John Calvin Commentary Deuteronomy 13:7

"of 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 13:7 (ASV)

Namely, of the gods of the people. The essence of the matter is this: we should so rest in the known truth that our ears are closed to all the falsehoods that oppose it.

People's proximity to one another commonly produces, through their interaction, a similarity of habits. Thus errors pass from one to another;⁶⁰ and since we are generally prone to evil, the worse corrupt the better.

Since the people of Israel, then, were everywhere surrounded by idolaters, they could easily have been enticed to imitate them, unless steps were taken to prevent it. But the expression “round about” is used because a reason for yielding might have been found in the fact that the Israelites differed in religion not only from a single nation but from all who surrounded them on every side. For wherever they looked, examples presented themselves to their eyes, by which they were attracted to a new and strange form of religion.

He later expands on this by adding, even if those nations be far off from thee; for the Israelites were not only separated from their neighbors but also cut off from the whole human race. This was a significant temptation: they found no companions in the whole world, nor any nation that agreed with them. Besides, distance itself sometimes causes us to respect those who are unknown to us, since human curiosity is fickle and, in its superficiality, crosses sea and land to acquire for itself corrupting abominations for the sake of their novelty.

Meanwhile, God exalts the faith that is founded on His Word above the practices, institutions, rites, and customs of all nations; for no one has made any true progress in religion unless he detests whatever is opposed to it.

⁶⁰ “Trottent ca et la, ct ont la vogue.” — .” — Fr.