And whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.”
Parallel translations
- WEB and when you turn to the right hand, and when you turn to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way. Walk in it.”
- KJV And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
- NKJV Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left.
- NASB Your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.
- NLT Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.
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
Whichever way they turn, they will hear a voice behind them saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.' It matters because God promises clear, present guidance for the obedient.
Overview
This beloved verse pictures God's people hearing His directing voice at every turn, keeping them on the right path. It assures believers of God's faithful guidance when they incline to listen. The promise finds fuller expression in the good Shepherd whose sheep hear His voice, and in the Spirit who leads God's children in the way.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Ps 32:8I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will give you counsel and watch over you.
- Prov 3:5–6Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
- Isa 58:11The LORD will always guide you; He will satisfy you in a sun-scorched land and strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
- Isa 42:16I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on unfamiliar paths. I will turn darkness into light before them and rough places into level ground. These things I will do for them, and I will not forsake them.
- Deut 5:32So be careful to do as the LORD your God has commanded you; you are not to turn aside to the right or to the left.
- Isa 35:8–9And there will be a highway called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel it—only those who walk in the Way—and fools will not stray onto it.
- Ps 143:8–10Let me hear Your loving devotion in the morning, for I have put my trust in You. Teach me the way I should walk, for to You I lift up my soul.
- Jer 6:16This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths: ‘Where is the good way?’ Then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it!’
- Isa 48:17Thus says the LORD your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you for your benefit, who directs you in the way you should go.
- Josh 1:7Above all, be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe all the law that My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may prosper wherever you go.
- Ps 25:8–9Good and upright is the LORD; therefore He shows sinners the way.
- Prov 4:27Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your feet away from evil.
- Isa 29:24Then the wayward in spirit will come to understanding, and those who grumble will accept instruction.”
- 2 Kgs 22:2And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.
- 1 Jn 2:27And as for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But just as His true and genuine anointing teaches you about all things, so remain in Him as you have been taught.
- Josh 23:6Be very strong, then, so that you can keep and obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, not turning aside from it to the right or to the left.
- 1 Jn 2:20You, however, have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 30:21 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.