אֵת כָּל־הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוֶּה אֶתְכֶם אֹתֹו תִשְׁמְרוּ לַעֲשֹׂות לֹא־תֹסֵף עָלָיו וְלֹא תִגְרַע מִמֶּנּוּ   13:1

Deut. 13:1   “Everything that I am commanding you, it you must observe to do.  You shall not add onto it, and you shall not take away from it.”

See my remarks relating to Deut. 4:2 for my thoughts on some of the implications of this admonition.  In this verse, the phrase at the beginning of the verse rb'D'h;-lK' tae can also be translated as “Every word” or as “All the word.” Yet it seems clear that Moses was referring to all the commandments, ordinances and statutes that he was dictating to each of the children of Israel, and possibly to one or more scribes – not to the specific words themselves.  He is saying quite clearly that nothing of the law is to be changed, enlarged upon, or ignored.  This cannot mean that some clarification will not be necessary.  After all, Moses himself had to turn to the Lord for clarification at times.  Thus so may we.  But we must be careful to not change anything written here in the Torah, at least in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

                                      [Return to Deut. 17:12]      [Return to 1Sam. 30:25]      [Return to Ezek. 20:25]

Another thing:  the first two second-person pronouns, you and you, are plural.  But the last two in the latter crucial statement are singular.  In Deut. 4:2, the four pronouns are all plural.  So here we are being told that the whole of the congregation (or any representative group?) is not to make any changes.  In Deut. 4:2 individuals are admonished to not make changes.

כִּי־יָקוּם בְּקִרְבְּךָ נָבִיא אֹו חֹלֵם חֲלֹום וְנָתַן אֵלֶיךָ אֹות אֹו מֹופֵת   13:2

Deut. 13:2   “When there would arise in your midst a prophet or a dreamer of dreams and he would give a sign or wonder to you,

וּבָא הָאֹות וְהַמֹּופֵת אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּר אֵלֶיךָ לֵאמֹר נֵלְכָה אַחֲרֵי אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יְדַעְתָּם וְנָעָבְדֵם   13:3

Deut. 13:3   and the sign or the wonder that he will be speaking to you would come to pass, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods, which you have not known, and serve them,'

לֹא תִשְׁמַע אֶל־דִּבְרֵי הַנָּבִיא הַהוּא אֹו אֶל־חֹולֵם הַחֲלֹום הַהוּא כִּי מְנַסֶּה יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם אֶתְכֶם   13:4

לָדַעַת הֲיִשְׁכֶם אֹהֲבִים אֶת־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם בְּכָל־לְבַבְכֶם וּבְכָל־נַפְשְׁכֶם

Deut. 13:4   you shall not hearken to the words of that prophet or to that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord, your God, will be testing you to acknowledge who of you are loving the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul.”

אַחֲרֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם תֵּלֵכוּ וְאֹתֹו תִירָאוּ וְאֶת־מִצְוֹתָיו תִּשְׁמֹרוּ וּבְקֹלֹו תִשְׁמָעוּ וְאֹתֹו תַעֲבֹדוּ וּבֹו   13:5

תִדְבָּקוּן

Deut. 13:5   “You shall walk after the Lord, your God, and you shall revere Him, and you shall keep His commandments, and you shall listen to His voice, and you shall serve Him, and you shall cleave to Him.”

 וְהַנָּבִיא הַהוּא אֹו חֹלֵם הַחֲלֹום הַהוּא יוּמָת כִּי דִבֶּר־סָרָה עַל־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם הַמֹּוצִיא אֶתְכֶם  13:6

מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם וְהַפֹּדְךָ מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים לְהַדִּיחֲךָ מִן־הַדֶּרֶךְ אֲשֶׁר צִוְּךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לָלֶכֶת בָּהּ וּבִעַרְתָּ הָרָע

מִקִּרְבֶּךָ

Deut. 13:6   “And that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he speaks rebellion against the Lord, your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to draw you away from the path on which the Lord, your God, commanded you to walk, and you must put away the evil from your midst.”

