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Deuteronomy Chapter
Thirteen
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 13
In
this chapter the Israelites are taught how to discern a false prophet
shun and
punish him
Deuteronomy 13:1
what to do with enticers to idolatry
not only not to consent to them
but
without favour and affection to them
endeavour to bring them to just
punishment
and be the first that should inflict it on them
Deuteronomy 13:6
and how to behave towards a city drawn into idolatry
as to inquire the truth
of it; then make war against it; destroy all in it
men
women
children
and
cattle; and burn the spoil of it
and suffer not anything at all belonging to
it to cleave unto them
Deuteronomy 13:12.
Deuteronomy 13:1 “If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams
and he gives you a sign or a wonder
YLT
1`When there ariseth in your
midst a prophet
or a dreamer of a dream
and he hath given unto thee a sign or
wonder
If there arise among you a prophet
.... A false prophet
a
lying prophet
as the Targum of Jonathan; one that pretends to be a true
prophet
and to be sent of God
and to come from him with a message from him
a
new revelation or doctrine
or in his name
to foretell things to come; the
former is chiefly meant. Such prophets did arise in Israel before the time of
Christ
and have since arose under the Christian name; see 2 Peter 2:1
or a dreamer of dreams; the same with the
prophet
only to be distinguished by the different manner of their having the
mind and will of God revealed to them
pretended to; either by vision or by dream
which were the two usual ways in which the Lord spake to the true prophets
Numbers 12:6 so
that the prophet is one who pretended he had a vision from the Lord
and the
dreamer one that had a dream from him
or something revealed to him in a dream;
and dreams are sometimes used for false doctrines
vain
deceitful
and
illusory; see Jeremiah 23:25. The
Targum of Jonathan calls him"a dreamer of a dream of pride:'such persons
are generally prompted by the pride of their own hearts to take such a method
to make themselves famous and respected among men; and usually bring such
doctrines with them which are agreeable to the pride and vanity of human
nature:
and giving thee a sign or a wonder; for the confirmation of
his mission and doctrine; such as Moses wrought before the children of Israel
and before Pharaoh. Signs are expressions or representations of things to come
to pass; wonders
such as either do
or seem to exceed the common course of
nature
or be contrary to it.
Deuteronomy 13:2 2 and the sign or the wonder comes to pass
of which he spoke to
you
saying
‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us
serve them
’
YLT
2and the sign and the wonder
hath come which he hath spoken of unto thee
saying
Let us go after other gods
(which thou hast not known)
and serve them
And the sign and wonder come to pass whereof he spake unto thee
.... The sign
he promised to give
or the miracle he proposed to do
to show the reality of
his mission
and the truth of his doctrine
which is performed
or seemingly
performed
by legerdemain
by magic art
or by the help of the devil; which the
Lord sometimes suffered for the trial of the faith and obedience of his people
and for the hardening of others in their unbelief
and which issues in their
destruction; see 2 Thessalonians 2:9
saying
let us go after other gods (which thou hast not known)
and let us serve them; other gods besides the one living and true God
the Creator of
all things; strange gods
the idols of the people
as the Targum of Jonathan;
such as they had never heard of
nor had any knowledge of
nor any benefit
from
as they had of the Lord their God. Now the doctrines of these
and of
their worship
are what the false prophet or dreamer is supposed to come with
and inculcate into the minds of the people; and for the confirmation of which
and in order to draw them into the reception of them
and act according to
them
he proposed to give a sign or wonder.
Deuteronomy 13:3 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that
dreamer of dreams
for the Lord
your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
YLT
3thou dost not hearken unto
the words of that prophet
or unto that dreamer of the dream
for Jehovah your
God is trying you
to know whether ye are loving Jehovah your God with all your
heart
and with all your soul;
Thou shall not hearken to the words of that prophet
or that
dreamer of dreams
.... Even though he does give the sign
and work the wonder; for
it might be reasonably concluded there must be fallacy in him
and that neither
he nor his miraculous sign could come from God
who would never send a person
to enable him to do signs and wonders
to persuade men to believe and act
contrary to a former declaration of his mind and will; to break a plain law of
his
as in Deuteronomy 5:7
this would be to contradict and deny himself; whatever therefore is contrary to
a known law or established doctrine
either of law or Gospel
let it come from
whom it will
or pretend to be confirmed by miracles
is not to be received;
see Galatians 1:8
for the Lord your God proveth you
whether you love the Lord your
God with all your heart
and with all your soul; for should they be
prevailed upon by such a prophet to hearken to his doctrine
and embrace it
and act according to it
it would be a plain case that they did not cordially
love the Lord
since they could so easily
and by such pretences
be drawn
aside from the true worship of him
and serve other gods; on the other hand
it
would be a proof of their sincere affection for God
and of their close and
strict attachment to him
that notwithstanding such specious pretences made
and such miracles wrought
yet abode by him and his worship
and could not be
wrought upon to forsake him and follow other gods and serve them; see 1 Corinthians 11:19.
