The last verse of chapter 12 in the English Bible is the first verse of chapter 13 in the Hebrew Bible. It introduces what follows.
God permitted prophets (people who claimed to have direct revelation from God or to speak for God or who praised God) to arise in Israel and perform miracles (v. 1) even though they advocated apostasy from Yahweh. The primary meaning of "prophet"(Heb. nabi') is "proclaimer"or "forthteller"(cf. Exod. 4:15-16; 7:1)152A prophet was, then, a spokesman for God who represented Him before other people.153God permitted prophets to utter false prophecies to test His people's love (v. 3). The test of a false prophet was his or her fidelity to the Mosaic Covenant. If he led the people away from God, the civil authorities were to put him to death (v. 5). Some false prophets would foretell the future since they received information from the evil spirit world (e.g., diviners, soothsayers, etc.). Some of them could even perform signs and wonders (supernatural acts) to substantiate their claim that their power came from God. Enticement to idolatry was a very serious crime in Israel.