כִּי יְסִיתְךָ אָחִיךָ בֶן־אִמֶּךָ אֹו־בִנְךָ אֹו־בִתְּךָ אֹו אֵשֶׁת חֵיקֶךָ אֹו רֵעֲךָ אֲשֶׁר כְּנַפְשְׁךָ בַּסֵּתֶר לֵאמֹר    13:7

נֵלְכָה וְנַעַבְדָה אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים אֲשֶׁר לֹא יָדַעְתָּ אַתָּה וַאֲבֹתֶיךָ

Deut. 13:7   “When your brother, son of your mother, or your son, or your daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your lover who is like your own soul, shall entice you in secret, saying, ‘Let us go and do the service of other gods’ that you have not known, you or your fathers,

מֵאֱלֹהֵי הָעַמִּים אֲשֶׁר סְבִיבֹתֵיכֶם הַקְּרֹבִים אֵלֶיךָ אֹו הָרְחֹקִים מִמֶּךָּ מִקְצֵה הָאָרֶץ וְעַד־קְצֵה הָאָרֶץ   13:8

Deut. 13:8   from the gods of the peoples who surround you, those near to you or far from you, from one end of the earth and to the other end of the earth,

לֹא־תֹאבֶה לֹו וְלֹא תִשְׁמַע אֵלָיו וְלֹא־תָחֹוס עֵינְךָ עָלָיו וְלֹא־תַחְמֹל וְלֹא־תְכַסֶּה עָלָיו   13:9

Deut. 13:9   you shall not be acquiescent to him and you shall not hearken to him, and your eye shall not take pity on him, and you shall not spare, and you shall not cover over him,

כִּי הָרֹג תַּהַרְגֶנּוּ יָדְךָ תִּהְיֶה־בֹּו בָרִאשֹׁונָה לַהֲמִיתֹו וְיַד כָּל־הָעָם בָּאַחֲרֹנָה   13:10

Deut. 13:10   but you shall surely kill him.  Your hand shall be on him at first to put him to death, then the hand of all the people afterward.”

I believe that Moses has changed his message somewhat in the verses from 13:7 to this one to more personally address each single individual with this essential message.  The reason I believe this is that he is now instructing each of the Israelites who will be entering the Promised Land, as well as you and me, that we must take a hand even against those we love the most if they try to entice us to stray.  Thus in these four verses, although the second-person pronouns are singular, Moses is addressing the individual.  In the next verse, he reverts to the more standard (according to me) way of using those pronouns, singular referring to the whole of the congregation.  Also, the seventh word, hn"AvarIb, could be translated as in the beginning in other contexts.      {Return to Gene. 1 notes]

וּסְקַלְתֹּו בָאֲבָנִים וָמֵת כִּי בִקֵּשׁ לְהַדִּיחֲךָ מֵעַל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ הַמֹּוצִיאֲךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם מִבֵּית   13:11

עֲבָדִים

Deut. 13:11   “So you shall put him to death with stones, because he sought to lead you away from the Lord, your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”

וְכָל־יִשְׂרָאֵל יִשְׁמְעוּ וְיִרָאוּן וְלֹא־יֹוסִפוּ לַעֲשֹׂות כַּדָּבָר הָרָע הַזֶּה בְּקִרְבֶּךָ   13:12

Deut. 13:12   “And all Israel will hear and will fear and will not continue to do as wicked a thing as this in your midst.”

