Deuteronomy 18:20

Deuteronomy 18:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But the prophet, which 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.
• New International Version (NIV)But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.'
• New King James Version (NKJV)But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’

Context of Deuteronomy 18:20

18I will send them a prophet who will be like you. He will be an Israelite. I will tell him what to say. Then he will tell the people everything that I command him to say. 19He will speak on my behalf, so I myself will punish anyone who does not listen to his message. A false prophet may say that he speaks with my authority when that is not true. Or he may say that he has a message from another god. You must punish a false prophet with death.’ 21You may say to yourselves, ‘How can we know when a message has not come from the Lord?’ 22A prophet may say that he speaks with my authority, and he may say what will happen. But if it does not happen, you will know that his message has not come from me. He has not spoken my message. That prophet has spoken his own ideas. So do not be afraid of him!

Deuteronomy 18:20 word by word

אַ֣ךְ הַנָּבִ֡יא אֲשֶׁ֣ר יָזִיד֩ לְדַבֵּ֨ר דָּבָ֜ר בִּשְׁמִ֗י אֵ֣ת אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹֽא־צִוִּיתִיו֙ לְדַבֵּ֔ר וַאֲשֶׁ֣ר יְדַבֵּ֔ר בְּשֵׁ֖ם אֱלֹהִ֣ים אֲחֵרִ֑ים וּמֵ֖ת הַנָּבִ֥יא הַהֽוּא׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• But the prophetנָבִיאnâbîy' · prophetH5030
• which shall presumeזִידzûd zîyd · to boilH2102
• to speakדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• a wordדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
• in my nameשֵׁםshêm · nameH8034
• which I have not commandedצָוָהtsâvâh · to commandH6680
• of otherאַחֵר'achêr · anotherH312
• godsאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• shall dieמוּתmûth · to dieH4191

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 18:20

• Deuteronomy 13:1One day, you may have a prophet among you who tells you what will happen in the future. He may have dreams about what will happen. He may promise to do miracles to show that he is right.
• Jeremiah 14:14The Lord said to me, ‘Those prophets say that they speak my messages, but they are telling lies. I did not send them. I did not give them my authority. I did not give them any messages. They are deceiving people with the visions that they talk about. When they prophesy about things, it means nothing. They only speak about their own foolish ideas.
• Jeremiah 23:13‘I saw the disgusting thing that the prophets in Samaria did. They used the name of Baal to prophesy. Their messages deceived my people, Israel.
• Jeremiah 27:15The Lord says, “I have not sent those prophets. They are using my name to tell you lies. If you agree with them, I will chase you all out of the land, including those false prophets. You will die in a foreign land.” ’
• Ezekiel 13:6The visions that these prophets see are false. They tell lies about what will happen. They say, ‘The Lord says this,’ when I have not sent them with any message. But they still think that what they say will really happen.
• Matthew 7:15‘Some people say that they are prophets from God. But their words are false. They seem to be like sheep that are not dangerous. But they are really like hungry wild dogs. What they teach will hurt you.
• 2 Peter 2:12But these false teachers speak against things that they do not understand. They are like wild animals. Their minds cannot think properly. They only do what their nature causes them to do. Wild animals are born so that people can catch them and kill them. In the same way, God will destroy the false teachers.
• 1 Kings 18:19Now, tell people from all over Israel to come and meet me. They must meet me on Mount Carmel. Also, bring the 450 prophets who serve Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah that Jezebel provides with food.’
• Jeremiah 2:8Your priests did not ask, “Where is the Lord?” The people who taught my laws did not know me. Your leaders turned against me. Your prophets spoke messages from Baal. They worshipped useless idols.’
• Jeremiah 28:15Then Jeremiah said to Hananiah, ‘Listen to me, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you as his prophet. You have spoken lies to these people and they have believed you.
• Zechariah 13:3And if anyone appears as a prophet again, his father and his mother will say to him, “You must die. You do not speak true words. The Lord has not spoken to you.” Then they will kill him.
• Revelation 19:20But the rider and his army caught the wild animal. They also caught the false prophet who had done miracles to help the wild animal. He used those miracles to deceive the people who had the wild animal's mark on them. Those people worshipped his image. Now the rider and his army threw the wild animal and the false prophet into the lake of fire. They were still alive when they threw them into the lake that burns with sulphur.

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 18:20

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20Compare the marginal references.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-22Verses 15-22 It is here promised concerning Christ, that there should come a Prophet, great above all the prophets; by whom God would make known himself and his will to the children of men, more fully and clearly than he had ever done before. He is the Light of the world, Joh 8:12. He is the World by whom God speaks to us, Joh 1:1; He 1:2. In his birth he should be one of their nation. In his resurrection he should be raised up at Jerusalem, and from…Read the comment

Topics related to Deuteronomy 18:20

• Minister, Christian
• Prophets

In the dictionaries

• Consulter
• Midst
• Raise
• Atonement, Day of
• Christ, Offices of
• Criticism
• Exodus, the Book of
• Genesis
• Give
• Gods

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings