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.
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.”
- BSB 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.”
- 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 thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
- Prov 3:5–6Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
- Isa 58:11And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
- Isa 42:16And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.
- Deut 5:32Ye shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
- Isa 35:8–9And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.
- Ps 143:8–10Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.
- Jer 6:16Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.
- Isa 48:17Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.
- Josh 1:7Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
- Ps 25:8–9Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.
- Prov 4:27Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.
- Isa 29:24They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine.
- 2 Kgs 22:2And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.
- 1 Jn 2:27But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
- Josh 23:6Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left;
- 1 Jn 2:20But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.
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.