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Deuteronomy 18:14

in Deuteronomy 18

Though these nations, which you will dispossess, listen to conjurers and diviners, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

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.

KJV

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.

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This verse in Deuteronomy 18

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

This site's exposition

Though these nations, which you will dispossess, listen to conjurers and diviners

The verse says how the nations got their guidance and bars Israel from the same means. Matthew Henry treats verses 14 and 15 as one movement, the forbidden arts followed at once by the promise of prophecy.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

For those nations which thou shall possess hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

A promise is given them of the spirit of prophecy to continue among them, and to centre at last in Christ the great prophet,

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations--(See on Le 18:21; In spite of this express command, the people of Canaan, especially the Philistines, were a constant snare and stumbling block to the Israelites, on account of their divinations and superstitious practices. CHRIST THE PROPHET IS TO BE HEARD.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

The meaning thereof is that we are to direct our hearts to Him only, and believe that He alone does everything. It is He Who knows the truth about all future events, and from His prophets, or from His pious ones, in other words the Urim and Thummim.
Ramban: Spain, 1194–1270 · Ramban on Deuteronomy 18:13:1, via Sefaria, Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

19 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • כִּ֣י׀for

    kiH3588 →4482 times

  • הַגּוֹיִ֣םthe nations

    hagoyimH1471 →561 times

  • הָאֵ֗לֶּה<the> these

    haelehH428 →746 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֤רwhich

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • אַתָּה֙you

    ʾatahH859 →1094 times

  • יוֹרֵ֣שׁ[are] about to dispossess

    yoreshH3423 →231 times

  • אוֹתָ֔ם<obj.> them

    ʾotamH853 →10935 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • מְעֹנְנִ֥יםsoothsayers

    meonenimH6049 →

  • וְאֶל־and to

    veel-H413 →5510 times

  • קֹסְמִ֖יםdiviners

    kosemimH7080 →

  • יִשְׁמָ֑עוּthey listen

    yishmauH8085 →1159 times

  • וְאַתָּ֕הand you

    veatahH859 →1094 times

  • לֹ֣אnot

    lo'H3808 →5168 times

  • כֵ֔ןthus

    khenH3651 →771 times

  • נָ֛תַןhe has permitted

    natanH5414 →2011 times

  • לְךָ֖to <the> you

    lekha

  • יְהוָ֥הYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃God your

    ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

7 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Acts 14:16In past generations, He let all nations go their own way.4 worksDeuteronomy 18:10Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, practices divination or conjury, interprets omens, practices sorcery,2 worksGenesis 20:6Then God said to Abimelech in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against Me. That is why I did not let you touch her.2 worksPsalms 147:19–20He declares His word to Jacob, His statutes and judgments to Israel.2 works2 Chronicles 33:2And he did evil in the sight of the LORD by following the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.2 worksJudges 9:37Then Gaal spoke up again, “Look, people are coming down from the center of the land, and one company is coming by way of the Diviners’ Oak.”2 works
The other 1 cross-references, with their words ▾
Jeremiah 27:9But as for you, do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your interpreters of dreams, your mediums, or your sorcerers who declare, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Acts 14:16

    In past generations, He let all nations go their own way.

    it leads to

    • Acts 17:30

      Although God overlooked the ignorance of earlier times, He now commands all people everywhere to repent.

    • Psalms 81:12

      So I gave them up to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices.

  • Through

    Deuteronomy 18:10

    Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, practices divination or conjury, interprets omens, practices sorcery,

    it leads to

    • Leviticus 19:31

      You must not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out, or you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.

    • Exodus 22:18

      You must not allow a sorceress to live.

    • Leviticus 19:26

      You must not eat anything with blood still in it. You must not practice divination or sorcery.

  • Through

    Genesis 20:6

    Then God said to Abimelech in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against Me. That is why I did…

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 25:34

      Otherwise, as surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, then surely no male belonging to Nabal…

    • Proverbs 21:1

      The king’s heart is a waterway in the hand of the LORD; He directs it where He pleases.

    • 1 Samuel 25:26

      Now, my lord, as surely as the LORD lives and you yourself live, the LORD has held you back from coming to bloodshed and avenging yourself with your own hand. May your enemies and…

Where this verse is studied

About Deuteronomy

Moses Viewing the Promised Land, Frederic Edwin Church, 1846. Public domain.
Moses Viewing the Promised Land, Frederic Edwin Church, 1846. Public domain.
Deuteronomy: the study guide →Read Deuteronomy 18 →

This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Deuteronomy 18 →