But he answered, ‘Most certainly I tell you, I don’t know you.’
Parallel translations
- KJV But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
- BSB But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’
- NKJV But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’
- NASB But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’
- NLT “But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’
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
The bridegroom replies, 'I don't know you.' Final judgment turns on whether Christ truly knows us.
Overview
The solemn 'I don't know you' is the language of relational rejection, not mere ignorance. It reveals that the foolish, despite their profession, never had a genuine bond with the bridegroom. To be known by Christ is the heart of salvation, and to lack it is to be shut out. The verse drives home that real, present relationship with Jesus is what matters at the end.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- 1 Cor 8:3But if anyone loves God, the same is known by him.
- John 10:27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
- 2 Tim 2:19However God’s firm foundation stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let every one who names the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness.”
- Luke 13:26–30Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’
- John 9:31We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God, and does his will, he listens to him.
- Ps 1:6For Yahweh knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked shall perish.
- Ps 5:5The arrogant shall not stand in your sight. You hate all workers of iniquity.
- Gal 4:9But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, why do you turn back again to the weak and miserable elemental principles, to which you desire to be in bondage all over again?
- Hab 1:13You who have purer eyes than to see evil, and who cannot look on perversity, why do you tolerate those who deal treacherously, and keep silent when the wicked swallows up the man who is more righteous than he,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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 25:12 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.