Who is there who speaks and it comes to pass, Unless the Lord has commanded it?
Parallel translations
- WEB Who is he who says, and it comes to pass, when the Lord doesn’t command it?
- KJV Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not?
- 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?
- 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 spoke, and it was done. He commanded, and it stood firm.
- Isa 46:10I declare the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done. I say: My counsel will stand, and I will do all that I please.
- Prov 16:9A man’s heart plans his course, but Yahweh directs his steps.
- Prov 19:21There are many plans in a man’s heart, but Yahweh’s counsel will prevail.
- Prov 21:30There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against Yahweh.
- Dan 4:35All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and he does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and no one can stop his hand, or ask him, What are you doing?
- 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;
- Rom 9:15For he said to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
- Jas 4:13–15Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow let’s go into this city, and spend a year there, trade, and make a profit.”
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.