you must not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity, and do not spare him or shield him.
Parallel translations
- WEB you shall not consent to him, nor listen to him; neither shall your eye pity him, neither shall you spare, neither shall you conceal him;
- KJV Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him:
- NKJV you shall not consent to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him or conceal him;
- NASB you shall not consent to him or listen to him; and your eye shall not pity him, nor shall you spare or conceal him.
- NLT But do not give in or listen. Have no pity, and do not spare or protect them.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Israel must not consent, listen, pity, spare, or shield the one who entices them to idolatry. Compassion must not override loyalty to God in such a case.
Overview
Moses commands an uncompromising refusal, with five emphatic verbs warning against any softening toward the seducer. Even natural pity must yield where the worship of God is at stake under the theocratic law. This severity reveals how deadly idolatry is, and while its civil enactment belonged to Israel, it teaches the church to give no quarter to teaching that draws hearts from Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Deut 19:13You must show him no pity. You are to purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, that it may go well with you.
- Prov 1:10My son, if sinners entice you, do not yield to them.
- Deut 7:16You must destroy all the peoples the LORD your God will deliver to you. Do not look on them with pity. Do not worship their gods, for that will be a snare to you.
- Ezek 9:5–6And as I listened, He said to the others, “Follow him through the city and start killing; do not show pity or spare anyone!
- Exod 20:3You shall have no other gods before Me.
- Ezek 5:11Therefore as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable idols and abominations, I Myself will withdraw My favor; I will not look upon you with pity, nor will I spare you.
- Gal 1:8–9But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be under a curse!
- 1 Jn 5:21Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 13:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.