SAB: Deuteronomy 13

Deuteronomy
Introduction
A topical outline

Chapters

Commandments

Injustice

Intolerance

Good Stuff

Women

Sex

Science and History

Interpretation

Prophecy

Language

Homosexuality

Politics

Drunk With Blood:
God's Killings in the Bible
-Deuteronomy

Get the SAB on CD

Deuteronomy 13

Kill dreamers and prophets whose signs and wonders come true

13:1-5

13:1 If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,

Moses continues his instructions to the Israelites, saying,

If there is a prophet or dreamer among you who gives you a sign or a wonder,

13:2 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;

And that sign or wonder comes to pass,
and he asks you to follow other gods which you haven't known,

13:3 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.

13:4 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.

Don't listen to him.
God has sent him to test you to see whether you love him. [1]

13:5 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.

And you must kill that prophet or dreamer. [2]

Kill your family and friends if they try to change your religious beliefs

13:6-11

13:6 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;

13:7 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;

If your brother, son, daughter, wife, or friend asks you to serve another god, one which you haven't known,

13:8 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:

Don't agree with him,
Or pity, or spare, or conceal him.

13:9 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.

Rather, you must kill him. [3]
Your hand must be the first to strike him, and then the rest of the people.

13:10 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.

You must stone him with stones until he is dead.

13:11 And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you.

So that everyone will hear and fear, and there will be no more wickedness among you.

If a city has people who believe in other gods, kill everyone in that city

13:12-18

13:12 If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities, which the LORD thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying,

13:13 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;

13:14 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;

If you hear of a city where people say, "Let's serve other gods", gods that you haven't known, investigate to see if it is true.

13:15 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.

If you find that it is true, kill everyone in the city (even the cattle) and burn it down. [4]

13:16 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, for the LORD thy God: and it shall be an heap for ever; it shall not be built again.

13:17 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;

13:18 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.

By so doing, God's fierce anger will turn away from you and he will be merciful to you. [5]

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Notes

God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. (v.3)
Does God know what is in everyone's heart?
Does God know everything?
That prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death. (v.5)
If someone teaches a new and different religious belief with signs and wonders, then that person must be put to death.
(Then it was right to kill Jesus?)
Thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death ... Thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die. (vv.9-10)
If Bible-believers followed this one, they would have to kill many of their own family and friends.
How should nonbelievers be treated?
What the Bible says about non-Christians, stoning, and religious tolerance

The Watchtower (May 15, 2012) uses this passage to force Jehovah's Witnesses to shun (disfellowship) apostates (former J-dubs) in their own family.
If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities ... men ... saying, Let us go and serve other gods ... Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city. (vv.12-15)
Watch out Salt Lake City!
Martin Luther used these verses to justify burning the synagogues and homes of the Jews. On the Jews and Their Lies (Part 11)

What the Bible says about Genocide
That the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and shew thee mercy (v.17)
If you mercilessly commit complete genocide on an entire city of non-believers, God will be merciful toward you.


If a prophet gives you a sign or a wonder and asks you to go after other gods, don't listen to him.: If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, 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; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams. 13:1-3
Kill prophets that give you a sign or a wonder.: If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, 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 ... that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death. 13:1-5
Walk after God.: Ye shall walk after the LORD your God. 13:4a
Fear God.: Fear him. 13:4b
Obey all the commandments.: Keep his commandments. 13:4c
Obey God's voice.: Obey his voice. 13:4d
Serve God.: Serve him. 13:4e
Cleave to God.: Cleave unto him. 13:4f
If your family or friends try to get you to worship another god, stone them to death.: 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; 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 ... 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. And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die. 13:6-10
Don't consent to, listen to, pity, spare, or conceal your family or friends as you stone them to death.: 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: 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. And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die. 13:8-10
If you hear about a city in which some of the inhabitants are encouraging others to believe in other gods, then find out if it is true.: If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities, which the Lord thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying, 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; Then shalt thou enquire, and make search, and ask diligently. 13:12-14
If you find that it is true, kill all the people in the city, along with the animals.: And, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you; 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. 13:14-15
Then burn the city along with the spoil, and never rebuild it again.: 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. 13:16
Don't cleat to the cursed thing.: 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. 13:17

Dwindling in Unbelief: When should you kill a prophet? (Deuteronomy 13:1-5); Biblical Justice: Everybody must get stoned (13:6-10); When to Stone Your Whole Family (13:6-10); Why Christian "Marriage" is Wrong (13:6-10); Things on which the Bible and Quran agree (13:6-15); Holy War and the Holy Father: the Bible vs the Quran (13:6-10); The Christopher Hitchens / Douglas Wilson debate (13:6-10); Hillary Clinton: "I think the whole Bible is real." (13:6-10); Douglas Wilson and I now agree on pretty much everything (13:6-10); Applying Karen Armstrong�s new ancient principle of scriptural interpretation (13:6-10); Tebow 136: God's message from last night's game (13:6-10); Help begin the collapse of Catholic morality: Masturbate! (13:6-10); So the Jehovah's Witnesses came to my door this morning... (13:6-10); Bill Maher: Christian Rock Blows Hard (with Bible verses) (13:12-13)
YouTube: Edward Current: I hate phony Christians (Deuteronomy 13:10)
Slate Blogs the Bible by David Plotz: Dear Abby, My Wife Is an Idol-Worshipper. What Should I Do?
Christian Responses: Bible.ca: The Expository Files (13:6-10)