Deuteronomy 13:4 4 You shall walk after the Lord
your God and fear Him
and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall
serve Him and hold fast to Him.
YLT
4after Jehovah your God ye
walk
and Him ye fear
and His commands ye keep
and to His voice ye hearken
and Him ye serve
and to Him ye cleave.
Ye shall walk after the Lord your God
.... As he has
directed
according to the laws and rules which he has given
both with respect
to their moral and civil conduct
and their religious worship of him; and so
the Targum of Jonathan
"ye shall walk after the worship of the Lord your
God:"
and fear him
and keep his commandments; fear to
offend him
and so keep his commandments; or keep his commandments from or
through fear; not a servile but a filial one
a reverential affection for him;
this is the whole duty of man
Ecclesiastes 12:13
and obey his voice; in his word
or by his prophets and
ministers: it may very well be understood of the voice of Christ
the Angel
that went before them
whose voice they were continually to hearken to and
obey
Exodus 23:21.
and you shall serve him
and cleave unto him; it may
respect all religious worship
both private and public; the Targum of Jonathan
restrains it to prayer
but it not only includes that
but all other acts of
piety and devotion
and which are to be constantly performed and not departed
from; for so to do is to cleave to the Lord as a man to his wife
or a woman to
her husband
in which conjugal relation God and his people Israel were
he was
an husband unto them
and to do otherwise is to go a whoring from him after
other gods.
Deuteronomy 13:5 5 But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to
death
because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the Lord your God
who brought you out of the land of Egypt and
redeemed you from the house of bondage
to entice you from the way in which the
Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the
evil from your midst.
YLT
5`And that prophet
or that
dreamer of the dream
is put to death
for he hath spoken apostacy against
Jehovah your God (who is bringing you out of the land of Egypt
and hath
ransomed you out of a house of servants)
to drive you out of the way in which
Jehovah thy God hath commanded thee to walk
and thou hast put away the evil
thing from thy midst.
And that prophet
or that dreamer of dreams
shall be put to death
.... Which
death
according to the Targum of Jonathan
was to be killed with the sword:
because he hath spoken to turn you away from the Lord your God; or
"spoken revolt against the Lord"F12סרה
"apostasiam"
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator;
"defectionem"
Tigurine version.
high treason against him
delivering out doctrine that tends to cause his subjects to rebel against him
and revolt from him; and therefore he is justly deserving of death
to draw off
a people from him he had been so good and kind unto; so that to apostasy would
be added the sin of ingratitude:
which brought you out of the land of Egypt
and redeemed you out
of the house of bondage; and so was not only their Lord by creation whom they ought to
serve
but by redemption
which laid them under double obligation to serve him:
to thrust thee out of the way which the Lord thy God commanded
thee to walk in; not by external force
but by the power of persuasion
by
enticing words and arguments:
so shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee; the evil man
by putting him to death
and the evil of idolatry
by not listening to the
words of the false prophet.
Deuteronomy 13:6 6 “If your brother
the son of your mother
your son or
your daughter
the wife of your bosom
or your friend who is as your own soul
secretly entices you
saying
‘Let us go and serve other gods
’ which you have
not known
neither you nor your fathers
YLT
6`When thy brother -- son of
thy mother
or thy son
or thy daughter
or the wife of thy bosom
or thy
friend who [is] as thine own soul -- doth move thee
in secret
saying
Let us
go and serve other gods -- (which thou hast not known
thou and thy fathers
If thy brother
the son of thy mother
.... A brother
by mother's side
which is generally supposed to be the nearest relation
at
least most out of question
so more liable to be regarded as being beloved:
or thy son
or thy daughter
or the wife of thy bosom; most dearly
beloved by him
as indeed each of these relations are by a man
there being
none nearer or dearer to him:
or thy friend
which is as thine own soul; as dear to
him as himself
and so strictly united in friendship
as if one soul dwelt in
two bodies; such close friends were Jonathan and David
1 Samuel 18:1. Some
Jewish writers think the father is not mentioned
because of the reverence of
him
with which all later dealings with him obliged to would seem inconsistent;
but the reverence of God is to be preferred to the reverence of parents; and
besides
if such near relations that are here mentioned
than which there are
none nearer
are not to be spared if guilty of the sin after warned against
then not a father
who is in the same transgression:
entice thee secretly; when alone with him
which might be judged the most proper time to work upon him
there being none
to oppose the enticer
or to assist the enticed; so Satan took the opportunity
of Eve being alone when he attacked her with his temptation
and the same
method is taken by his children:
saying
let me go and serve other gods which thou hast not known
thou nor thy fathers; not even their immediate ancestors
and so the calf was not of
these gods; nor their more remote ancestors
as Abraham
Isaac
and Jacob
who
were no idolaters; nor even Terah
though he was one
yet the gods of the
Canaanites and of the neighbouring nations
which seem to be here meant
at
least principally
were such that he knew not. This circumstance may seem to
carry in it an argument rather why they should not than why they should serve
such gods; wherefore the words of the enticer seem to be only these:
let us go and serve other gods
and what follows are the
words of the Lord
descriptive of those gods
and so a dissuasive from serving
them.
