And if you say in your heart, ‘How will we recognize the word which the Lord has not spoken?’
Parallel translations
- WEB You may say in your heart, “How shall we know the word which Yahweh has not spoken?”
- KJV And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?
- BSB You may ask in your heart, “How can we recognize a message that the LORD has not spoken?”
- NKJV And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’—
- NLT “But you may wonder, ‘How will we know whether or not a prophecy is from the Lord?’
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
The people ask how to tell which message truly comes from the LORD. God anticipates the practical need to discern true from false prophecy.
Overview
Recognizing the danger of false prophets, the people wonder how they can know whether a word is really from God. The question is honest and important, and God graciously gives a test in the next verse. It reminds us that God expects His people to discern and test what claims to be His word.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- 1 Jn 4:1–3Beloved, don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
- 1 Th 5:24He who calls you is faithful, who will also do it.
- Rev 2:2“I know your works, and your toil and perseverance, and that you can’t tolerate evil men, and have tested those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and found them false.
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 18:21 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.