“For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?”
Parallel Translations
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“For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?”
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For who hath knowen the mynde of the lorde? or who was his counseller?
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For who hath knowen the minde of the Lord? or who was his counsellour?
Cross-references (5)
Passages linked to Romans 11:34 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Isaiah 40:13 Who has directed Yahweh’s Spirit, or has taught him as his counselor?
- 1 Corinthians 2:16 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct him?” But we have Christ’s mind.
- Job 15:8 Have you heard the secret counsel of God? Do you limit wisdom to yourself?
- Job 36:22 Behold, God is exalted in his power. Who is a teacher like him?
- Jeremiah 23:18 For who has stood in the council of Yahweh, that he should perceive and hear his word? Who has listened to my word, and heard it?
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (13 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 34. Who has known the mind of the Lord?…
34. Who has known the mind of the Lord? He begins here to extend as it were his hand to restrain the audacity of men, lest they should clamor against God’s judgments, and this he does by stating two reasons: the first is, that all mortals are too blind to take a view of God’s predestination by their own understanding, and to reason on a thing unknown is presumptuous and absurd; the other is, that we can have no cause of complaint against God, since no mortal can boast that God is a debtor to him; but that, on the contrary, all are under obligations to him for his bounty.
Within this limit then let every one remember to keep his own mind, lest he be carried beyond God’s oracles in investigating predestination, since we hear that man can distinguish nothing in this case, any more than a blind man in darkness. This caution, however, is not to be so applied as to weaken the certainty of faith, which proceeds not from the acumen of the human mind, but solely from the illumination of the Spirit; for Paul himself in another place, after having testified that all the mysteries of God far exceed the comprehension of our minds, immediately subjoins that the faithful understand the mind of the Lord, because they have not received the spirit of this world, but the Spirit which has been given them by God, by whom they are instructed as to his goodness, which otherwise would be incomprehensible to them.
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As then we cannot by our own faculties examine the secrets of God, so we are admitted into a certain and clear knowledge of them by the grace of the Holy Spirit: and if we ought to follow the guidance of the Spirit, where he leaves us, there we ought to stop and as it were to fix our standing. If any one will seek to know more than what God has revealed, he shall be overwhelmed with the immeasurable brightness of inaccessible light. But we must bear in mind the distinction, which I have before mentioned, between the secret counsel of God, and his will made known in Scripture; for though the whole doctrine of Scripture surpasses in its height the mind of man, yet an access to it is not closed against the faithful, who reverently and soberly follow the Spirit as their guide; but the case is different with regard to his hidden counsel, the depth and height of which cannot by any investigation be reached.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain He bridleth three manner of ways, the wicked boldness…
He bridleth three manner of ways, the wicked boldness of man: First, because that God is above all, most wise, and therefore it is very absurd, and plainly godless to measure him by our folly. Moreover, because he is debtor to no man, and therefore no man can complain of injury done unto him. Thirdly, because all things are made for his glory, and therefore we must refer all things to his glory, much less may we contend and debate the matter with him.
Job 41:2; Isa. 40:13; 1 Cor. 2:16
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 34 For who hath known the mind of the…
34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
Ver. 34. Who hath been his counsellor] Alphonso the wise (the fool rather) was heard blasphemously to say, that if he had been of God’s counsel at the creation, he could have advised and ordered many things much better than now they are. This Alphonso, the tenth of that name, king of Spain, who by a just hand of God upon him deprived of his kingdom, and died in public hatred and infamy.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain i.e. Who knoweth what God is about to do?…
i.e. Who knoweth what God is about to do? Or who hath given his advice about the doing of it? This is taken out of Isa 40:13,14.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain As if the apostle had said, "No creature ever…
As if the apostle had said, "No creature ever did, or ever can, pierce into the mind of God, nor ever was called to be of his council. No creature ever did or can advise him, nor can any creature challenge God, as if he were indebted to him.