Deuteronomy 13:7 7 of the gods of the people which are all around
you
near to you or far off from you
from one end of the earth to the other
end of the earth
YLT
7of the gods of the peoples
who [are] round about you
who are near unto thee
or who are far off from
thee
from the end of the earth even unto the end of the earth) –
Namely
of the gods of the people which are round about you
.... As of the
Edomites
Moabites
Ammonites
and Phoenicians:
nigh unto thee; as the above were
being on the borders of
their land: the Targum of Jonathan interprets this of the idols of the seven
nations
that is
of the land of Canaan: or
far off from thee; as the Babylonians
Persians
and others:
from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; which
includes all the idols in the world
worshipped by whatsoever nation
and which
were forbidden; and which shows the universality of idolatry in those times
and that that is an insufficient argument in its favour. Jarchi interprets this
of the sun and moon
and the host of heaven
who go from one end of the world
to the other; and this seems to have been the first and most common idolatry of
the Gentile world
and which were worshipped in the several deities they set
up.
Deuteronomy 13:8 8 you shall not consent to him or listen to him
nor
shall your eye pity him
nor shall you spare him or conceal him;
YLT
8thou dost not consent to
him
nor hearken unto him
nor doth thine eye have pity on him
nor dost thou
spare
nor dost thou cover him over.
Thou shall not consent unto him
.... To commit the
idolatry enticed unto
or join with him in it:
nor hearken to him; not so much as patiently to hear him
but
at once express an abhorrence of and indignation at what he recommends:
neither shall thine eye pity him; pitied he might be for
his ignorance
stupidity
and wickedness
and on account of the miserable
estate and condition he was in
and of those dreadful consequences which would
follow upon it
if not converted from it; but no mercy was to be shown him on
account of nearness of relation:
neither shall thou spare; to reprove him sharply
and to expose him to public vengeance:
neither shall thou conceal him; neither him nor his sin
but make both public
acquaint others with it
and endeavour to bring him
before the civil magistrate to be examined
tried
and judged; so far should
they be from hiding his offence from others
or excusing and extenuating it
or
from harbouring his person privately when sought for upon information.
Deuteronomy 13:9 9 but you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first
against him to put him to death
and afterward the hand of all the people.
YLT
9`But thou dost surely kill
him; thy hand is on him
in the first place
to put him to death
and the hand
of all the people last;
But thou shalt surely kill him
.... Not privately and
secretly
when and where he entices
nor the enticed himself by his own
authority
but after being examined
judged
and condemned by the civil
magistrate; and none might judge a false prophet but the sanhedrim at
Jerusalem
the sanhedrim of seventy oneF13Misn. Sanhedrin
c. 1.
sect. 7. ; see Luke 13:33
but the
difficulty is how such an one could be convicted
since the affair was
transacted secretly
Deuteronomy 13:6
and there were none present to be witnesses
none but the enticer and the
enticed; so that either the enticer must be brought to a confession of his
guilt
or the testimony of the enticed alone must be taken. The Jewish doctors
sayF14Ibid. c. 7. sect. 10. Maimon. Obede Cochabim
c. 5. sect. 3.
that they laid in wait for the enticer
which they never did for any other
person
and the method they took was this; the enticed brought two persons
and
put them behind a hedge
so that they might see the enticer
and hear his
words
and he not see them; and he said to the enticer
say what thou hast said
to me privately; which said
the enticed answered to him
how shall we leave
our God which is in heaven
and go and serve wood and stone? if he returned
(from his evil) hereby
or was silent
he was free; but if he said unto him
so
we are obliged
and thus it is comely for us; they that stood afar off
behind
the hedge (or in a dark room)
brought him to the sanhedrim
and stoned him
that is
after examination
trial
judgment
and condemnation:
thine hand shall be first upon him
to put him to death; he was to
throw the first stone at him
partly to show his indignation against the sin he
had enticed him to
and that it had not at all affected him so as to incline
him unto it; and partly to show that he had bore a true testimony
of which a
suspicion might have been created in the minds of some
had he been backward to
the execution of him:
and afterwards the hand of all the people; who then
could proceed with more certainty and satisfaction: this shows that the person
enticed had not a right to kill the enticer
without a judicial process
and
the order of the civil magistrate.
