Deuteronomy 18:20

The context

Immediately before the promise of a prophet like Moses, the chapter specifies who does not count. Three categories are named: the prophet who presumes, the one who speaks for other gods, and by implication the one who speaks without being sent. The penalty stated is capital.

What it establishes

It establishes that the offense is not merely being wrong but speaking without commission, and that the community's life depends on the difference between the two. It treats the misuse of God's name as a capital matter.

What it does not establish

It does not set out a procedure. The chapter names the penalty but not the court, the witnesses, or the standard of proof, which come from other passages. Nor does it say how a sincere but mistaken speaker differs from a presumptuous one.

Short note, first pass, October 2026. Corrections welcome.

Cited in these answers

• Biblical Prophecy? Give me a break – all these ‘pre-enlightenment folk’ were a dime a dozen. Ever heard of Nostradamus?

Part of Scripture, Opened — the exegetical layer behind every citation on this site. Scripture quotations are from the ESV.