Divination is a practice frequently discussed in the Bible, often within the context of prohibition and warning. The term divination is rooted in the belief of the possibility to gain insight into the future through supernatural means, which in biblical terms, often refers to practices aiming to predict the future or gain hidden knowledge through the interpretation of signs or omens. It directly contradicts the fundamental biblical teaching of God’s sovereignty and mankind’s dependability on Him.
What Does the Bible Say About Divination?
The Bible unambiguously states that divination is a forbidden practice. The prohibition stems from the belief that Divine guidance and revelation should only come from God. Many biblical passages explicitly decry these practices as abhorrent, declaring them inconsistent with the essential features of monotheism and the exclusive worship of God. Accordingly, practitioners of divination are often depicted as misguided, since biblical fundamentals suggest that man should rely on God’s will, rather than seeking ways to manipulate or predict it.
Why Does the Bible Condemn Divination?
Divination is condemned in the Bible primarily because it undermines the centrality of God. Believers are reminded that God and only God holds the future. The use of any divinatory practice expresses a desire to control or predict future events, which infringes upon the domain of God’s sovereignty and replaces trust in God with self-reliance. Moreover, divination can mislead people and potentially subject them to harmful spiritual influences, contradicting the teachings of the Bible that call for spiritual discernment and reliance on God for guidance.
Who Is Warned Against the Practice of Divination in the Bible?
The denunciation of divination in the Bible extends beyond the practitioners themselves to also include those who consult them. Believers are sternly warned not to seek out or consult diviners, as it is considered a form of disobedience towards God. People are advcised to rely on and trust God’s wisdom and timing rather than seeking guidance from forbidden practices that violate God’s law. It is an open admonition to everyone who seeks to serve God in sincerity and truth.
What Is the Biblical Alternative to Divination?
Instead of divination, the Bible encourages believers to seek guidance and wisdom through prayer, reflection, and study of biblical teachings. Praying for wisdom, seeking godly counsel, and reading and meditating on the Sacred Word are presented as the most suitable ways to gain understanding and guidance in life. Trust, faith, and patience to wait for God’s timing are valued in place of seeking immediate answers or attempting to predict or control the future. The emphasis is placed on deepening one’s relationship with God and depending on His wisdom and guidance.
Where Do We Find Divination in Historical Context?
The condemnation of divination found in the Bible is reflective of the broader ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean worlds where these occult practices were prevalent. Despite this widespread cultural phenomenon, the Bible stands in sharp contrast. Its statement against divination and other similar practices serve to differentiate the monotheistic Yahwistic faith from the polytheistic religions of its contemporaries. This provides a crucial context to understand why such practices are strongly denounced in the Bible, which consistently calls its believers to a faith based solely on trust in God, not on the ability to manipulate, predict or control future events.
Below is our full list of bible verses on divination (King James Version – KJV) provided in ranked order.
Most Popular Bible Verses About Divination
Leviticus 19:31
“31 Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.”
Related Themes: Fortune Magic Guidance Superstition
Deuteronomy 18:9-12
“9 When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.”
Related Themes: Abomination Fortune
2 Kings 21:6
“6 And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.”
Deuteronomy 18:9-14
“9 When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.13 Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.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.”
Related Themes: Abomination Fortune
Leviticus 19:26-31
“26 Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.27 Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.28 Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.29 Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness.30 Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD.31 Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.”
Leviticus 19:26
“26 Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.”
Leviticus 20:27
“27 A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.”
Leviticus 20:6
“6 And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.”
Related Themes: Fortune Manipulation Magic
Jeremiah 27:9
“9 Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon:”
Isaiah 8:19
“19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?”
Related Themes: Fortune Magic Afterlife Manipulation Fortune
Daniel 2:27
“27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;”
Related Themes: Fortune
Acts 19:19
“19 Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.”
Related Themes: Manipulation Magic
2 Kings 17:17
“17 And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.”
1 Samuel 15:23
“23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.”
Related Themes: Rebellion Fortune Manipulation Idolatry Disobedience
Acts 16:16
“16 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:”
Related Themes: Fortune
Galatians 5:20
“20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,”
Related Themes: Dating Indulgence Bitterness Strife Magic
2 Kings 9:22
“22 And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?”
Genesis 44:5
“5 Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so doing.”
Exodus 22:18
“18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.”
Related Themes: Criticism Manipulation Fortune Magic
Micah 5:12
“12 And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers:”
Deuteronomy 18:10
“10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,”
Related Themes: Fortune Abomination Fortune
Jeremiah 14:14
“14 Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.”
Related Themes: Deceit
Acts 8:9-13
“9 But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:10 To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.11 And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.12 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.13 Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.”
1 Samuel 28:7
“7 Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor.”
Deuteronomy 18:10-11
“10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.”
Related Themes: Fortune Abomination Fortune
2 Chronicles 33:6
“6 And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.”
Related Themes: Fortune Manipulation Magic
Deuteronomy 18:14
“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.”
Acts 8:9
“9 But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:”
Ezekiel 21:21
“21 For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made his arrows bright, he consulted with images, he looked in the liver.”
Daniel 1:20
“20 And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.”
Related Themes: Education
