Deuteronomy 13: Hold Fast to the Lord

Deuteronomy 13 (WEB)

1 If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises in your midst 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 us go after other gods” (which you have not known) “and let us 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, and 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 your midst.

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 us 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 in your midst.

12 If you shall hear about one of your cities, which Yahweh your God gives you to dwell there, that

13 certain base fellows have gone out from your midst, and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods,” which you have not known;

14 then you shall inquire, and make search, and ask diligently. Behold, if it is true, and the thing certain, that such abomination was done in your midst,

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 midst of its street, and shall burn with fire the city, and all every bit 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 this day, to do that which is right in Yahweh your God’s eyes.

Deuteronomy 13 (KJV)

1 If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,

2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;

3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

4 Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.

5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the Lord thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.

6 If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;

7 Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth;

8 Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him:

9 But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.

10 And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

11 And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you.

12 If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities, which the Lord thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying,

13 Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known;

14 Then shalt thou enquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you;

15 Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword.

16 And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, for the Lord thy God: and it shall be an heap for ever; it shall not be built again.

17 And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand: that the Lord may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and shew thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers;

18 When thou shalt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of the Lord thy God.

Deuteronomy 13 (ASV)

1 If there arise in the midst of thee a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and he give thee a sign or a wonder,

2 and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;

3 thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or unto that dreamer of dreams: for Jehovah your God proveth you, to know whether ye love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

4 Ye shall walk after Jehovah your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.

5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death, because he hath spoken rebellion against Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of bondage, to draw thee aside out of the way which Jehovah thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee.

6 If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, that is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;

7 of the gods of the peoples that are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth;

8 thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him:

9 but thou shalt surely kill him; thy hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.

10 And thou shalt stone him to death with stones, because he hath sought to draw thee away from Jehovah thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

11 And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is in the midst of thee.

12 If thou shalt hear tell concerning one of thy cities, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to dwell there, saying,

13 Certain base fellows are gone out from the midst of thee, and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known;

14 then shalt thou inquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in the midst of thee,

15 thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword.

16 And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, unto Jehovah thy God: and it shall be a heap for ever; it shall not be built again.

17 And there shall cleave nought of the devoted thing to thy hand; that Jehovah may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and show thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers;

18 when thou shalt hearken to the voice of Jehovah thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah thy God.

Summary

Moses warns Israel against three kinds of temptation to idolatry, each more intimate than the last. First, a prophet or dreamer may arise and even work a true sign or wonder, yet call the people to follow other gods; Israel must not listen, for the Lord is testing whether they love him with all their heart and soul. Second, the enticement may come secretly from those closest of all—a brother, a child, the wife of one's bosom, or a dearest friend—and even then no pity is to soften the seriousness of the sin. Third, whole cities may be drawn away by base men, and after careful inquiry such a city is to be devoted to destruction. Running through these severe commands is a tender refrain: cling to the Lord, walk after him, fear him, and obey his voice. The repeated reminder of the exodus shows that loyalty flows from gratitude to the God who redeemed them from bondage. Idolatry is treated not as a private opinion but as rebellion against the Redeemer himself. The chapter calls God's people to a love so wholehearted that no rival affection—however dear or impressive—can be tolerated. For the Christian, it presses the question of what we will allow to compete with Christ for our worship.

Key Figures

The false prophet or dreamer — One who may even produce a sign or wonder, yet calls the people to serve gods they have not known; he is testing ground for Israel's love.
The secret enticer — A brother, child, spouse, or beloved friend who privately whispers, “Let us go and serve other gods,” turning intimacy into temptation.
Yahweh (the LORD) — The God who redeemed Israel from the house of bondage and now tests and guards her love, jealous for the wholehearted devotion of his people.

Key Verse

Deuteronomy 13:4 (WEB)

You shall walk after Yahweh your God, fear him, keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and you shall serve him, and cling to him.

Lessons Learned

Even genuine signs and wonders do not authenticate a message that leads away from God; the content of the call must be tested.
Temptation often arrives through those we love most, where our affections make us least defended.
Idolatry is rebellion against the God who redeemed us, not a harmless private preference.
The remedy for every enticement is to cling wholeheartedly to the Lord who brought us out of bondage.

Loyalty to God is the test beneath every other test. “Yahweh your God is testing you, to know whether you love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 13:3, WEB). Trials sift our deepest allegiance.
Truth is measured by its direction, not its drama. A prophet may give a true sign yet say, “Let us go after other gods” (Deuteronomy 13:2, WEB); a message that draws us from the Lord is false however impressive its signs.
No relationship outranks our love for God. When even “the wife of your bosom, or your friend, who is as your own soul, entices you secretly” (Deuteronomy 13:6, WEB), devotion to God must not be surrendered to keep them happy.
Clinging to God guards the heart. Israel is to “cling to him” (Deuteronomy 13:4, WEB). Holding fast to the Lord is the positive antidote to every voice that would pull us away.

Why does God allow a false prophet's sign to actually come to pass (13:1-3)? What does that reveal about the purpose of testing?
How does the chapter move from distant strangers to the most intimate relationships as sources of temptation?
What does it mean to “cling” to the Lord (13:4), and how is clinging different from mere agreement?
How does the repeated mention of the exodus (13:5, 10) shape Israel's motive for loyalty?
Who or what tends to entice you away from wholehearted devotion to God, and what would clinging to him look like for you this week?

The sign comes true precisely so that the test is real; anyone can ignore an obvious fraud. God permits a credible lure to reveal whether his people love him more than they love spiritual excitement. Loyalty proven under genuine pressure is the point.
The chapter widens from a prophet, to a beloved family member, to an entire city—but it also narrows from public figures to “the wife of your bosom” (13:6). The danger is shown to be both everywhere and intimately close, where our defenses are lowest.
Clinging (the same word used of marriage in Genesis 2:24) is wholehearted attachment, not bare assent. It is the difference between knowing about the Lord and holding fast to him with affection, trust, and obedience.
Israel's loyalty is rooted in redemption: the Lord “brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage” (13:5). Gratitude for rescue, not fear alone, fuels faithful love—a pattern fulfilled for us in Christ's greater exodus.
This is a personal-application question. Invite members to name, gently, the people, comforts, or ideas that quietly compete with Christ. As leader, point them not first to vigilance but to the beauty of clinging to the God who redeemed them.