It is written: “As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before Me; every tongue will confess to God.”
Parallel translations
- WEB For it is written, “‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘to me every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess to God.’”
- KJV For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
- NKJV For it is written: “As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.”
- NASB For it is written: “As I live, says the Lord, to Me every knee will bow, And every tongue will give praise to God.”
- NLT For the Scriptures say, “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will declare allegiance to God.’”
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
Paul cites Isaiah: as surely as God lives, every knee will bow and every tongue confess to Him. Universal accountability to God underlines why we must not usurp His judgment.
Overview
Quoting Isaiah 45:23, Paul affirms that all will ultimately acknowledge God. This same passage Paul applies to Christ in Philippians 2, showing the divine glory shared by the Son. The point in context is that every person answers to God, so judging a brother intrudes on prerogatives that belong to the Lord before whom all will bow.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Isa 45:22–25Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.
- Phil 2:10–11that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
- Ps 72:11May all kings bow down to him and all nations serve him.
- Rom 10:9that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
- Matt 10:32Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father in heaven.
- 1 Jn 4:15If anyone confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
- Isa 49:18Lift up your eyes and look around. They all gather together; they come to you. As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “you will wear them all as jewelry and put them on like a bride.
- Rom 15:9so that the Gentiles may glorify God for His mercy. As it is written: “Therefore I will praise You among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to Your name.”
- Num 14:21“Yet as surely as I live and as surely as the whole earth is filled with the glory of the LORD,
- Rev 5:14And the four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
- 2 Jn 1:7For many deceivers have gone out into the world, refusing to confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.
- Zeph 2:9Therefore, as surely as I live,” declares the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, “surely Moab will be like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah—a place of weeds and salt pits, a perpetual wasteland. The remnant of My people will plunder them; the remainder of My nation will dispossess them.”
- Num 14:28So tell them: As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you exactly as I heard you say.
- Ezek 5:11Therefore as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable idols and abominations, I Myself will withdraw My favor; I will not look upon you with pity, nor will I spare you.
- Jer 22:24“As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “even if you, Coniah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on My right hand, I would pull you off.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Paul unfolds the gospel in full: Christ our righteousness received by faith, the second Adam in whom many are made righteous, in whose death and resurrection we are buried and raised.
How Romans 14:11 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.