Moses addresses three scenarios of temptation to idolatry: a prophet who performs signs, a close family member who entices privately, and an entire city that turns away. Each requires the death penalty.
What Makes This Chapter Remarkable
The chapter escalates from public seduction (a prophet) to intimate betrayal (spouse, child, friend) to communal apostasy (a whole city). The most disturbing case is the middle one: 'your brother, your son, your daughter, the wife of your bosom, your friend who is as your own soul' (v. 6). Deuteronomy lists every intimate relationship to eliminate any excuse for mercy toward idolatry. The theological principle is absolute: no sign, no relationship, no community consensus can authorize worship of other gods.
Translation Friction
The phrase benei veliyya'al (v. 14, 'worthless individuals') is a compound that became a proper name (Belial) in later literature. We rendered it descriptively rather than as a name. The verb uvi'arta hara (v. 5, 'purge the evil') recurs throughout Deuteronomy as a judicial refrain — we translated it consistently. The verse numbering differs from KJV: Hebrew 13:1 = KJV 12:32.
Connections
The false prophet test recurs in 18:20-22 with different criteria. The city-under-ban echoes the cherem of Joshua 6-7. Paul may allude to the 'purge the evil' formula in 1 Corinthians 5:13. The intimate-betrayer case grounds Jesus's warning that discipleship may divide families (Matthew 10:35-37).
Everything I am commanding you — guard it and carry it out. Do not add anything to it, and do not subtract anything from it.
KJV If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,
Notes & Key Terms
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Key Terms
לֹא־תֹסֵףlo tosef
"do not add"—do not add, do not increase, do not augment
The prohibition against adding to God's commands prevents human supplementation of divine law. Together with 'do not subtract,' it establishes the sufficiency and completeness of the revealed Torah — a principle foundational to Jewish and Christian views of scriptural authority.
Translator Notes
This verse is numbered 13:1 in the Hebrew text but 12:32 in English Bibles (KJV). The Hebrew text reads: 'Everything I command you — that you shall guard to do. Do not add to it and do not subtract from it.' The KJV text shown corresponds to the English Bible's 13:1 (Hebrew 13:2). The rendering follows the Hebrew source text. The prohibition lo tosef alav velo tigra mimmennu ('do not add to it and do not subtract from it') establishes the canon principle: God's commands are complete and authoritative as given. This principle is later echoed in Revelation 22:18-19. The petuchah paragraph marker signals a major section break — what follows in the Hebrew text is a new topic.
If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and presents you with a sign or a wonder,
KJV 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;
Notes & Key Terms
2 terms
Key Terms
נָבִיאnavi
"prophet"—prophet, spokesperson, one who speaks for God, proclaimer
From a root meaning 'to call, to proclaim.' A navi claims to speak on God's behalf. This passage establishes that prophetic status alone is insufficient — the content of the message must be tested against covenant loyalty.
אוֹתot
"sign"—sign, signal, omen, mark, token, evidence
A confirming indication, often supernatural. The critical teaching here is that signs alone cannot validate a prophet — theological fidelity to YHWH is the decisive criterion.
Translator Notes
Hebrew 13:2 (English 13:1). The chapter addresses three sources of enticement to idolatry: prophets (vv 2-6), family and close friends (vv 7-12), and entire cities (vv 13-19). The navi ('prophet') and cholem chalom ('dreamer of dreams') represent two modes of claimed divine communication. The phrase natan elekha ot o mofet ('gives you a sign or wonder') acknowledges that the false prophet may actually produce supernatural phenomena — the test is not whether the sign works but where it leads.
and the sign or wonder actually comes true, but then he says, 'Let us follow other gods' — gods you have not known — 'and let us serve them,'
KJV Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Hebrew 13:3 (English 13:2). The scenario is startling: the predicted sign actually comes true (uva ha'ot vehamofet — 'the sign and the wonder comes to pass'), yet the prophet's message leads to idolatry. The phrase elohim acherim asher lo yeda'tam ('other gods that you have not known') uses 'known' in the covenantal sense — these are gods with whom Israel has no relationship, no history, no covenant bond. The seductive logic is: 'My prediction came true, therefore my theology is correct.' Moses dismantles this reasoning in the next verse.
