Deuteronomy 18:21

21 And if you say {to yourself}, 'How can we know the word that Yahweh has not spoken to him?'

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 then} the man that will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I will hold accountable.

20 However, the prophet that behaves presumptuously by speaking a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, and who speaks in the name of other gods, then that prophet shall die.'

21 And if you say {to yourself}, 'How can we know the word that Yahweh has not spoken to him?'

22 [Whenever] what the prophet spoke in the name of Yahweh, the thing does not take place and [does] not come [about], that [is] the thing that Yahweh has not spoken to him. Presumptuously the prophet spoke it; you shall not fear that prophet."

Footnotes

• [a] Literally "in your heart"