Deuteronomy 18:21

21 And if thou shalt say in thy heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?

Deuteronomy 18:21 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 18:21

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?

Deuteronomy 18:21 In-Context

19 And it shall come to pass, [that] whoever will not hearken to my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require [it] of him.

20 But the prophet, who shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.

21 And if thou shalt say in thy heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?

22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing doth not follow, nor come to pass, that [is] the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, [but] the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.