Deuteronomy 18:21

Myles Coverdale Bible

But yf thou saye in thine hert: How can I knowe what worde the LORDE 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?

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?"

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!?,

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, like vnto me, shall the LORDE thy God raise the vp euen out of the, & from amonge thy brethren, vnto him shal ye herke, ¹⁶ acordinge as thou desyredest before the LORDE thy God in Horeb, (in the daye of ye gatheringe together) & saydest: Let me heare the voyce of the LORDE my God nomore, and se nomore this greate fyre, that I dye not. ¹⁷ And ye LORDE saide vnto me: They haue well spoken. ¹⁸ I wil rayse them vp a prophet from amonge their brethren like vnto the, and wyl put my wordes in his mouth, & he shal speake vnto them all that I shal comaunde him. ¹⁹ And who so euer wyl not herken vnto my wordes, which he shal speake in my name, of him wil I requyre it. ²⁰ But yf a prophete presume to speake ought in my name, which I haue not comauded him to speake: and he that speaketh in ye name of other goddes, yt same prophete shal dye. ²¹ But yf thou saye in thine hert: How can I knowe what worde the LORDE hath not spoken? ²² Euen whan the prophete speaketh in the name of ye LORDE, and the thinge foloweth not, and commeth not to passe, ye same is the worde, yt the LORDE hath not spoke. The prophet hath spoke it presumtuously, therfore be not afrayed 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
Then came ye LORDE downe, to se ye cite & tower, yt ye childre of me had buylded.

Genesis 11:7
Come on, let vs go downe, & cofounde their tonge eue there, yt one vnderstonde not what another saieth.

Genesis 18:1
Annd the LORDE apeared vnto him in the Okegroue of Mamre, as he sat in his tent dore in the heate of ye daie.

Genesis 18:24
Peradueture there maye be fiftie righteous within ye cite: wilt thou destroye those, and not spare the place, for fiftie righteous sake that are therin?

Exodus 3:8
and am come downe to delyuer them from the power of the Egipcians, and to carye them out of that lode, in to a good and wyde londe, euen in to a londe that floweth with mylke and hony: namely, vnto the place of the Cananites, Hethites, Amorites, Pheresites, Heuytes & Iebusites.

Exodus 33:5
And ye LORDE sayde vnto Moses: Speake vnto the children of Israel: Ye are a styfnecked people, I must once come sodenly vpon the, and make an ende of the. And now put of thy goodly araye from the, yt I maie knowe what to do vnto the.

Deuteronomy 8:2
and thynke vpon all ye waie thorow the which the LORDE thy God hath led the this fortye yeares in the wyldernesse, that he mighte chasten the, and proue the, to wete whath were in thyne herte, whether thou woldest kepe his comaundemetes or no.

Deuteronomy 13:3
Thou shalt not herken vnto the wordes of soch a prophet or dreamer. For ye LORDE youre God proueth you, to wete whether ye loue him with all youre hert, & with all youre soule.

Joshua 22:22
The mightie God ye LORDE, the mightie God the LORDE knoweth, and Israel knoweth also, yf this be a trangressynge or trespacynge agaynst the LORDE, then let it not helpe vs this daye:

Job 34:22
There is no darcknes ner thicke shadowe, yt can hyde the wicked doers from him.

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.