Deuteronomy 13 - 14

Stone Those Who Prophesy Against Yahweh

“If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us walk after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for Yahweh your God is testing you to find out if you love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 You shall walk after Yahweh your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. 5 But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death because he has counseled rebellion against Yahweh your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to drive you from the way in which Yahweh your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from among you. 6 “If your brother, your mother’s son, or your son or daughter, or the wife you cherish, or your friend who is as your own soul, entices you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods’ (whom neither you nor your fathers have known, 7 of the gods of the peoples who are around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other end), 8 you shall not be willing to accept him or listen to him; and your eye shall not pity him; and you shall not spare him or conceal him. 9 But you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. 10 So you shall stone him to death because he has sought to drive you from Yahweh your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 11 Thus all Israel will hear and be afraid and will never again do such an evil thing among you. 12 “If you hear in one of your cities, which Yahweh your God is giving you to live in, anyone saying that 13 some vile men have gone out from among you and have driven the inhabitants of their city astray, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods’ (whom you have not known), 14 then you shall inquire and search out and ask thoroughly. Behold, if it is true and the matter is confirmed, that this abomination has been done among you, 15 you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, devoting it to destruction and all that is in it and its cattle with the edge of the sword. 16 Then you shall gather all its spoil into the middle of its open square and burn the city and all its spoil with fire as a whole burnt offering to Yahweh your God; and it shall be a ruin forever. It shall never be rebuilt. 17 Now nothing from that which is devoted to destruction shall cling to your hand, in order that Yahweh may turn from His burning anger and grant compassion to you and show compassion to you and make you multiply, just as He has sworn to your fathers, 18 if you will listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, keeping all His commandments which I am commanding you today, and doing what is right in the sight of Yahweh your God.

Clean and Unclean Animals

“You are the sons of Yahweh your God; you shall not gash yourselves nor shave your forehead for the sake of the dead. 2 For you are a holy people to Yahweh your God, and Yahweh has chosen you to be a people for His treasured possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 3 “You shall not eat any abominable thing. 4 These are the animals which you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, 5 the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain sheep. 6 And any animal that divides the hoof and has the hoof split in two and chews the cud, among the animals, that one you may eat. 7 Nevertheless, you are not to eat of these among those which chew the cud or among those that divide the hoof in two: the camel and the rabbit and the shaphan, for though they chew the cud, they do not divide the hoof; they are unclean for you. 8 And the pig, because it divides the hoof but does not chew the cud, it is unclean for you. You shall not eat any of their flesh nor touch their carcasses. 9 “These you may eat of all that are in water: anything that has fins and scales you may eat, 10 but anything that does not have fins and scales you shall not eat; it is unclean for you. 11 “You may eat any clean bird. 12 But these are the ones which you shall not eat: the eagle and the vulture and the buzzard, 13 and the red kite, the falcon, and the kite in their kinds, 14 and every raven in its kind, 15 and the ostrich, the owl, the gull, and the hawk in their kinds, 16 the little owl, the great owl, the white owl, 17 the pelican, the carrion vulture, the cormorant, 18 the stork, and the heron in their kinds, and the hoopoe and the bat. 19 And all the teeming life with wings are unclean to you; they shall not be eaten. 20 You may eat any clean bird. 21 “You shall not eat anything which dies of itself. You may give it to the sojourner who is within your gates, so that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner, for you are a holy people to Yahweh your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk. 22 “You shall surely tithe all the produce from what you sow, which comes out of the field every year. 23 And you shall eat in the presence of Yahweh your God, at the place where He chooses for His name to dwell, the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and your flock, so that you may learn to fear Yahweh your God all your days. 24 And if the distance is so great for you that you are not able to bring the tithe, since the place where Yahweh your God chooses to set His name is too far away from you when Yahweh your God blesses you, 25 then you shall exchange it for money and bind the money in your hand and go to the place which Yahweh your God chooses. 26 And you may spend the money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink or whatever your heart desires; and there you shall eat in the presence of Yahweh your God and be glad, you and your household. 27 Also you shall not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no portion or inheritance among you. 28 “At the end of every third year you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in that year and shall deposit it within your gates. 29 And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance among you, and the sojourner, the orphan, and the widow who are within your gates, shall come and eat and be satisfied, in order that Yahweh your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.