you shall not consent to him or listen to him; and your eye shall not pity him, nor shall you spare or conceal 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:
- BSB you must not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity, and do not spare him or shield 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;
- 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 19:13Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall purge the innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with you.
- Prov 1:10My son, if sinners entice you, don’t consent.
- Deut 7:16You shall consume all the peoples whom Yahweh your God shall deliver to you. Your eye shall not pity them: neither shall you serve their gods; for that would be a snare to you.
- Ezek 9:5–6To the others he said in my hearing, “Go through the city after him, and strike. Don’t let your eye spare, neither have pity.
- Exod 20:3“You shall have no other gods before me.
- Ezek 5:11Therefore as I live,’ says the Lord Yahweh, ‘surely, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable things, and with all your abominations, therefore I will also diminish you. My eye won’t spare, and I will have no pity.
- Gal 1:8–9But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you any “good news” other than that which we preached to you, let him be cursed.
- 1 Jn 5:21Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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.