Deuteronomy 13:10
in Deuteronomy 13Stone him to death for trying to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And thou shalt stone him to death with stones, because he hath sought to draw thee away from Jehovah thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
KJV
And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 13
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
thou shalt surely kill him
on Deuteronomy 13:9-11
The accuser's own hand goes first, and 17:7 states the rule this clause assumes, that the hands of the witnesses are upon him first and afterwards the hands of all the people. Acts 7:58 shows the same procedure still running at the death of Stephen, where the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of Saul. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the passage as a judicial sentence carried out in public, since what was done in secret could not be proved by one informer without a hearing. Verse 11 gives the purpose, that all Israel shall hear, and fear, a formula the book uses four times, here and at 17:13, 19:20 and 21:21.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Those are certainly our worst enemies that would thrust us from God, our best friend; and whatever draws us to sin, separates between us and God, is a design upon our life, and to be resented accordingly, And, lastly, here is the good effect of this necessary execution (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
For you must surely execute him. Let your hand strike him first to execute him, and the hand of the entire people afterward.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּסְקַלְתּ֥וֹ | usekalto | and you will stone him | H5619 → | 22 times |
| בָאֲבָנִ֖ים | vaavanim | with <the> stones | H68 → | 273 times |
| וָמֵ֑ת | vamet | and he will die | H4191 → | 839 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| בִקֵּ֗שׁ | vikesh | he sought | H1245 → | |
| לְהַדִּֽיחֲךָ֙ | lehadichakha | to thrust aside you | H5080 → | 55 times |
| מֵעַל֙ | meal | from with | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| הַמּוֹצִיאֲךָ֛ | hamotziakha | who brought out you | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| מֵאֶ֥רֶץ | meeretz | from [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִצְרַ֖יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| מִבֵּ֥ית | mibeit | from a house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| עֲבָדִֽים׃ | ʾavadim | slaves | H5650 → | 799 times |
וּסְקַלְתּ֥וֹand you will stone him
usekaltoH5619 →22 times
בָאֲבָנִ֖יםwith <the> stones
vaavanimH68 →273 times
וָמֵ֑תand he will die
vametH4191 →839 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
בִקֵּ֗שׁhe sought
vikeshH1245 →
לְהַדִּֽיחֲךָ֙to thrust aside you
lehadichakhaH5080 →55 times
מֵעַל֙from with
mealH5921 →5755 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
הַמּוֹצִיאֲךָ֛who brought out you
hamotziakhaH3318 →1067 times
מֵאֶ֥רֶץfrom [the] land of
meeretzH776 →2504 times
מִצְרַ֖יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
מִבֵּ֥יתfrom a house of
mibeitH1004 →2046 times
עֲבָדִֽים׃slaves
ʾavadimH5650 →799 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Exodus 20:2“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 5:6
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
- Hosea 13:4
Yet I am the LORD your God ever since the land of Egypt; you know no God but Me, for there is no Savior besides Me.
- Leviticus 26:13
I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians. I broke the bars of your yoke and…
- Psalms 81:10
I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth, and I will fill it.
- Exodus 13:3
So Moses told the people, “Remember this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; for the LORD brought you out of it by the strength of His…
- Deuteronomy 5:6
Through
Joshua 7:25“Why have you brought this trouble upon us?” said Joshua. “Today the LORD will bring trouble upon you!” And all Israel stoned him to death. Then they stoned the others and burned their bodies.
it leads to
- Joshua 6:18
But keep away from the things devoted to destruction, lest you yourself be set apart for destruction. If you take any of these, you will set apart the camp of Israel for destruction and…
- 1 Chronicles 2:7
The son of Carmi: Achar, who brought trouble upon Israel by violating the ban on devoted things.
- Deuteronomy 17:5
you must bring out to your gates the man or woman who has done this evil thing, and you must stone that person to death.
- Joshua 6:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Deuteronomy

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
