But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven.
Parallel translations
- WEB But whoever denies me before men, him I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven.
- KJV But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
- ESV but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
- NKJV But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.
- NASB But whoever denies Me before people, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
- NLT But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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 Christ before others, He will deny before the Father. Persistent rejection of Him carries eternal consequences.
Overview
The solemn counterpart to verse 32, this warning shows that disowning Christ before people is no light matter. It describes the settled, unrepentant denial of the unbeliever, not the momentary failure later restored, as Peter's case shows (Matt. 26:75; John 21). The verse presses the urgency of faithful allegiance to Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- 2 Tim 2:12if we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He will also deny us;
- 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.
- Luke 12:9But whoever denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.
- 1 Jn 2:23Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well.
- 2 Pet 2:1Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.
- Mark 14:30“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.”
- 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.”
- Mark 14:72And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And he broke down and wept.
- Matt 26:70–75But he denied it before them all: “I do not know what you are talking about.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 10:33 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.