Deuteronomy 13

13:1-18 Prophets who tried to lead Israel away from the one true God were guilty of treason, which carried the death penalty. No other religion insisted on exclusive worship of their national gods; consequently, such harsh penalties for the worship of competing deities were unknown elsewhere in the ancient Near East.13:1 God performed signs and miracles to induce amazement and faith in those who witnessed them (see 6:22). False prophets and magicians were able to replicate these feats to a degree and thus sometimes led God’s people astray (see Exod 7:11, 22; 8:7).

13:5 visionaries: Literally dreamer of dreams. • purge (literally burn): God wanted false prophets to be completely eliminated, leaving no residue of their evil ways. See also 17:12; 19:13.

13:6 neither you nor your ancestors have known: The Israelites had heard of these false gods before, but they had never worshiped them. Doing so would violate the first two commandments, the essence of the covenant.

13:9 Strike the first blow yourself: Because the guilty parties would be members of one’s own family (13:6), this difficult demand would test the depth of a person’s commitment to worship the Lord exclusively. Love for God must take priority over love for family members and friends (Matt 10:34-39).

13:13 scoundrels (literally sons of Belial): In Hebrew, “son(s) of” often expresses group affiliation or shared characteristics. Scoundrels typically deceived others and led them astray (Prov 6:12; 16:27; 19:28; Nah 1:11).

13:14 A detestable act is any deed or even thought that is offensive to God (see study notes on 7:25-26; 12:31).

13:16 The spoils of war, or plunder, were not to be kept. God had designated them for complete destruction (see 2:34; Lev 27:28-29).