6 'When thy brother—son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend who 'is' as thine own soul—doth move thee, in secret, saying, Let us go and serve other gods—(which thou hast not known, thou and thy fathers, 7 of the gods of the peoples who 'are' round about you, who are near unto thee, or who are far off from thee, from the end of the earth even unto the end of the earth)— 8 thou dost not consent to him, nor hearken unto him, nor doth thine eye have pity on him, nor dost thou spare, nor dost thou cover him over. 9 'But thou dost surely kill him; thy hand is on him, in the first place, to put him to death, and the hand of all the people last; 10 and thou hast stoned him with stones, and he hath died, for he hath sought to drive thee away from Jehovah thy God, who is bringing thee out of the land of Egypt, out of a house of servants; 11 and all Israel do hear and fear, and add not to do like this evil thing in thy midst.
12 'When thou hearest, in one of thy cities which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee to dwell there, 'one' saying, 13 Men, sons of worthlessness, have gone out of thy midst, and they force away the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known— 14 and thou hast enquired, and searched, and asked diligently, and lo, truth; the thing is established; this abomination hath been done in thy midst: 15 'Thou dost surely smite the inhabitants of that city by the mouth of the sword; devoting it, and all that 'is' in it, even its cattle, by the mouth of the sword; 16 and all its spoil thou dost gather unto the midst of its broad place, and hast burned with fire the city and all its spoil completely, before Jehovah thy God, and it hath been a heap age-during, it is not built any more; 17 and there doth not cleave to thy hand any of the devoted thing, so that Jehovah doth turn back from the fierceness of His anger, and hath given to thee mercies, and loved thee, and multiplied thee, as He hath sworn to thy fathers, 18 when thou dost hearken to the voice of Jehovah thy God, to keep all his commands which I am commanding thee to-day, to do that which 'is' right in the eyes of Jehovah thy God.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Deuteronomy 13:6-18
Commentary on Deuteronomy 13:6-11
(Read Deuteronomy 13:6-11)
It is the policy of Satan to try to lead us to evil by those whom we love, whom we least suspect of any ill design, and whom we are desirous to please, and apt to conform to. The enticement here is supposed to come from a brother or child, who are near by nature; from a wife or friend, who are near by choice, and are to us as our souls. But it is our duty to prefer God and religion, before the nearest and dearest friends we have in the world. We must not, to please our friends, break God's law. Thou shalt not consent to him, nor go with him, not for company, or curiosity, not to gain his affections. It is a general rule, If sinners entice thee, consent thou not, Proverbs 1:10. And we must not hinder the course of God's justice.
Commentary on Deuteronomy 13:12-18
(Read Deuteronomy 13:12-18)
Here is the case of a city revolting from the God of Israel, and serving other gods. The crime is supposed to be committed by one of the cities of Israel. Even when they were ordered to preserve their religion by force, yet they were not allowed to bring others to it by fire and sword. Spiritual judgments under the Christian dispensation are more terrible than the execution of criminals; we have not less cause than the Israelites had, to fear the Divine wrath. Let us then fear the spiritual idolatry of covetousness, and the love of worldly pleasure; and be careful not to countenance them in our families, by our example or by the education of our children. May the Lord write his law and truth in our hearts, there set up his throne, and shed abroad his love!