Passage

Deuteronomy 18.15-22

Book: Deuteronomy · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"13. Thou shalt be perfect with Jehovah thy God. 14. For these nations, that thou shalt dispossess, hearken unto them that practise augury, and unto diviners; but as for thee, Jehovah thy God hath not suffered thee so to do."

"15. Jehovah thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; 16. according to all that thou desiredst of Jehovah thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of Jehovah my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not. 17. And Jehovah said unto me, They have well said that which they have spoken. 18. I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. 19. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. 20. But the prophet, that shall speak a word presumptuously in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die. 21. And if thou say in thy heart, How shall we know the word which Jehovah hath not spoken? 22. when a prophet speaketh in the name of Jehovah, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which Jehovah hath not spoken: the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously, thou shalt not be afraid of him." (Deuteronomy 18:13-22, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"13. You shall be perfect with Yahweh your God. 14. For these nations that you shall dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery and to diviners; but as for you, Yahweh your God has not allowed you so to do."

"15. Yahweh your God will raise up to you a prophet from among you, of your brothers, like me. You shall listen to him. 16. This is according to all that you desired of Yahweh your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, “Let me not hear again Yahweh my God’s voice, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I not die.” 17. Yahweh said to me, “They have well said that which they have spoken. 18. I will raise them up a prophet from among their brothers, like you. I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I shall command him. 19. It shall happen, that whoever will not listen to my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. 20. But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.” 21. You may say in your heart, “How shall we know the word which Yahweh has not spoken?” 22. When a prophet speaks in Yahweh’s name, if the thing doesn’t follow, nor happen, that is the thing which Yahweh has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You shall not be afraid of him." (Deuteronomy 18:13-22, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"13. Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God. ^{perfect: or, upright, or, sincere} 14. For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do. ^{possess: or, inherit}"

"15. The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; 16. According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not. 17. And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. 18. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. 19. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. 20. 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. 21. And if thou say in thine 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 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." (Deuteronomy 18:13-22, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"13. Perfect thou art with Jehovah thy God, 14. for these nations whom thou art possessing, unto observers of clouds, and unto diviners, do hearken; and thou, not so hath Jehovah thy God suffered thee."

"15. 'A prophet out of thy midst, out of thy brethren, like to me, doth Jehovah thy God raise up to thee, unto him ye hearken; 16. according to all that thou didst ask from Jehovah thy God, in Horeb, in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not add to hear the voice of Jehovah my God, and this great fire let me not see any more, and I die not; 17. and Jehovah saith unto me, They have done well that they have spoken; 18. a prophet I raise up to them, out of the midst of their brethren, like to thee; and I have given my words in his mouth, and he hath spoken unto them all that which I command him; 19. and it hath been, the man who doth not hearken unto My words which he doth speak in My name, I require [it] of him. 20. 'Only, the prophet who presumeth to speak a word in My name, that which I have not commanded him to speak, and who speaketh in the name of other gods, even that prophet hath died. 21. 'And when thou sayest in thy heart, How do we know the word which Jehovah hath not spoken?, 22. that which the prophet speaketh in the name of Jehovah, and the thing is not, and cometh not, it [is] the word which Jehovah hath not spoken; in presumption hath the prophet spoken it;, thou art not afraid of him." (Deuteronomy 18:13-22, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

TBD
TBD
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Quoted in

Prophet

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.