BibleWord.ai› Bible› Deuteronomy› Chapter 13› Verse 4

Deuteronomy 13:4

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Deuteronomy 13:4 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Ye shall walk after Jehovah your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Ye shall walk after Jehovah your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.
Deuteronomy 13:4 — American Standard Version

Context — Deuteronomy 13

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
1If there arise in the midst of thee a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and he give thee a sign or a wonder,
2and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;
3thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or unto that dreamer of dreams: for Jehovah your God proveth you, to know whether ye love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
4Ye shall walk after Jehovah your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.
5And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death, because he hath spoken rebellion against Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of bondage, to draw thee aside out of the way which Jehovah thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee.
6If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, that is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;
7of the gods of the peoples that are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth;
← Deuteronomy 13:3Deuteronomy 13:5 →
← Full Chapter 13 Deuteronomy Overview

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, etc.] As he has directed, according to the laws and rules which he has given, both with respect to their moral and civil conduct, and their religious worship of him; and so the Targum of Jonathan, “ye shall walk after the worship of the Lord your God:” and fear him, and keep his commandments; fear to offend him, and so keep his commandments; or keep his commandments from or through fear; not a servile but a filial one, a reverential affection for him; this is the whole duty of man, (<211213>Ecclesiastes 12:13), and obey his voice; in his word, or by his prophets and ministers: it may very well be understood of the voice of Christ, the Angel that went…”
Read attributed excerpt →
Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“walk: Deu 6:13; Kg2 23:3; Ch2 34:31; Mic 6:8; Luk 1:6; Col 1:10; Th1 4:1, Th1 4:2 and obey: Jer 7:23 and cleave: Deu 10:20, Deu 30:20; Rom 6:13; Co1 6:17 Deuteronomy 13:5”
Read attributed excerpt →
Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“God permitted false prophets to rise up with such wonders, to try the Israelites, whether they loved Him, the Lord their God, with all their heart. (נסּה as in Gen 22:1.) אהבים הישׁכם, whether ye are loving, i.e., faithfully maintain your love to the Lord. It is evident from this, "that however great the importance attached to signs and wonders, they were not to be regarded among the Israelites, either as the highest test, or as absolutely decisive, but that there was a certainty in Israel, which was so much the more certain and firm than any proof from miracles could be, that it might be most decidedly opposed to it" (Baumgarten). This certainty, however, was not "the knowledge of Jehovah,"…”
Read attributed excerpt →

Related study paths

Read Deuteronomy 13 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification