Bible Commentaries

If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of ^a dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,

(a) Who says that he has things revealed to him in dreams.

And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, ^b Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;

(b) He shows that to which the false prophets tend.

Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God ^c proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

(c) God ordains all these things that his may be known.

And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be ^d 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.

(d) Being convicted by testimonies, and condemned by the judge.

If ^e 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 ^f soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;

(e) All natural affection must give place to God's honour.

(f) Whom you love as your life.

But thou shalt surely kill him; ^g thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.

(g) As the witness is charged.

Then shalt ^h thou enquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, [if it be] truth, [and] the thing certain, [that] such abomination is wrought among you;

(h) Which are appointed to see faults punished.

And ⁱ thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, for the LORD thy God: and it shall be an heap for ever; it shall not be built again.

(i) Signifying that no idolatry is so detestable, nor more grievously to be punished, than of those who once professed God.

And there shall cleave nought of the ^k cursed thing to thine hand: that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and shew thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers;

(k) Of the spoil of that idolatrous and cursed city, read (Deuteronomy 7:26) ; (Joshua 7:11).