Who ever gave any thing to God that he did not first receive from him? Or who can merit any thing at his hands, seeing he owes us nothing? And if so, who hath reason to complain that God deals hardly with the Jews, in rejecting them, and preferring the Gentiles before them? Surely Almighty God may dispense a favour to some, which he owes to none."
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Learn hence, That in those discriminating favours which God dispenses towards some of the children of men, no other reason can be assigned but his own good will and pleasure. This particularly appears in his ordering matters relating to the Jews and Gentiles, recorded in the foregoing chapter.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain For who hath known the mind of the Lord,....…
For who hath known the mind of the Lord,.... The intentions of his mind, the thoughts of his heart, and the counsels of his will: these could never have been known, if he had not revealed them; nor can the doctrines relating to them, though externally revealed, be known by the natural man, or by the mere dint of nature, but only by the light of the Spirit of God; who searches them, and makes them known in a spiritual manner to spiritual men, who have a spiritual discerning of them; and yet even by these they are not known perfectly, only in part, and are seen through a glass darkly:
or who hath been his counsellor? or was of his council, when all things were fixed according to his sovereign will: when the scheme of man's salvation was consulted and agreed upon between the eternal Three, there was no creature, angel, or man there; no created angel, only the eternal One, "the Counsellor", Isa 9:6; or as the Septuagint there style him, , "the angel of the great council"; none but Father, Son, and Spirit, were present, when the book of life was made, when the names of God's elect were put into it, and others left out; when all things relating to his chosen ones, both for time and eternity, whether among Jews or Gentiles, were determined, ordered, and settled; and as there was no creature that assisted, or could give any advice about these matters, so there were none that were privy to the resolutions, determinations, and counsels of his will; which were purposed in himself and in his Son, and were known only to them and his Spirit, which is in him: from the whole it appears, that predestination is not according to men's works, or the foresight of them; for then these things would be plain and easy, they would not be unsearchable and past finding out; there would not be an unfathomable depth in them; the mind and counsels of God, and the springs of them, would be obvious; but it is according to his secret, sovereign, and unchangeable will.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Who hath known the mind of the Lord -…
Who hath known the mind of the Lord - Before or any farther than he has revealed it. Isaiah xl, 13.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 34. For who hath known the mind of…
Verse 34. For who hath known the mind of the Lord?] Who can pretend to penetrate the counsels of God, or fathom the reasons of his conduct? His designs and his counsels are like himself, infinite; and, consequently, inscrutable. It is strange that, with such a scripture as this before their eyes, men should sit down and coolly and positively write about counsels and decrees of God formed from all eternity, of which they speak with as much confidence and decision as if they had formed a part of the council of the Most High, and had been with him in the beginning of his ways! A certain writer, (Mr. Perkins,) after having entered into all these counsels, and drawn out his black-lined scheme of absolute and eternal reprobation, with all its causes and effects; and then his light-lined scheme of absolute and eternal ELECTION, with all its causes and effects, all deduced in the most regular and graduated order, link by link; concludes with Ro 11:33: O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how UNSEARCHABLE are his judgments, and his ways PAST FINDING OUT! But this writer forgot that he had searched out God's judgments in the one case, and found out his ways in the other: and that he had given, as a proof of the success of his researches, a complete exhibition of the whole scheme! This conduct is worthy of more than mere reprehension; and yet he who differs from such opinions gives, in the apprehension of some, this proof of his being included in some of the links of the black list! We may rest with the conviction, that God is as merciful and good in all his ways, as he is wise and just. But as we cannot comprehend him, neither can we his operations, it is our place, who are the objects of his infinite mercy and kindness, to adore in silence, and to obey with alacrity and delight.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain For who hath known? ... - This verse is…
For who hath known? ... - This verse is a quotation, with a slight change, from Isa 40:13, “Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught him?” It is designed to express the infinite wisdom and knowledge of God, by affirming that no being could teach him, or counsel him. Earthly monarchs have counsellors of state, whom they may consult in times of perplexity or danger. But God has no such council. He sits alone; nor does he call in any or all of his creatures to advise him. All created beings are not qualified to contribute anything to enlighten or to direct him. It is also designed to silence all opposition to his plans, and to hush all murmurings. The apostle had proved that this was the plan of God. However mysterious and inscrutable it might appear to the Jew or the Gentile, yet it was his duty to submit to God, and to confide in his wisdom, though he was not able to trace the reason of his doings.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain For who hath known the mind of the Lord?--See…
For who hath known the mind of the Lord?--See Job 15:8; Jer 23:18.