you must not listen to what that prophet or dreamer says, because the LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you truly love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
KJV Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Hebrew 13:4 (English 13:3). The reason for allowing false prophets to perform real signs is breathtaking: ki menasseh YHWH Eloheikhem etkhem ('because the LORD your God is testing you'). God permits supernatural deception as a loyalty test. The criterion is not intellectual — 'can you detect the fraud?' — but relational: hayishkhem ohavim et YHWH ('do you love the LORD?'). The test echoes the Shema (Deut 6:5): love with all your heart (levav) and all your soul (nefesh). A sign that contradicts covenant loyalty must be rejected regardless of its apparent supernatural validation.
The LORD your God is the one you must follow. Him you must revere. His commandments you must keep. His voice you must obey. Him you must serve, and to Him you must hold fast.
KJV And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.
Notes & Key Terms
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Key Terms
תִדְבָּקוּןtidbaqun
"hold fast"—cling, hold fast, adhere, bond, stick to, be devoted
The verb davaq describes intimate, unbreakable attachment. Used for marriage in Genesis 2:24, it here describes the desired relationship between Israel and God — not mere compliance but deep, clinging devotion.
Translator Notes
Hebrew 13:5 (English 13:4). Six verbs define covenant loyalty in a powerful ascending sequence: telekhu ('follow/walk after'), tira'u ('revere/fear'), tishmoru ('keep/guard'), tishma'u ('obey/hear'), ta'avodu ('serve/worship'), and tidbaqun ('hold fast/cling'). The final verb davaq ('cling, hold fast') is the same verb used for marital union in Genesis 2:24 — covenant loyalty to God is intimate, not merely formal. The emphatic word order places YHWH first in every clause: 'After the LORD... Him you shall fear... His commands... His voice... Him you shall serve... to Him you shall cling.'
That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he spoke rebellion against the LORD your God — the one who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery — trying to push you off the path the LORD your God commanded you to walk. You must purge the evil from your midst.
KJV If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which 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;
More than mere disagreement — sarah is active incitement to abandon the covenant. The false prophet's crime is not incorrect prediction but spiritual sedition against YHWH.
וּבִעַרְתָּ הָרָעuvi'arta hara
"purge the evil"—burn out, purge, remove, eliminate, eradicate
From the root ba'ar ('to burn, to consume'). The metaphor is of burning out an infection or clearing brush — evil must be actively removed from the community, not merely condemned.
Translator Notes
Hebrew 13:6 (English 13:5). The charge is dibber sarah ('he spoke rebellion/sedition') — the verb sarah implies active turning aside, deviation from the established path. The death penalty reflects the severity of the offense: the false prophet attacks the very foundation of Israel's existence. Two exodus titles reinforce what is at stake: hamotsi etkhem me'erets mitsrayim ('the one who brought you out of Egypt') and hapoddekha mibbeit avadim ('the one who redeemed you from the house of slavery'). The formula uvi'arta hara miqqirbekha ('purge the evil from your midst') appears seven times in Deuteronomy, establishing a pattern for communal purification.
If your brother — your own mother's son — or your son or daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your closest friend who is like your own soul, entices you in secret, saying, 'Let us go worship other gods' — gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known,
KJV Namely, of the gods of the people which 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;
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Hebrew 13:7 (English 13:6). The second scenario shifts from public prophets to intimate relationships. The list escalates in emotional closeness: brother (achikha ben immekha — 'your brother, your mother's son,' emphasizing the closest sibling bond through shared mother), son, daughter, wife (eshet cheiqekha — 'wife of your bosom,' the most intimate human relationship), and friend (re'akha asher kenafshekha — 'your friend who is like your own soul,' echoing the David-Jonathan bond). The enticement comes baseter ('in secret') — privately, where social pressure cannot counter it. The emotional difficulty of the following command is intentionally heightened by this list.
