But whoever denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.
Parallel translations
- WEB but he who denies me in the presence of men will be denied in the presence of the angels of God.
- KJV But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.
- NKJV But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.
- NASB but the one who denies Me before people will be denied before the angels of God.
- NLT But anyone who denies me here on earth will be denied before God’s angels.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Whoever denies Jesus before others will be denied before God's angels. Rejecting Christ outwardly reflects a deeper unbelief with eternal consequences.
Overview
The flip side of confession is denial, and Jesus warns that disowning Him carries grave eternal weight. This is not about a single failure under pressure, like Peter's later repented denial, but a settled refusal to acknowledge Christ. The verse urges steadfast loyalty to Jesus, whose own faithfulness secures the salvation of all who truly trust and confess Him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- 2 Tim 2:12if we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He will also deny us;
- Mark 8:38If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in His Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
- Matt 7:23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’
- Matt 10:33But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven.
- Luke 9:26If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
- Rev 3:8I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door, which no one can shut. For you have only a little strength, yet you have kept My word and have not denied My name.
- Matt 25:12But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’
- 1 Jn 2:23Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well.
- Luke 13:26–27Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’
- Matt 25:41Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
- 1 Jn 2:28And now, little children, remain in Christ, so that when He appears, we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming.
- Acts 3:13–14The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus. You handed Him over and rejected Him before Pilate, even though he had decided to release Him.
- Matt 25:31When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 12:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.