or who hath been his counsellor--See Isa 40:13-14.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 34. For who hath known—counseller] Nearly verbatim from Isa_40:13.…
34. For who hath known—counseller] Nearly verbatim from Isa_40:13. See too Jer_23:18.—The Gr. verbs are aorists; and the time-reference is perhaps to creation, or to the eternal decrees “before the world was.”
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (34) For who hath known the mind of the…
(34) For who hath known the mind of the Lord?—The two clauses in this verse are illustrative of the wisdom and knowledge of God, just as the next verse is illustrative of His “riches.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain For who hath known the mind of the Lord?…
For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? [ Isa_40:13 ; Jer_23:18 . "Judgments" and "mind" have reference to God's wisdom; "ways" and "counsellor" look toward his knowledge. Knowledge precedes wisdom. It gathers the facts and ascertains the truths and perceives their meaning, and then wisdom enters with its powers of ratiocination and traces the relations of truth to truth and fact to fact, and invents procedures, devises methods, constructs processes, etc., and utilizes the raw material of knowledge to effect ends, accomplish purposes and achieve results. Therefore, as Gifford observes, "knowledge" is theoretical, "wisdom" is practical, and while "knowledge" is purely intellectual, "wisdom" is also moral, and for that reason is both the most perfect of mental gifts (Aristotle, Nic. Eth. 6:10) and the queen of all virtues (Cicero, 'de Off.' 1:43)." God's knowledge foresees all the evil desires, designs, intentions and actions of men and demons, of the devil and his angels; and his wisdom expends itself in transforming all these opposing powers and forces into so many means and aids for the accomplishment of his own holy designs and beneficent purposes. Exercising his wisdom, God judges or decrees, or determines or purposes in his mind, what is best to be done, or to be brought to pass, and these designs or purposes are wholly hidden from man save as God reveals them. We see his moves upon the chessboard of events, but the motives back of the moves lie hidden in a depth of wisdom too profound for man to fathom. "Ways" is derived from the word for "footsteps," and "tracing" is a metaphor borrowed from the chase, where the dog, scenting the footstep, follows the trail, or "way," the game has taken. The means which God chooses leave no track, and they can not be run down and taken captive by the mind of man. Nor does God seek information or ask counsel of man. He is a ruler without a cabinet, a sovereign without a privy council, a king without a parliament. His knowledge needs no augmentation. He accepts no derived information, and borrows no knowledge, but draws all from his own boundless resources. If we can not divine the purpose of his chessboard moves as chosen by his wisdom, neither can we even guess their effects which his knowledge foresees, for he produces unexpected results from contrary causes, so that he makes the Gentiles rich by Jewish poverty, and yet richer by Jewish riches. His wisdom sought the salvation of Jew and Gentile, yet his knowledge foresaw that racial antipathy would keep them from working together till ripened in character; so he worked with each separately. As each sought to establish the sufficiency of his own self-righteousness, he let them each try it, one with natural and the other with revealed law. To each he gave a season of covenant relation and a season of rejection, and in the end he will unite the two and have mercy on both. Such is the coworking of God's wisdom and knowledge. The scheme is outlined in the parable of the prodigal son, the prodigal being the Gentile and the Jew the elder brother, not yet reconciled to the Father, but still offended at his kindness to the outcast. When the elder brother is reconciled, the story will be complete.]
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.