Deuteronomy 13:6-11

Deuteronomy 13:6-11

[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,  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  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.

What does Deuteronomy 13:6-11 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

It was not just religious leaders who suffered for this crime. The authorities were to execute any Israelite who sought to lead others into idolatry. Moses set forth the deterrent value of capital punishment as a reason for its practice ( Deuteronomy 13:11; cf. Deuteronomy 17:13). In modern times advocates of the abolition of capital punishment have argued that this practice does not deter crime, but the scriptural testimony is that it does.