Hebrew 13:8 (English 13:7). The scope of the prohibition extends geographically: the gods of nearby peoples (haqerovim elekha) and distant peoples (harchoqim mimmekha), from one end of the earth to the other (miqqetseh ha'arets ve'ad qetseh ha'arets). No foreign god is exempt, regardless of its geographic origin. This eliminates any argument that a particular deity's distance or exoticism might make it acceptable.
you must not yield to him or listen to him. Your eye must not show pity, you must not spare him, and you must not shield him.
KJV But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Hebrew 13:9 (English 13:8). Five prohibitions stack up with relentless force: lo toveh ('do not consent/yield'), lo tishma ('do not listen'), lo tachos einkha ('your eye must not show pity'), lo tachmol ('do not spare'), and lo tekhassseh ('do not conceal/cover for him'). Each prohibition blocks a natural emotional response to a loved one in danger. The verbs move from external action (consenting, listening) to internal emotion (pity, compassion) to protective concealment — every avenue of leniency is sealed shut.
Rather, you must certainly put him to death. Your own hand must strike first to execute him, and then the hands of all the people.
KJV And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Hebrew 13:10 (English 13:9). The infinitive absolute harog tahargennu ('killing you shall kill him' — you must certainly kill him) intensifies the command. The requirement that yadkha tihyeh bo barishonah ('your hand shall be on him first') is extraordinary: the person who received the private enticement must personally initiate the execution. This prevents anonymous denunciation and ensures that the accuser bears full moral weight for the action. It also tests whether the accuser's loyalty to God truly overrides personal attachment.
Stone him to death, because he sought to lure you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
KJV And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Hebrew 13:11 (English 13:10). The method is stoning (seqalto va'avanim vamet — 'stone him with stones and he shall die'). Stoning was a communal form of execution, involving the entire community and preventing any single individual from bearing sole responsibility for the death. The crime is defined as seeking to lehadichakha me'al YHWH ('to push you away from the LORD') — the verb hadach means to drive away, thrust out, seduce off course. The exodus formula appears again, grounding the severity of the penalty in the gravity of what God has done: He rescued them from slavery, and anyone who undermines that rescued relationship commits a capital offense.
All Israel will hear and be afraid, and no one will do such a wicked thing among you again.
KJV If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities, which the LORD thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying,
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Hebrew 13:12 (English 13:11). The public execution serves a deterrent function: vekhol Yisrael yishme'u veyira'un ('all Israel will hear and they will fear'). The verb yira'un ('they will fear') uses the same root as 'the fear of the LORD' — the terror produced by the execution mirrors the reverent fear that God Himself commands. The phrase velo yosifu la'asot ('they will not continue to do') expresses the desired outcome: complete cessation of this behavior. The setumah break marks the transition to the third scenario.
If you hear it reported about one of your towns that the LORD your God is giving you to live in,
KJV Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known;
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Hebrew 13:13 (English 13:12). The third scenario is the most extreme: an entire city has been led into idolatry. The phrase ki tishma be'achat arekha ('if you hear in one of your cities') introduces the situation as a report — the information comes to the community's attention rather than being directly witnessed. This begins the most detailed judicial procedure in the chapter.
that worthless individuals have emerged from among you and have led the residents of their city astray, saying, 'Let us go serve other gods' — gods you have not known —
KJV Then shalt thou enquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you;
Notes & Key Terms
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Key Terms
בְּנֵי־בְלִיַּעַלbenei veliyya'al
"worthless individuals"—worthless men, wicked ones, base fellows, sons of destruction
A compound term meaning 'sons of worthlessness.' In biblical usage it describes people who act destructively against the community and against God. The KJV's 'children of Belial' preserves the Hebrew term but obscures its meaning for modern readers.
