Deuteronomy 18:15-22

A New Prophet like Moses

15 ¹"The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers--it is to him you shall listen--

16 just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb ²on the day of the assembly, when you said, ³'Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.'

17 And the LORD said to me, ⁴'They are right in what they have spoken.

18 ⁵I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. ⁶And I will put my words in his mouth, and ⁷he shall speak to them all that I command him.

19 ⁸And whoever will ⁹not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.

20 ¹⁰But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or^[a] who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.'

21 And if you say in your heart, 'How may we know the word that the LORD has not spoken?'--

22 ¹¹when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; ¹²the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.

Deuteronomy 18:15-22 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 18

This chapter gives an account of the provision made for the priests and Levites, with the reason of it, De 18:1-5, of allowance of a country Levite to minister at Jerusalem, and take his portion with the rest, De 18:6-8, and of several persons of bad practices not to be suffered among the people of Israel, De 18:9-14, and of an extraordinary prophet that should be raised up among them, to whom they should hearken, or it would be the worse for them, De 18:15-19, but a false prophet was to be put to death, of whom a sign is given by which he might be known, De 18:20-22.

Cross References

• 1. John 1:21, 25, 45; Cited Acts 3:22; Acts 7:37
• 2. See Deuteronomy 9:10
• 3. See Exodus 20:19
• 4. Deuteronomy 5:28
• 5. [See ver. 15 above]
• 6. Jeremiah 1:9; Jeremiah 5:14; [John 17:8]
• 7. [John 4:25; John 8:28; John 12:49, 50]
• 8. [Acts 3:23]
• 9. Jeremiah 29:19; Jeremiah 35:13
• 10. See Deuteronomy 13:5
• 11. [Deuteronomy 13:1-3; Jeremiah 28:9]
• 12. [See ver. 20 above]

Footnotes

• [a]. Or and