

13 (13:14) Certain men, the bnei Beliyaal (reprobate, worthless men), are gone out from among you, and have enticed the inhabitants of their town, saying, Let us go and serve elohim acherim, which ye have not known;

14 (13:15) Then shalt thou inquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, hinei, if it be emes, and the thing certain, that such to’evah (abomination, detestable action) is wrought among you;

15 (13:16) Thou shalt surely strike the inhabitants of that town with the edge of the cherev, in cherem destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the cherev.

16 (13:17) And thou shalt gather all the plunder of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with eish the town, and all the plunder thereof completely for Hashem Eloheicha; and it shall be a tel olam (heap forever); it shall not be built again.

17 (13:18) And there shall cling none of the accursed thing to thine hand; that Hashem 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 Avoteicha;

18 (13:19) When thou shalt give heed to the voice of Hashem Eloheicha, to be shomer over all His mitzvot which I command thee today, to do that which is yashar (right, straight) in the eyes of Hashem Eloheicha.

Worshiping Other Gods

13 [a]If a prophet,(A) or one who foretells by dreams,(B) appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, and if the sign(C) or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, “Let us follow other gods”(D) (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” you must not listen to the words of that prophet(E) or dreamer.(F) The Lord your God is testing(G) you to find out whether you love(H) him with all your heart and with all your soul. It is the Lord your God you must follow,(I) and him you must revere.(J) Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast(K) to him. That prophet or dreamer must be put to death(L) for inciting rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. That prophet or dreamer tried to turn(M) you from the way the Lord your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil(N) from among you.

If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices(O) you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods”(P) (gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), do not yield(Q) to them or listen to them. Show them no pity.(R) Do not spare them or shield them. You must certainly put them to death.(S) Your hand(T) must be the first in putting them to death, and then the hands of all the people. 10 Stone them to death, because they tried to turn you away(U) from the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 11 Then all Israel will hear and be afraid,(V) and no one among you will do such an evil thing again.

12 If you hear it said about one of the towns the Lord your God is giving you to live in 13 that troublemakers(W) have arisen among you and have led the people of their town astray, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods you have not known), 14 then you must inquire, probe and investigate it thoroughly.(X) And if it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done among you,(Y) 15 you must certainly put to the sword all who live in that town. You must destroy it completely,[b](Z) both its people and its livestock.(AA) 16 You are to gather all the plunder of the town into the middle of the public square and completely burn the town(AB) and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God.(AC) That town is to remain a ruin(AD) forever, never to be rebuilt, 17 and none of the condemned things[c] are to be found in your hands. Then the Lord will turn from his fierce anger,(AE) will show you mercy,(AF) and will have compassion(AG) on you. He will increase your numbers,(AH) as he promised(AI) on oath to your ancestors— 18 because you obey the Lord your God by keeping all his commands that I am giving you today and doing what is right(AJ) in his eyes.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 13:1 In Hebrew texts 13:1-18 is numbered 13:2-19.
  2. Deuteronomy 13:15 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  3. Deuteronomy 13:17 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.