Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 13:5
Such a prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he has advocated rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way in which the LORD your God has commanded you to walk. So you must purge the evil from among you.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites on the plains of Moab, outlining covenant stipulations before they enter the Promised Land. He establishes the consequences for anyone who attempts to redirect their worship away from Yahweh.
The words — יוּמָ֗ת (yu.Mat) translates literally as "he will be put to death," and כִּ֣י (ki) functions as "for" or "because." These terms link the capital penalty directly to the documented cause of the prophet’s or dreamer’s rebellion.
The thread — The requirement to remove covenant subverters appears in Deuteronomy 18:20 regarding unauthorized prophecy, Deuteronomy 13:10 regarding stoning for enticement, and 1 Corinthians 5:13 regarding church discipline. Each passage treats communal purity as a non-negotiable boundary for covenant identity.
Why it lands — The text demands the immediate execution and removal of anyone who advocates rebellion against Yahweh’s commands. It requires readers to prioritize covenant fidelity over personal relationships or spiritual experiences.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 18:20 But if any prophet dares to speak a message in My name that I have not commanded him to speak, or to speak in the name of other gods, that prophet must be put to death.”
- 1 Corinthians 5:13 God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”
- Deuteronomy 13:10 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 house of slavery.
- Deuteronomy 17:7 The hands of the witnesses shall be the first in putting him to death, and after that, the hands of all the people. So you must purge the evil from among you.
- Deuteronomy 19:19 you must do to him as he intended to do to his brother. So you must purge the evil from among you.
- Deuteronomy 22:21 she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house, and there the men of her city will stone her to death. For she has committed an outrage in Israel by being promiscuous in her father’s house. So you must purge the evil from among you.
- Deuteronomy 24:7 If a man is caught kidnapping one of his Israelite brothers, whether he treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. So you must purge the evil from among you.
- Jeremiah 14:15 Therefore this is what the LORD says about the prophets who prophesy in My name: I did not send them, yet they say, ‘No sword or famine will touch this land.’ By sword and famine these very prophets will meet their end!
- Deuteronomy 22:24 you must take both of them out to the gate of that city and stone them to death—the young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he has violated his neighbor’s wife. So you must purge the evil from among you.
- 1 Kings 18:40 Then Elijah ordered them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let a single one escape.” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered them there.