Translator Notes
Hebrew 13:14 (English 13:13). The instigators are called benei veliyya'al ('sons of worthlessness/wickedness'). The term beliyya'al is debated: it may derive from beli ('without') + ya'al ('value/profit'), yielding 'worthless ones,' or it may be an older term meaning 'swallowers' (destructive forces). In later Jewish and Christian literature, Belial becomes a name for Satan (2 Cor 6:15). The verb vayyadichu ('they led astray, they seduced') is the same root (nadach) used throughout this chapter for spiritual enticement — these individuals have successfully corrupted an entire city.
then you must investigate, examine, and inquire thoroughly. If it is confirmed as true — if this abomination has indeed been committed among you —
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Hebrew 13:15 (English 13:14). Three verbs of investigation are required before action: darashta ('you shall investigate/search'), chaqarta ('you shall examine/probe'), and sha'alta ('you shall inquire/ask'). The adverb heitev ('thoroughly, well') intensifies all three. Only after exhaustive due process — vehineh emet nakhon hadavar ('and behold, it is true, the matter is established') — may punishment proceed. This is one of the strongest due process requirements in ancient law. The word to'evah ('abomination') labels the crime.
you must strike down the inhabitants of that city with the sword, devoting it to total destruction — everything in it and its livestock — with the sword.
KJV 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, for the LORD thy God: and it shall be an heap for ever; it shall not be built again.
Notes & Key Terms
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Key Terms
הַחֲרֵםhacharim
"devoting to total destruction"—devote to destruction, ban, place under the ban, consecrate for destruction
The cherem is not ordinary warfare but sacred destruction — everything is 'devoted' to God by being destroyed. Nothing may be taken as plunder. The concept is that the destroyed items are, in a paradoxical sense, offered to God rather than consumed by the victors.
Translator Notes
Hebrew 13:16 (English 13:15). The punishment is cherem ('total destruction, devotion to destruction') — the same term used for the conquest of Jericho (Josh 6:17). The infinitive absolute hakkeh takkeh ('striking you shall strike') intensifies the command. The cherem encompasses everything: residents (yoshvei ha'ir), all possessions (kol asher bah), and livestock (behemtah). An apostate Israelite city receives the same treatment as a Canaanite city under the ban — covenant betrayal transforms insiders into outsiders.
Gather all its plunder into the center of its public square and burn the entire city and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the LORD your God. It will remain a permanent ruin, never to be rebuilt.
KJV And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand: that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and shew thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers;
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Hebrew 13:17 (English 13:16). The procedure mirrors a burnt offering (olah): all the plunder is gathered into the center of the town square (rekhavah) and burned kalil ('completely, as a whole offering'). The phrase kalil laYHWH Elohekha ('entirely for the LORD your God') uses sacrificial language — the destroyed city becomes, in effect, a massive burnt offering. The final verdict is devastating: tel olam lo tibbane od ('a permanent ruin, it shall not be rebuilt again'). The tel ('ruin mound') will stand as a permanent monument to the consequences of apostasy.
Nothing from the items placed under the ban may stick to your hands, so that the LORD will turn from His fierce anger and show you compassion — He will have mercy on you and multiply you, just as He swore to your ancestors.
KJV When thou shalt hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of the LORD thy God.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Hebrew 13:18 (English 13:17). The prohibition velo yidbaq beyadkha me'umah min hacherem ('nothing from the devoted things shall cling to your hand') prevents anyone from profiting from the destruction. Taking plunder from a cherem city would contaminate the person — the verb davaq ('cling, adhere') portrays the banned items as spiritually adhesive. Obedience to the cherem produces divine relenting: yashuv YHWH mecharone appo ('the LORD will turn from His fierce anger'). The verbs rachamim ('compassion') and richamkha ('He will show you mercy') share the root rechem ('womb'), connecting God's compassion to maternal tenderness.
— provided you listen to the voice of the LORD your God, keeping all His commandments that I am commanding you today, doing what is right in the eyes of the LORD your God.
KJV [KJV verse offset]
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Hebrew 13:19 (English 13:18). This verse has no direct KJV equivalent at this verse number due to the one-verse offset between Hebrew and English chapter divisions (Hebrew 13 has 19 verses; English 13 has 18). The verse functions as a conditional conclusion: the promises of verse 18 (compassion, mercy, multiplication) are contingent on obedience — ki tishma beqol YHWH ('if you listen to the voice of the LORD'). The chapter ends where Deuteronomy consistently lands: covenant blessings flow from covenant faithfulness. The setumah marks the end of this legislative section.