Who has directed Yahweh’s Spirit, or has taught him as his counselor?
Parallel translations
- KJV Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him?
- BSB Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or informed Him as His counselor?
- NKJV Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, Or as His counselor has taught Him?
- NASB Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, Or as His counselor has informed Him?
- NLT Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord? Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?
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
No one has ever directed God's Spirit or instructed Him, for He needs no counselor.
Overview
God's wisdom is utterly self-sufficient and unteachable by any creature. He neither receives nor requires guidance from outside Himself. Paul cites this verse twice (Romans 11:34; 1 Corinthians 2:16) to extol the unsearchable depth of God's wisdom and to assert that believers, by the Spirit, have the mind of Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- 1 Cor 2:16“For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct him?” But we have Christ’s mind.
- Rom 11:34“For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?”
- Job 21:22“Shall any teach God knowledge, since he judges those who are high?
- Job 36:22–23Behold, God is exalted in his power. Who is a teacher like him?
- Luke 10:22Turning to the disciples, he said, “All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is, except the Father, and who the Father is, except the Son, and he to whomever the Son desires to reveal him.”
- Eph 1:11in whom also we were assigned an inheritance, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who does all things after the counsel of his will;
- John 1:13who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 40:13 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.