Deuteronomy 13:10 10 And you shall stone him with stones until he dies
because he sought to entice you away from the Lord your God
who brought you out of the land of Egypt
from the house of bondage.
YLT
10and thou hast stoned him
with stones
and he hath died
for he hath sought to drive thee away from
Jehovah thy God
who is bringing thee out of the land of Egypt
out of a house
of servants;
And thou shalt stone him with stones
that he die
.... It was
not sufficient to answer the end of the law to cast a few stones at him
but he
was to be stoned to death:
because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the Lord thy God; to compel by
force of argument
or the dint of persuasion
to relinquish the profession of
the true God
faith in him
and the worship of him:
which brought thee out of the land of Egypt
from the house of
bondage; which aggravated the sin of the enticer
and would have made the
sin of the enticed the more heinous had he fallen into it.
Deuteronomy 13:11 11 So all Israel shall hear and fear
and not again do
such wickedness as this among you.
YLT
11and all Israel do hear and
fear
and add not to do like this evil thing in thy midst.
And all Israel shall hear
and fear
.... Shall hear of the
death the enticer was put unto
and shall fear to act such a part he did
and
be upon their guard against any such person
and be cautious that they are not
drawn into sin by him:
and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you; either to
entice unto idolatry or commit it; which is a piece of wickedness against the
first table of the law
and a very heinous one
and exceeding offensive and
provoking to God
being so directly against his being
perfections
and glory.
Deuteronomy 13:12 12 “If you hear someone in one of your cities
which the Lord your God gives you to dwell in
saying
YLT
12`When thou hearest
in one
of thy cities which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee to dwell there
[one]
saying
If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities
.... A report
concerning them
anyone of them:
which the Lord thy God had given thee to dwell there; which he had
not only given them
but had put them into the possession of
and it was become
their dwelling place
or was inhabited by Israelites; otherwise they were
already given unto them
but did not inherit and inhabit them
and it might be
possible that there might be some city or cities
at least for a time
which
though given them
were not inhabited by them
but by the Canaanites
and such
cities this law did not concern: saying; as follows.
Deuteronomy 13:13 13 ‘Corrupt men have gone out from among you and enticed
the inhabitants of their city
saying
“Let us go and serve other gods”’—which
you have not known—
YLT
13Men
sons of worthlessness
have gone out of thy midst
and they force away the inhabitants of their city
saying
Let us go and serve other gods
which ye have not known –
Certain men
the children of Belial
.... Which signify either
persons without a yoke
who have thrown off the yoke of God's law
and will not
submit to it
or unprofitable ones
as wicked men be
both to God
themselves
and others:
are gone out from among you; not locally
but with
respect to their religious sentiments and practices
having separated
themselves from the people of God
and from the service of the sanctuary
the
true worship of God
and a profession of it
and given into the worship of
idols:
and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city; withdrawn
them by the force of persuasion from the worship of the true God
and drawn
them into idolatry:
saying
let us go and serve other gods; unite as one
man in the worship of the gods of the Gentiles:
which ye have not known; this was not said by the
children of Belial
but is added by the Lord by way of explanation
showing
what gods they were that these men advised them to serve
and confirms the
observation made on Deuteronomy 13:6.
Deuteronomy 13:14 14 then you shall inquire
search out
and ask
diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such
an abomination was committed among you
YLT
14and thou hast enquired
and
searched
and asked diligently
and lo
truth; the thing is established; this
abomination hath been done in thy midst:
Then shalt thou inquire
make search
and ask diligently
.... That is
of the witnesses
as the Targum of Jonathan; and this is a case that is only
taken into consideration and judged of by the great sanhedrim
or that of
seventy one
at JerusalemF15Maimon. Obede Cochabim
c. 4. sect. 3.
