Deuteronomy 18:19
in Deuteronomy 18And I will hold accountable anyone who does not listen to My words that the prophet speaks in My name.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 18
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThe Chaldee paraphrase here reads it, My Word shall require it of him, which can be no other than a divine person, Christ the eternal Word, to whom the Father has committed all judgement, and by whom he will at the last day judge the world. Whoever turns a deaf ear to Jesus Christ shall find that it is at his peril; the same that is the prophet is to be his judge, John xii.
This site's exposition
will put my words in his mouth
on Deuteronomy 18:18-19
Peter quotes both verses at Acts 3:22-23 and Stephen quotes verse 15 at Acts 7:37, so the application to Jesus is stated in the New Testament rather than inferred from it. The question was live before that, since John 1:21 has priests asking John the Baptist whether he is that prophet, John 6:14 has a crowd saying it of Jesus after the loaves, and John 7:40 has it said again. I will put my words in his mouth is the wording God uses to Jeremiah at Jeremiah 1:9. Verse 19 attaches the sanction, and John Gill records that the Targums render I will require it of him as my Word shall require it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words,.... To the doctrines of the Gospel, but slight and despise them: which he shall speak in my name; in whose name he came, and whose words or doctrines he declared them to be; not as his own, but his Father's, Joh 5:43. I will require it of him; or, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan,"my Word shall require it of him, or take vengeance on him;''as Christ the Word of God did in the destruction of the Jewish nation, city, and temple; see Luk 19:27.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him--The direful consequences of unbelief in Christ, and disregard of His mission, the Jewish people have been experiencing during eighteen hundred years.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
MAN, the creature, may well desire communion with his Creator. When we are right-minded we cannot bear to be like fatherless children, born into the world by a parent of whom we know nothing whatever. We long to hear our father's voice. Of old time, before sin had entered into the world, the Lord God was on the most intimate terms with His creature, man. He communed with Adam in the garden. In the cool of the day He made the evening to be seven-fold refreshing by the shadow of His own Presence.
MAN, the creature, may well desire communion with his Creator. When we are right-minded we cannot bear to be like fatherless children, born into the world by a parent of whom we know nothing whatever. We long to hear our father's voice. Of old time, before sin had entered into the world, the Lord God was on the most intimate terms with His creature, man. He communed with Adam in the garden. In the cool of the day He made the evening to be seven-fold refreshing by the shadow of His own Presence. There was no cloud between unfallen man and the Ever-Blessed One— they could commune together, for no sin had set up a middle wall of partition. Alas, man, being in honor, continued not, but broke the Law of his God and not only forfeited his own inheritance, but entailed upon his descendants a character with which the holy God can hold no converse. By nature we love that which is evil and within us there is an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God—consequently, communion between God and man has had to be upon quite another footing from that which commenced and ended in the glades of Eden. It was condescension at the first, which made the Lord speak with man, the creature. It is mercy, unutterable mercy, now, if God deigns to speak with man the sinner! Through His Divine Grace, the Lord did not leave our fathers altogether without a word from Himself even after the Fall, for between the days of Adam and Moses there were occasional voices heard as of God speaking with man. "Enoch walked with God," which implies that God walked with him and had communion with him. And we may rest assured it was no silent walk which Enoch had with the Most High. The Lord also spoke to Noah, once and again, and made a Covenant with him. And then He, at still greater length and with greater frequency, spoke with Abraham, whom He graciously called His friend.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָיָ֗ה | vehayah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| הָאִישׁ֙ | haish | the person | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִשְׁמַע֙ | yishma' | he will listen | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| דְּבָרַ֔י | devarai | words my | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יְדַבֵּ֖ר | yedaber | he will speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| בִּשְׁמִ֑י | bishmi | in name my | H8034 → | 864 times |
| אָנֹכִ֖י | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| אֶדְרֹ֥שׁ | ʾedrosh | I will require | H1875 → | 164 times |
| מֵעִמּֽוֹ׃ | meimo | from with <the> him | H5973 → | 1050 times |
וְהָיָ֗הand it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
הָאִישׁ֙the person
haishH376 →1663 times
אֲשֶׁ֤רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִשְׁמַע֙he will listen
yishma'H8085 →1159 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
דְּבָרַ֔יwords my
devaraiH1697 →1440 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יְדַבֵּ֖רhe will speak
yedaberH1696 →1141 times
בִּשְׁמִ֑יin name my
bishmiH8034 →864 times
אָנֹכִ֖יI
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
אֶדְרֹ֥שׁI will require
ʾedroshH1875 →164 times
מֵעִמּֽוֹ׃from with <the> him
meimoH5973 →1050 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Hebrews 3:7Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear His voice,
it leads to
- Psalms 95:7–11
For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, the sheep under His care. Today, if you hear His voice,
- Hebrews 3:15
As it has been said: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion.”
- Isaiah 55:3
Incline your ear and come to Me; listen, so that your soul may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant—My loving devotion promised to David.
- Revelation 3:20
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with Me.
- Hebrews 4:7
God again designated a certain day as “Today,” when a long time later He spoke through David as was just stated: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”
- Psalms 95:7–11
Through
Hebrews 10:26If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains,
it leads to
- 2 Peter 2:20–22
If indeed they have escaped the corruption of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, only to be entangled and overcome by it again, their final condition is worse…
- Hebrews 6:4–6
It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit,
- John 9:41
“If you were blind,” Jesus replied, “you would not be guilty of sin. But since you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”
- 2 Peter 2:20–22
Where this verse is studied
About Deuteronomy

This page draws on Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1487: “The Prophet Like Unto Moses” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); 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.
