but the one who denies Me before people 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.
- BSB But whoever denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.
- NKJV But he who denies Me before men 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 also will deny us.
- Mark 8:38For whoever will be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man also will be ashamed of him, when he comes in his Father’s glory, with the holy angels.”
- Matt 7:23Then I will tell them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity.’
- Matt 10:33But whoever denies me before men, him I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven.
- Luke 9:26For whoever will be ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed, when he comes in his glory, and the glory of the Father, and of the holy angels.
- Rev 3:8“I know your works (behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one can shut), that you have a little power, and kept my word, and didn’t deny my name.
- Matt 25:12But he answered, ‘Most certainly I tell you, I don’t know you.’
- 1 Jn 2:23Whoever denies the Son, the same doesn’t have the Father. He who confesses the Son has the Father also.
- Luke 13:26–27Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’
- Matt 25:41Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels;
- 1 Jn 2:28Now, little children, remain in him, that when he appears, we may have boldness, and not be ashamed 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, whom you delivered up, and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had determined to release him.
- Matt 25:31“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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.