Deuteronomy · Bible in Basic English
Deuteronomy 13 Bible in Basic English
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 If ever you have among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams and he gives you a sign or a wonder,
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 takes place, and he says to you, Let us go after other gods, which are strange to you, and give them worship;
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 Then give no attention to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God is testing you, to see if all the love of your heart and soul is given to him.
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 But keep on in the ways of the Lord your God, fearing him and keeping his orders and hearing his voice, worshipping him and being true to him.
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 And that prophet or that dreamer of dreams is to be put to death; for his words were said with the purpose of turning you away from the Lord your God, who took you out of the land of Egypt and made you free from the prison-house; and of forcing you out of the way in which the Lord your God has given you orders to go. So you are to put away the evil from among you.
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 heart, or the friend who is as dear to you as your life, working on you secretly says to you, Let us go and give worship to other gods, strange to you and to your fathers;
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 Gods of the peoples round about you, near or far, from one end of the earth to the other;
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 Do not be guided by him or give attention to him; have no pity on him or mercy, and give him no cover;
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 put him to death without question; let your hand be the first stretched out against him to put him to death, and then the hands of all the people.
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 Let him be stoned with stones till he is dead; because it was his purpose to make you false to the Lord your God, who took you out of the land of Egypt, out of the prison-house.
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 And all Israel, hearing of it, will be full of fear, and no one will again do such evil as this among you.
11 All Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall not do any more wickedness like this among you.
12 And if word comes to you, in one of the towns which the Lord your God is giving you for your resting-place,
12 If you hear about one of your cities, which Yahweh your God gives you to dwell there, that
13 That good-for-nothing persons have gone out from among you, turning the people of their town from the right way and saying, Let us go and give worship to other gods, of whom you have no knowledge;
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 let a full search be made, and let questions be put with care; and if it is true and certain that such a disgusting thing has been done among you;
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 Then take up arms against the people of that town and give it up to the curse, with all its cattle and everything in it.
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 And take all the goods into the middle of its open space, burning the town and all its property with fire as an offering to the Lord your God; it is to be a waste for ever; there is to be no more building there.
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 Keep not a thing of what is cursed for yourselves: so the Lord may be turned away from the heat of his wrath, and have mercy on you, and give you increase as he said in his oath to your fathers:
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 So long as you give ear to the voice of the Lord your God, and keep all his orders which I give you today, and do what is right in the eyes of the Lord your God.
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.
Cross references (17)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 1 John 4:1; Jeremiah 23:25–28; Jeremiah 29:8; 1 Kings 13:18; Jeremiah 27:9
- 2 Revelation 13:13–14; 2 Corinthians 11:13–15; 2 Thessalonians 2:9–11; Matthew 24:24; Matthew 7:22–23
- 3 Deuteronomy 8:2; Psalm 66:10; 1 Corinthians 11:19; Deuteronomy 6:5; 1 John 4:1
- 4 Colossians 1:10; Deuteronomy 10:20; 1 Corinthians 6:17; Jeremiah 7:23; 2 Chronicles 34:31
- 5 Deuteronomy 18:20; 1 Corinthians 5:13; Deuteronomy 22:21; Jeremiah 14:15; Deuteronomy 19:19
- 6 Deuteronomy 17:2–7; 2 Peter 2:1; Ephesians 4:14; 1 John 2:26–27; Proverbs 18:24
- 8 Proverbs 1:10; Deuteronomy 19:13; Deuteronomy 7:16; Ezekiel 9:5–6; Galatians 1:8–9
- 9 Matthew 10:37; John 8:7; Acts 7:58; Deuteronomy 17:2–7; Luke 14:26
- 10 Joshua 7:25; Leviticus 20:2; 2 Chronicles 24:21; Deuteronomy 21:21; Numbers 15:35–36
- 11 Deuteronomy 19:20; Deuteronomy 17:13; Proverbs 21:11; 1 Timothy 5:20; Proverbs 19:25
- 12 Judges 20:1–17; Joshua 22:11–34
- 13 1 John 2:19; Deuteronomy 13:6; Deuteronomy 13:2; 2 Corinthians 6:15; Judges 20:13
- 14 Deuteronomy 17:4; John 7:24; 1 Timothy 5:19; Isaiah 11:3–4; Deuteronomy 10:18
- 15 Exodus 22:20; Leviticus 27:28; Deuteronomy 7:2; Deuteronomy 7:16; Joshua 6:24
- 16 Joshua 8:28; Jeremiah 49:2; Joshua 6:24; Isaiah 25:2; Isaiah 17:1
- 17 Deuteronomy 7:26; Genesis 26:24; Joshua 7:26; Genesis 26:4; Genesis 28:14
- 18 Deuteronomy 12:28; Deuteronomy 12:25; Matthew 7:24; Matthew 7:21; Matthew 6:33
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
When, therefore, it is said, "The Lord your God tempteth (proveth) you, that He may know if ye love Him," the words "that He may know" are employed for what is the real state of the case, that He may make you know: just as we speak of a joyful day, because it makes us joyful; of a sluggish frost, …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 6 (1888)
For there is another sort of temptation which is called a proving; of this kind of temptation it is written, "The Lord your God tempteth (proveth) you to know whether ye love Him." What means "to know"?
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 6 (1888)
Thou hast it written, "God tempteth not any man;" and again thou hast it written, "The Lord your God tempteth you, to know whether you love Him." Just the point in dispute, you see.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 7 (1888)