Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 18:22
When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD and the message does not come to pass or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites gathered on the plains of Moab, providing the practical test needed to answer their question in Deuteronomy 18:21 about identifying unauthoritative prophecy.
The words — יְדַבֵּר (ye.da.Ber) means “he will speak,” and יִהְיֶה (yih.Yeh) means “it will happen,” anchoring the verse’s condition in observable utterance and subsequent event.
The thread — The verse directly answers the inquiry in Deuteronomy 18:21, while Deuteronomy 18:20 prescribes the death penalty for prophets who utter uncommanded messages in Yahweh’s name.
Why it lands — Readers must evaluate prophetic claims by their factual fulfillment rather than fear the speaker, recognizing that unfulfilled declarations are presumptuous fabrications rather than divine communication.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, 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.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 18:20 But if any prophet dares to speak a message in My name that I have not commanded him to speak, or to speak in the name of other gods, that prophet must be put to death.”
- 2 Kings 20:1 In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Put your house in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover.’”
- Jeremiah 28:1 In the fifth month of that same year, the fourth year, near the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, said to me in the house of the LORD in the presence of the priests and all the people:
- Deuteronomy 13:1 If a prophet or dreamer of dreams arises among you and proclaims a sign or wonder to you,
- Jonah 4:2 So he prayed to the LORD, saying, “O LORD, is this not what I said while I was still in my own country? This is why I was so quick to flee toward Tarshish. I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion—One who relents from sending disaster.
- Zechariah 1:5 Where are your fathers now? And the prophets, do they live forever?
- Proverbs 26:2 Like a fluttering sparrow or darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.
- Isaiah 41:22 “Let them come and tell us what will happen. Tell the former things, so that we may reflect on them and know the outcome. Or announce to us what is coming.
- Jonah 3:4 On the first day of his journey, Jonah set out into the city and proclaimed, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned!”