If a Prophet Says, Let Us Go
1 If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, “Let’s go after other gods” (which you have not known) “and let’s serve them,” 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet, or to that dreamer of dreams; for Yahweh your God is testing you, to know whether you love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 You shall walk after Yahweh your God, fear him, keep his commandments, and obey his voice. You shall serve him, and cling to him. 5 That prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death, because he has spoken rebellion against Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to draw you aside out of the way which Yahweh your God commanded you to walk in. So you shall remove the evil from among you. 6 If your brother, 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’s go and serve other gods”—which you have not known, you, nor your fathers; 7 of the gods of the peoples who are around you, near to you, or far off from you, from the one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth— 8 you shall not consent to him nor listen to him; neither shall your eye pity him, neither shall you spare, neither shall you conceal him; 9 but you shall surely kill him. Your hand shall be first on him to put him to death, and afterwards the hands of all the people. 10 You shall stone him to death with stones, because he has sought to draw you away from Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 11 All Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall not do any more wickedness like this among you. 12 If you hear about one of your cities, which Yahweh your God gives you to dwell there, that 13 certain wicked fellows have gone out from among you and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city, saying, “Let’s go and serve other gods,” which you have not known, 14 then you shall inquire, investigate, and ask diligently. Behold, if it is true, and the thing certain, that such abomination was done among you, 15 you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, with all that is therein and its livestock, with the edge of the sword. 16 You shall gather all its plunder into the middle of its street, and shall burn with fire the city, with all of its plunder, to Yahweh your God. It shall be a heap forever. It shall not be built again. 17 Nothing of the devoted thing shall cling to your hand, that Yahweh may turn from the fierceness of his anger and show you mercy, and have compassion on you and multiply you, as he has sworn to your fathers, 18 when you listen to Yahweh your God’s voice, to keep all his commandments which I command you today, to do that which is right in Yahweh your God’s eyes.
A miracle that works is no credential if the message is wrong, and the closest relationships are named as the likeliest route.
The chapter treats three sources of seduction, and takes them in order of increasing intimacy.
The first is a prophet, and the case is constructed to be as hard as possible. He gives a sign or a wonder — and the sign or the wonder comes to pass Deuteronomy 13:2. The prediction is accurate. The power is real. And the message is let's go after other gods.
The ruling is that none of that matters: you shall not listen Deuteronomy 13:3.
This is the most important test in the book, because it settles what authenticates a message. Not results, not power, not accuracy of prediction. The content is judged first, and a wonder that recommends another god has disqualified itself no matter what it can do. The New Testament says the same, warning of signs that would deceive if that were possible Matthew 24:24.
And the reason given for allowing it to happen is startling: for Yahweh your God is testing you, to know whether you love Yahweh your God with all your heart Deuteronomy 13:3. A working miracle is permitted as an examination. Loyalty that has never been offered an alternative has not been tested.
The second source is family, and the list is deliberately painful: a brother, a son, a daughter, the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul Deuteronomy 13:6. These are the five people whose word carries most, and the approach is described as secret.
The third is a whole town Deuteronomy 13:12–13, and here the procedure slows down. Before anything is done, you shall inquire, investigate, and ask diligently Deuteronomy 13:14. Three verbs of examination, and the action follows only if it is true, and the thing certain. A rumor about a city is not a warrant.
The penalties in this chapter are the severest in the law and there is no way to make them comfortable. What can be said is what the text itself says about the stakes: this is a covenant nation whose existence is its worship, and enticement to another god is treated as treason rather than as opinion.
Two details are worth marking. The one who accuses a family member must be first on him Deuteronomy 13:9 — no anonymous denunciation, and the accuser bears the weight of what he has started. And nothing from the destroyed city may be kept: nothing of the devoted thing shall cling to your hand Deuteronomy 13:17, which removes the profit motive from the whole procedure.
The stated purpose of that last clause is mercy — that Yahweh may turn from the fierceness of his anger and show you mercy, and have compassion on you.
settled What this mark means