Deuteronomy 18:21

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible

And, when thou shalt say in thy heart, - In what manner shall we know the word which Yahweh hath not spoken!?,

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
You may say to yourself, ‘How can we recognize a message the Lord has not spoken?’

Hebrew Names Version
If you say in your heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?

King James Version
And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken?

Lexham English Bible
And if you say to yourself, ‘How can we know the word that Yahweh has not spoken to him?'

English Standard Version
And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?'—

New Century Version
You might be thinking, "How can we know if a message is not from the Lord ?"

New English Translation
Now if you say to yourselves, ‘How can we tell that a message is not from the Lord ?'—

Amplified Bible
"If you say in your heart, 'How will we know and recognize the word which the LORD has not spoken?'

New American Standard Bible
"And if you say in your heart, 'How will we recognize the word which the LORD has not spoken?'

Geneva Bible (1587)
And if thou thinke in thine heart, Howe shall we knowe the worde which the Lorde hath not spoken?

Legacy Standard Bible
Now you may say in your heart, ‘How will we know the word which Yahweh has not spoken?'

Contemporary English Version
Moses said to Israel: You may be asking yourselves, "How can we tell if a prophet's message really comes from the Lord ?"

Complete Jewish Bible
You may be wondering, ‘How are we to know if a word has not been spoken by Adonai ?'

Darby Translation
And if thou say in thy heart, How shall we know the word that Jehovah hath not spoken?

Easy-to-Read Version
You might be thinking, ‘How can we know if something a prophet says is not from the Lord ?'

George Lamsa Translation
And if you say in your heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?

Good News Translation
"You may wonder how you can tell when a prophet's message does not come from the Lord .

Literal Translation
And if you say in your heart, How shall we know the word which Jehovah has not spoken?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But yf thou saye in thine hert: How can I knowe what worde the LORDE hath not spoken?

American Standard Version
And if thou say in thy heart, How shall we know the word which Jehovah hath not spoken?

Bible in Basic English
And if you say in your hearts, How are we to be certain that the word does not come from the Lord?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And if thou say in thine heart: howe shall we knowe the worde which the Lorde hath not spoken?

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And if thou say in thy heart: 'How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?'

King James Version (1611)
And if thou say in thine heart, How shall wee know the word which the Lord hath not spoken?

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
But if thou shalt say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?

English Revised Version
And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?

Berean Standard Bible
You may ask in your heart, "How can we recognize a message that the LORD has not spoken?"

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
That if thou answerist bi pryuy thouyt, Hou may Y vndirstonde the word, which the Lord spak not? thou schalt haue this signe,

Young's Literal Translation
`And when thou sayest in thy heart, How do we know the word which Jehovah hath not spoken? --

Update Bible Version
And if you say in your heart, How shall we know the word which Yahweh has not spoken?

Webster's Bible Translation
And if thou shalt say in thy heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?

World English Bible
If you say in your heart, How shall we know the word which Yahweh has not spoken?

New King James Version
And if you say in your heart, "How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?'--

New Living Translation
"But you may wonder, ‘How will we know whether or not a prophecy is from the Lord ?'

New Life Bible
You may say to yourselves, ‘How can we know which words the Lord has not spoken?'

New Revised Standard
You may say to yourself, "How can we recognize a word that the Lord has not spoken?"

Douay-Rheims Bible
And if in silent thought thou answer: How shall I know the word that the Lord hath not spoken?

Revised Standard Version
And if you say in your heart, 'How may we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?' --

THE MESSAGE
You may be wondering among yourselves, "How can we tell the difference, whether it was God who spoke or not?" Here's how: If what the prophet spoke in God 's name doesn't happen, then obviously God wasn't behind it; the prophet made it up. Forget about him.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"You may say in your heart, 'How will we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?'

Contextual Overview

¹⁵ A prophet out of thy midst of thy brethren like unto me, will Yahweh thy God, raise up unto thee - unto him, shall ye hearken: ¹⁶ according to all which thou didst ask of Yahweh thy God, in Horeb, in the day of the convocation saying, - Let me no further hearken unto the voice of Yahweh my God, and this great fire, let me not see any more lest I die. ¹⁷ And Yahweh said unto me: They have well said what they have spoken. ¹⁸ A prophet, will I raise up unto them, out of the midst of their brethren, like unto thee, - and I will put my words in his mouth, so shall he speak unto them whatsoever I shall command him. ¹⁹ And it shall come to pass, that, the man who will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I, myself will require it of him. ²⁰ Howbeit the prophet who shall presume to speak a word in my name which I have not commanded him to speak, or who shah speak in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die. ²¹ And, when thou shalt say in thy heart, - In what manner shall we know the word which Yahweh hath not spoken!?, ²² When the prophet shall speak in the name of Yahweh and the word shall not come to pass, neither shall come in, that, is the word which Yahweh, hath not spoken, - presumptuously, hath the prophet spoken it, thou shall not be in dread of him.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

1 Thessalonians 5:24, 1 John 4:1-3, Revelation 2:2

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 7:17 - thou shalt Jeremiah 13:22 - if

Cross-References

Genesis 11:5
And Yahweh came down, to behold the city, and the tower, - which the sons of men had built.

Genesis 11:7
Come on! let us go down, and there confuse their speech, - that they may not under-stand, each man the speech of his friend.

Genesis 18:1
And Yahweh appeared unto him among the oaks of Mamre, - as, he, was sitting at the opening of the tent in the heat of the day.

Genesis 18:24
Peradventure there are fifty righteous, in the midst of the city, Wilt thou really sweep away, and not spare the place, for the sake of the fifty righteous which are therein?

Exodus 3:8
therefore have I come down to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians, and to take them up out of that land, into a land good and large, into a land flowing with milk and honey, - into the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite, and the Amorite and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

Exodus 33:5
Then said Yahweh unto Moses - Say unto the sons of Israel, Ye, are a stiff-necked people, in one moment - if I should go up in thy midst, should I make an end of thee, - Now, therefore lay down thine ornaments from off thee, that I may see what I must do with thee.

Deuteronomy 8:2
So then, thou shalt remember all the way in which Yahweh thy God caused thee to journey these forty years in the desert, - that he might humble time to put thee to the proof to know what was in thy heart, - whether thou wouldest keep his commandments or not.

Deuteronomy 13:3
thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or unto that dreamer of dreams, - for Yahweh your God, is putting you to the proof, to know whether ye do love Yahweh your God, with all your heart and with all your soul.

Joshua 22:22
El-Elohim-Yahweh, El-Elohim-Yahweh, he knoweth, and, Israel, he, shall know, - if in rebellion, or if in treachery, against Yahweh, do not save us this day:

Job 34:22
No darkness, and no death-shade, where the workers of iniquity may hide.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And if thou say in thine heart, &c] Such a thought arises in the mind, and it appears to be a difficulty, and a query is made upon it,

how shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? What marks, signs, and criterions are those by which it may be known that it is not a word that comes from the Lord?

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And if thou say in thine heart, How ... - The passage evidently assumes such an occasion for consulting the prophet as was usual among the pagan, e. g., an impending battle or other such crisis (compare 1 Kings 22:11), in which his veracity would soon be put to the test. Failure of a prediction is set forth as a sure note of its being “presumptuous.” But from Deuteronomy 13:2 ff we see that the fulfillment of a prediction would not decisively accredit him who uttered it: for the prophet or dreamer of dreams who endeavoured on the strength of miracles to seduce to idolatry was to be rejected and punished. Nothing therefore contrary to the revealed truth of God was to be accepted under any circumstances.