Deuteronomy 13:1–11

THE FALSE PROPHET

13“If a prophet or someone who has dreams^h arises among you and proclaims a sign or wonder to you, ²and that sign or wonder he has promised you comes about, but he says, ‘Let’s follow other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let’s worship them,’ ³do not listen to that prophet’s words or to that dreamer. For the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul.^{i 4}You must follow the Lord your God and fear him. You must keep his commands and listen to him; you must worship him and remain faithful^A to him.^{j 5}That prophet or dreamer must be put to death,^k because he has urged rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the place of slavery,^l to turn you from the way the Lord your God has commanded you to walk. You must purge the evil from you.^m

DON’T TOLERATE IDOLATRY

⁶“If your brother, the son of your mother,^B or your son or daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, ‘Let’s go and worship other gods’—which neither you nor your ancestors have known, ⁷any of the gods of the peoples around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other—⁸do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity,^C and do not spare him or shield him.^{n 9}Instead, you must kill him. Your hand is to be the first against him to put him to death, and then the hands of all the people.^{o 10}Stone him to death for trying to turn you away from the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.^{p 11}All Israel will hear and be afraid, and they will no longer do anything evil like this among you.^q