ris3n's Apologetics Codex
Deuteronomy 13.1-3
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Passage

Deuteronomy 13.1-3

Book: Deuteronomy · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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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.

  1. 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. (Deuteronomy 13:1-5, ASV)
WEB

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 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.

  1. 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 among you. (Deuteronomy 13:1-5, WEB)
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.

  1. 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. to turn: Heb. revolt against the LORD (Deuteronomy 13:1-5, KJV)
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, 2. and 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, 3. thou 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;

  1. after 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. 5. 'And that prophet, or that dreamer of the dream, is put to death, for he hath spoken apostasy 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. (Deuteronomy 13:1-5, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: Moses, giving Israel the commandments of Jehovah (13:18)
  • Audience: Israel, the generation about to cross the Jordan into Canaan
  • Location: "beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab" (1:5)
  • Time period: On the book's own dating, the fortieth year after the Exodus (1:3), shortly before Moses' death (34:5). Many critical scholars connect the book's final form with the reform under King Josiah in the late seventh century BC (2 Kings 22-23)

Theological reading

"If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, 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; 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" (KJV).

Real channels, real signs. The passage does not mock the prophet's credentials. "Prophet" (Strong's H5030) and "dreamer of dreams" (H2492, H2472) name the very channels God himself uses: "if there be a prophet among you, I Jehovah will make myself known unto him in a vision, I will speak with him in a dream" (Numbers 12:6, ASV). "A sign or a wonder" (H226, H4159) is the pair Deuteronomy uses for the plagues on Egypt: "Jehovah showed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt" (6:22, ASV). So the text is saying that even an Exodus-sized sign, really fulfilled, does not authorize a call to other gods.

The content test. What exposes the prophet is his message: "Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known." Israel knew Jehovah by what he had done: "Unto thee it was showed, that thou mightest know that Jehovah he is God; there is none else besides him" (4:35, ASV). A new revelation that contradicts that earlier one is false by definition. Fulfilment of a prediction is required of a true prophet (18:21-22), but here it proves nothing.

Why God allows it. "The LORD your God proveth (H5254) you." The false sign becomes a test of love, phrased in the words of the Shema, "with all your heart and with all your soul" (compare 6:5). The New Testament expects the same: "there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect" (Matthew 24:24, ASV).

Later claimants. Paul applies the same principle to angels: "though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema" (Galatians 1:8, ASV). Christians apply both texts to Joseph Smith, who reported visits from an angel, Moroni, and later taught that God was once a man and that men may become gods. Latter-day Saints reply that Smith's message is the original gospel restored, not another one, so neither text applies. The disagreement turns on whether that teaching describes the God Israel already knew. See Mormonism vs the Christian God, Biblical Prophecy and Christian Discernment.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

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Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.