Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not?
Parallel translations
- WEB Who is he who says, and it comes to pass, when the Lord doesn’t command it?
- BSB Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it?
- NKJV Who is he who speaks and it comes to pass, When the Lord has not commanded it?
- NASB Who is there who speaks and it comes to pass, Unless the Lord has commanded it?
- NLT Who can command things to happen without the Lord’s permission?
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
Nothing comes to pass unless the Lord commands it; God is sovereign over all events.
Overview
The rhetorical question affirms that no word or event takes effect apart from God's permission and decree. Human plans succeed only if the Lord ordains them. This high view of God's sovereignty offers comfort in suffering: even Judah's calamity lies within God's purposes, as does the cross of Christ (Acts 2:23).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Ps 33:9–11For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.
- Isa 46:10Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
- Prov 16:9A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.
- Prov 19:21There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.
- Prov 21:30There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD.
- Dan 4:35And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
- Eph 1:11In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
- Rom 9:15For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
- Jas 4:13–15Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
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
The weeping over a ruined city and the steadfast mercies that are new every morning point to the man of sorrows who wept over Jerusalem and whose mercy rises new from the grave.
How Lamentations 3:37 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.