Home Master Index
←Prev   Deuteronomy 13 as rendered by/in  Next→ 


13:1  Prophets or ·those who tell the future with dreams [L dreamers of dreams] might come to you and ·say they will show [L give] you a sign or a ·miracle [wonder].
13:2  The sign or ·miracle [wonder] might even happen, and then they might say, “Let’s serve other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let’s ·worship [L go after] them.”
13:3  But you must not listen to those prophets or dreamers. The Lord your God is testing you, to ·find out [know] if you love him with ·your whole being [L all your heart/mind and all your soul].
13:4  Serve only the Lord your God. ·Respect [Fear] him, keep his commands, and ·obey him [L listen to his voice]. Serve him and ·be loyal [cling] to him.
13:5  The prophets or dreamers must be killed, because they said you should turn against the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt and ·saved [ransomed; redeemed] you from the ·land where you were slaves [L house of bondage]. They tried to turn you from ·doing what [L the way] the Lord your God commanded you to ·do [go]. You must ·get rid of [banish; purge] the evil among you.
13:6  Someone might try to ·lead you to serve other gods [L secretly entice you]—it might be your brother, your son or daughter, the wife you ·love [embrace], or a ·close [intimate] friend. The person might say, “Let’s go and worship other gods.” (These are gods that neither you nor your ·ancestors [fathers] have known,
13:7  gods of the people who live around you, either nearby or far away, from one end of the ·land [or earth] to the other.)
13:8  Do not ·give in to [agree with; consent to] such people. Do not listen or ·feel sorry for [L let your eyes look compassionately on] them, and do not ·let them go free [pity them] or ·protect [shield] them.
13:9  You must ·put them to death [kill them]. ·You must be the first one to start [L Your own hand will be the first on them] to kill them, and then ·everyone else must join in [L the hand of all the people].
13:10  You must ·throw stones at them until they die [stone them to death], because they tried to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, ·where you were slaves [L the house of bondage].
13:11  Then everyone in Israel will hear about this and be afraid, and no one among you will ever do such an evil thing again.
13:12  The Lord your God is giving you cities in which to live, and you might hear something about one of them. Someone might say
13:13  that ·evil people [worthless people; scoundrels] have moved in among you. And they might lead the people of that city away from God, saying, “Let’s go and ·worship [L serve] other gods.” (These are gods you have not known.)
13:14  Then you must ask about it, ·looking into [investigating] the matter and checking carefully whether it is true. If it is proved that a ·hateful [detestable; abhorrent; abominable] thing has happened among you,
13:15  you must ·kill [L strike] with a sword everyone who lives in that city. ·Destroy the city completely and kill everyone in it [Devote that city to the Lord; 20:15–18; Josh. 6:17], as well as the animals, with a sword.
13:16  Gather up ·everything those people owned [L all its plunder], and put it in the middle of the city square. Then completely burn the city and ·everything they owned [L all its plunder] as a burnt offering [Lev. 1:1–17] to the Lord your God. That city should never be rebuilt; let it be ·ruined [a ruin heap] forever.
13:17  Don’t ·keep for yourselves [L grasp in your hand] any of the ·things found in that city [L devoted things; 20:15–18; Josh. 6:17], so the Lord will not be angry anymore. He will give you ·mercy and feel sorry for you, and he [L …mercy/compassion, and his mercy/compassion] will make your nation grow larger, as he ·promised [swore] to your ·ancestors [fathers].
13:18  You will have ·obeyed [L listened to the voice of] the Lord your God by keeping all his commands that I am ·giving [commanding] to you today, and you will be doing what ·the Lord says is right [L is right/virtuous in the eyes of the Lord].