Deuteronomy 13

Shun Idolatry

1“12If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ‘3Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ 3you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the Lord your God is 4testing you to find out if 5you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 46You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and 7cling to Him. 5But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be 8put to death, because he has 9counseled 10rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of 11slavery, 12to seduce you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. 13So you shall purge the evil from among you.

6“14If your brother, your mother’s son, or your son or daughter, or the wife 15you cherish, or your friend who is as your own soul, entice you secretly, saying, ‘16Let us go and serve other gods’ (whom neither you nor your fathers have known, 7of the gods of the peoples who are around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other end), 817you shall not yield to him or listen to him; 18and your eye shall not pity him, nor shall you spare or conceal him. 919But you shall surely kill him; 20your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. 10So you shall stone him 21to death because he has sought 22to seduce you from the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of 23slavery. 11Then 24all Israel will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such a wicked thing among you.

12“If you hear in one of your cities, which the Lord your God is giving you to live in, anyone saying that 13some worthless men have gone out from among you and have seduced the inhabitants of their city, saying, ‘25Let us go and serve other gods’ (whom you have not known), 14then you shall investigate and search out and inquire thoroughly. If it is true and the matter established that this abomination has been done among you, 1526you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, 27utterly destroying it and all that is in it and its cattle with the edge of the sword. 1628Then you shall gather all its booty into the middle of its open square and burn the city and all its booty with fire as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God; and it shall be a 2930ruin forever. It shall never be rebuilt. 17Nothing from that which is put under the ban shall cling to your hand, in order that the Lord may turn from 31His burning anger and 32show mercy to you, and have compassion on you and 33make you increase, just 34as He has sworn to your fathers, 1835if you will listen to the voice of the Lord your God, 36keeping all His commandments which I am commanding you today, 37and doing what is right in the sight of the Lord your God.