Exodus 22:20

22:20 “Whoever sacrifices to a god other than the Lord ¹  alone must be utterly destroyed. ² 

Deuteronomy 13:5-15

13:5 As for that prophet or dreamer, ³  he must be executed because he encouraged rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt, redeeming you from that place of slavery, and because he has tried to entice you from the way the Lord your God has commanded you to go. In this way you must purge out evil from within. ⁴ 

False Prophets in the Family

13:6 Suppose your own full brother, ⁵  your son, your daughter, your beloved wife, or your closest friend should seduce you secretly and encourage you to go and serve other gods ⁶  that neither you nor your ancestors ⁷  have previously known, ⁸  13:7 the gods of the surrounding people (whether near you or far from you, from one end of the earth ⁹  to the other). 13:8 You must not give in to him or even listen to him; do not feel sympathy for him or spare him or cover up for him. 13:9 Instead, you must kill him without fail! ¹⁰  Your own hand must be the first to strike him, ¹¹  and then the hands of the whole community. 13:10 You must stone him to death ¹²  because he tried to entice you away from the Lord your God, who delivered you from the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. 13:11 Thus all Israel will hear and be afraid; no longer will they continue to do evil like this among you. ¹³ 

Punishment of Community Idolatry

13:12 Suppose you should hear in one of your cities, which the Lord your God is giving you as a place to live, that 13:13 some evil people ¹⁴  have departed from among you to entice the inhabitants of their cities, ¹⁵  saying, “Let’s go and serve other gods” (whom you have not known before). ¹⁶  13:14 You must investigate thoroughly and inquire carefully. If it is indeed true that such a disgraceful thing is being done among you, ¹⁷  13:15 you must by all means ¹⁸  slaughter the inhabitants of that city with the sword; annihilate ¹⁹  with the sword everyone in it, as well as the livestock.

Deuteronomy 17:2-5

17:2 Suppose a man or woman is discovered among you – in one of your villages ²⁰  that the Lord your God is giving you – who sins before the Lord your God ²¹  and breaks his covenant 17:3 by serving other gods and worshiping them – the sun, ²²  moon, or any other heavenly bodies which I have not permitted you to worship. ²³  17:4 When it is reported to you and you hear about it, you must investigate carefully. If it is indeed true that such a disgraceful thing ²⁴  is being done in Israel, 17:5 you must bring to your city gates ²⁵  that man or woman who has done this wicked thing – that very man or woman – and you must stone that person to death. ²⁶ 

Deuteronomy 17:1

17:1 You must not sacrifice to him ²⁷  a bull or sheep that has a blemish or any other defect, because that is considered offensive ²⁸  to the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 18:1

Provision for Priests and Levites

18:1 The Levitical priests ²⁹  – indeed, the entire tribe of Levi – will have no allotment or inheritance with Israel; they may eat the burnt offerings of the Lord and of his inheritance. ³⁰ 

[22:20]  ¹ tn Heb “not to Yahweh.”

[22:20]  ² tn The verb חָרַם (kharam) means “to be devoted” to God or “to be banned.” The idea is that it would be God’s to do with as he liked. What was put under the ban was for God alone, either for his service or for his judgment. But it was out of human control. Here the verb is saying that the person will be utterly destroyed.

[13:5]  ³ tn Heb “or dreamer of dreams.” See note on this expression in v. 1.

[13:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “your midst” (so NAB, NRSV). The severity of the judgment here (i.e., capital punishment) is because of the severity of the sin, namely, high treason against the Great King. Idolatry is a violation of the first two commandments (Deut 5:6-10) as well as the spirit and intent of the Shema (Deut 6:4-5).

[13:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “your brother, the son of your mother.” In a polygamous society it was not rare to have half brothers and sisters by way of a common father and different mothers.

[13:6]  ⁶ tn In the Hebrew text these words are in the form of a brief quotation: “entice you secretly saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods.’”

[13:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 17).

[13:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “which you have not known, you or your fathers.” (cf. KJV, ASV; on “fathers” cf. v. 18).

[13:7]  ⁹ tn Or “land” (so NIV, NCV); the same Hebrew word can be translated “land” or “earth.”

[13:9]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with the words “without fail” (cf. NIV “you must certainly put him to death”).

[13:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “to put him to death,” but this is misleading in English for such an action would leave nothing for the others to do.

[13:10]  ¹² sn Execution by means of pelting the offender with stones afforded a mechanism whereby the whole community could share in it. In a very real sense it could be done not only in the name of the community and on its behalf but by its members (cf. Lev 24:14; Num 15:35; Deut 21:21; Josh 7:25).

[13:11]  ¹³ sn Some see in this statement an argument for the deterrent effect of capital punishment (Deut 17:13; 19:20; 21:21).

[13:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “men, sons of Belial.” The Hebrew term בְּלִיַּעַל (bÿliyya’al) has the idea of worthlessness, without morals or scruples (HALOT 133-34 s.v.). Cf. NAB, NRSV “scoundrels”; TEV, CEV “worthless people”; NLT “worthless rabble.”

[13:13]  ¹⁵ tc The LXX and Tg read “your” for the MT’s “their.”

[13:13]  ¹⁶ tn The translation understands the relative clause as a statement by Moses, not as part of the quotation from the evildoers. See also v. 2.

[13:14]  ¹⁷ tc Theodotian adds “in Israel,” perhaps to broaden the matter beyond the local village.

[13:15]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, indicated in the translation by the words “by all means.” Cf. KJV, NASB “surely”; NIV “certainly.”

[13:15]  ¹⁹ tn Or “put under divine judgment. The Hebrew word (חֵרֶם, kherem) refers to placing persons or things under God’s judgment, usually to the extent of their complete destruction.Though primarily applied against the heathen, this severe judgment could also fall upon unrepentant Israelites (cf. the story of Achan in Josh 7). See also the note on the phrase “divine judgment” in Deut 2:34.

[17:2]  ²⁰ tn Heb “gates.”

[17:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “does the evil in the eyes of the Lord your God.”

[17:3]  ²² tc The MT reads “and to the sun,” thus including the sun, the moon, and other heavenly spheres among the gods. However, Theodotion and Lucian read “or to the sun,” suggesting perhaps that the sun and the other heavenly bodies are not in the category of actual deities.

[17:3]  ²³ tn Heb “which I have not commanded you.” The words “to worship” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[17:4]  ²⁴ tn Heb “an abomination” (תּוֹעֵבָה); see note on the word “offensive” in v. 1.

[17:5]  ²⁵ tn Heb “gates.”

[17:5]  ²⁶ tn Heb “stone them with stones so that they die” (KJV similar); NCV “throw stones at that person until he dies.”

[17:1]  ²⁷ tn Heb “to the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 16:1.

[17:1]  ²⁸ tn The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “an abomination”; cf. NAB) describes persons, things, or practices offensive to ritual or moral order. See M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 4:314-18; see also the note on the word “abhorrent” in Deut 7:25.

[18:1]  ²⁹ tn The MT places the terms “priests” and “Levites” in apposition, thus creating an epexegetical construction in which the second term qualifies the first, i.e., “Levitical priests.” This is a way of asserting their legitimacy as true priests. The Syriac renders “to the priest and to the Levite,” making a distinction between the two, but one that is out of place here.

[18:1]  ³⁰ sn Of his inheritance. This is a figurative way of speaking of the produce of the land the Lord will give to his people. It is the Lord’s inheritance, but the Levites are allowed to eat it since they themselves have no inheritance among the other tribes of Israel.