6. ; and the method they took was this
when it fell under their cognizance:
the great sanhedrim send and inquire and search till they know clearly that the
whole city
or the greater part of it
are thrust away
and are turned to
idolatry; after that they send two disciples of the wise men to admonish them
and bring them back; if they return and repent
it is well
but if they
continue in their folly
the sanhedrim order all Israel to go up against them
to war
and they besiege them
and set themselves in battle array against them
until the city be broken up; and when it is broken up
immediately they set up
many courts of judicature
and they judge them; and against whomsoever two
witnesses come that he served idols
after they have admonished him they
separate him; if all the worshippers be the fewest
they stone them
and the
rest of the city are delivered; if they are found the greater number
they
bring them to the great sanhedrim
and finish their judgment there
and they
slay all those that have served with the sword:
and
behold
if it be truth
and the thing certain; that such
wicked men have risen and have prevailed upon the inhabitants of the city where
they live
to leave the worship of the true God
and go into idolatry
when
there is full proof of this
and it is past all question that
such abomination is wrought among you; as idolatry
is
which is an abomination to God
and ought to be so to all mankind
and
especially to a people that profess his name.
Deuteronomy 13:15 15 you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city
with the edge of the sword
utterly destroying it
all that is in it and its
livestock—with the edge of the sword.
YLT
15`Thou dost surely smite the
inhabitants of that city by the mouth of the sword; devoting it
and all that
[is] in it
even its cattle
by the mouth of the sword;
Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge
of the sword
.... This could not be the work of a single person
nor of the
whole sanhedrim
but was what the whole nation was to join in
according to the
above note:
destroying it utterly; pulling down the houses
and demolishing its walls and fortifications
or burning it
as afterwards
explained:
and all that is therein; men
women
and
children:
and the cattle thereof
with the edge of the sword; this severity
was used to show the Lord's indignation against the sin of idolatry
and to
deter persons from it
both individuals and bodies of men.
Deuteronomy 13:16 16 And you shall gather all its plunder into the middle
of the street
and completely burn with fire the city and all its plunder
for
the Lord your God. It shall be a heap forever; it shall not be built again.
YLT
16and all its spoil thou dost
gather unto the midst of its broad place
and hast burned with fire the city
and all its spoil completely
before Jehovah thy God
and it hath been a heap
age-during
it is not built any more;
And thou shall gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the
street thereof
.... All the wealth and substance of the inhabitants
their
household goods
shop goods
merchandise
utensils in trade and business
and
everything that can be named. The Jews sayF16Misn. Sanhedrin
c. 11.
sect. 6.
if there is no street
they make one (or a marketplace); if that is
without it
they bring them into the midst of it:
and shall burn with fire the city
and all the spoil thereof every
whit; be it what it may
or let it be whose property it will; and all
this shall be done for the Lord thy God; as by his appointment and command
and
in obedience to him
so for his honour and glory
and the vindication of his
righteous law:
and it shall be an heap for ever
it shall not be built again; but lie a
waste as Jericho
though not an entire waste; for according to the Jewish
writers
though it might not be built as it was before
it might be made into
gardens and orchardsF17lbid. Maimon. & Bartenora in ib. .
Deuteronomy 13:17 17 So none of the accursed things shall remain in your
hand
that the Lord may turn from the fierceness of His anger and show you mercy
have
compassion on you and multiply you
just as He swore to your fathers
YLT
17and there doth not cleave
to thy hand any of the devoted thing
so that Jehovah doth turn back from the fierceness
of His anger
and hath given to thee mercies
and loved thee
and multiplied
thee
as He hath sworn to thy fathers
And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand
.... That is
they might not take anything whatever to their own use; for all being devoted
to destruction
was cursed
and brought a curse upon the man that should make
it his own property
as Achan did
when Jericho was destroyed:
that the Lord may turn from the fierceness of his anger; stirred up by
the idolatry of the city:
and show thee mercy
and have compassion upon thee; who
seeing
wrath gone forth
might dread the consequences
lest it should spread itself
further:
and multiply thee
as he hath sworn to thy fathers; Abraham
Isaac
and Jacob; this is observed to encourage them to execute his orders
punctually in the destruction of the idolatrous city; since God could and would
multiply them
as he had promised their fathers
with an oath
so that they
should not be the fewer by such an instance of his severity.
Deuteronomy 13:18 18 because you have listened to the voice of the Lord your God
to keep all His commandments which I command you today
to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord your God.
YLT
18when thou dost hearken to
the voice of Jehovah thy God
to keep all his commands which I am commanding
thee to-day
to do that which [is] right in the eyes of Jehovah thy God.
When thou shalt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God
.... Not only
in this case
but in all others:
to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day: the
repetition of which he made unto them
and enjoined the observance of them in
the name of the Lord:
to do that which is right in the eyes of the Lord thy God; which they
would do
if they kept the commandments of the Lord
which are holy
just
and good
and must be right in his sight because commanded by him.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》