כִּי־תִשְׁמַע בְּאַחַת עָרֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לְךָ לָשֶׁבֶת שָׁם לֵאמֹר   13:13

Deut. 13:13   “When you hear told about one of your cities in which the Lord, your God, will be giving to you to dwell, saying,

יָצְאוּ אֲנָשִׁים בְּנֵי־בְלִיַּעַל מִקִּרְבֶּךָ וַיַּדִּיחוּ אֶת־יֹשְׁבֵי עִירָם לֵאמֹר נֵלְכָה וְנַעַבְדָה אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים   13:14

אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יְדַעְתֶּם

Deut. 13:14   ‘Wicked men have gone out from your midst and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city saying, ‘Let us go and do the service of other gods,’ they that you have not known,

וְדָרַשְׁתָּ וְחָקַרְתָּ וְשָׁאַלְתָּ הֵיטֵב וְהִנֵּה אֱמֶת נָכֹון הַדָּבָר נֶעֶשְׂתָה הַתֹּועֵבָה הַזֹּאת בְּקִרְבֶּךָ   13:15

Deut. 13:15   then you shall inquire and search out and ask diligently, and behold the report a certain truth -- this abomination is being done in your midst --

הַכֵּה תַכֶּה אֶת־יֹשְׁבֵי הָעִיר (הַהוּא) [הַהִיא] לְפִי־חָרֶב הַחֲרֵם אֹתָהּ וְאֶת־כָּל־אֲשֶׁר־בָּהּ וְאֶת־   13:16

בְּהֶמְתָּהּ לְפִי־חָרֶב

Deut. 13:16   you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city by the edge of the sword, utterly destroying it and all that is in it, even its cattle, by the edge of the sword.”

This verse contains an error in the Hebrew.  The sixth word, in parentheses, is the masculine form of the adjective that, but the noun to which it refers is feminine.  The correct feminine adjective is in the brackets.

וְאֶת־כָּל־שְׁלָלָהּ תִּקְבֹּץ אֶל־תֹּוךְ רְחֹבָהּ וְשָׂרַפְתָּ בָאֵשׁ אֶת־הָעִיר וְאֶת־כָּל־שְׁלָלָהּ כָּלִיל לַיהוָה    13:17

אֱלֹהֶיךָ וְהָיְתָה תֵּל עֹולָם לֹא תִבָּנֶה עֹוד

Deut. 13:17   “And you shall gather all its spoil together to the center of its plaza and completely burn the city and all its spoil to ashes for the Lord, your God, and it shall be a mound forever; it shall not be built again.”

וְלֹא־יִדְבַּק בְּיָדְךָ מְאוּמָה מִן־הַחֵרֶם לְמַעַן יָשׁוּב יְהוָה מֵחֲרֹון אַפֹּו וְנָתַן־לְךָ רַחֲמִים וְרִחַמְךָ    13:18

וְהִרְבֶּךָ כַּאֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע לַאֲבֹתֶיךָ

Deut. 13:18   “And none of the devoted things shall be kept in your hand, so that the Lord may turn from the fierceness of His ‘anger’ and show mercy to you and have compassion on you and cause you to increase, as He has sworn to your fathers,

כִּי תִשְׁמַע בְּקֹול יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לִשְׁמֹר אֶת־כָּל־מִצְוֹתָיו אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיֹּום לַעֲשֹׂות הַיָּשָׁר   13:19

בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ

Deut. 13:19   because you will have listened to the voice of the Lord, your God, keeping all His commandments that I am commanding you today, doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord, your God.”

Torah Commandments in this Chapter

421. You shall not add onto everything that I am commanding you.    V. 13:1

422. You shall not take away from everything that I am commanding you.    V. 13:1

423. You shall not hearken to the words of a misleading prophet who

        urges you to stray.   V. 13:2 - 13:4

424. The misleading or false prophet shall be put to death.    V. 13:6

425. You shall observe the statutes relating to anyone who would

         lead you astray.    V. 13:7 - 13:11

426. You shall destroy any of your cities and its inhabitants in

        which idolators have turned them to other gods.    V. 13:13 - 13:16

427. When you hear of such a city, you shall inquire diligently of

        witnesses to ascertain the truth.    V. 13:13 - 13:16

428. You shall completely burn the city and all its spoil.    V. 13:17

429. The city shall never be rebuilt    V. 13:17

430. You shall not keep any of the devoted things of that city.    V. 13:18

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