Lectionary Calendar
Wednesday, July 9th, 2025
the Week of Proper 9 / Ordinary 14
Attention!
Take your personal ministry to the Next Level by helping StudyLight build churches and supporting pastors in Uganda.
Click here to join the effort!

Read the Bible

English Standard Version

Romans 14:11

for it is written, "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Charitableness;   Commandments;   Conscience;   Evil;   Judgment;   Quotations and Allusions;   Repentance;   Self-Denial;   Uncharitableness;   Thompson Chain Reference - Missions, World-Wide;   Universal;   Worship;   The Topic Concordance - Accountability;   Bowing;   Confession;   Judges;   Judgment;   Stumbling/slipping;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Judgment;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Brother;   Jesus christ;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Law of Christ;   Motives;   Paul the Apostle;   Sanctification;   Strong and Weak;   Worship;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Jesus Christ;   Judgment, Last;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Judgment, the Final;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Romans, the Epistle to the;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Food Offered to Idols;   Knowledge;   Romans, Book of;   Tongue;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ethics;   Judging;   Knee, Kneel;   Regeneration;   Romans, Epistle to the;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Account;   Quotations;   Tongue;   Tongue ;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Interesting facts about the bible;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Confession;   Inspiration;   Worship;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Saul of Tarsus;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for May 30;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
For it is written,
King James Version (1611)
For it is written, As I liue, saith the Lord, euery knee shall bow to mee, and euery tongue shall confesse to God.
King James Version
For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
New American Standard Bible
For it is written: "AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, TO ME EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, AND EVERY TONGUE WILL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD."
New Century Version
because it is written in the Scriptures: "‘As surely as I live,' says the Lord, ‘Everyone will bow before me; everyone will say that I am God.'" Isaiah 45:23
Amplified Bible
For it is written [in Scripture], "AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
For it is written, "AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD."
Legacy Standard Bible
For it is written,"As I live, says the Lord, to Me every knee shall bow,And every tongue shall confess to God."
Berean Standard Bible
It is written: "As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before Me; every tongue will confess to God."
Contemporary English Version
In the Scriptures God says, "I swear by my very life that everyone will kneel down and praise my name!"
Complete Jewish Bible
since it is written in the Tanakh, "As I live, says Adonai , every knee will bend before me, and every tongue will publicly acknowledge God."
Darby Translation
For it is written, *I* live, saith [the] Lord, that to me shall bow every knee, and every tongue shall confess to God.
Easy-to-Read Version
Yes, the Scriptures say, "‘As surely as I live,' says the Lord, ‘Everyone will bow before me; everyone will say that I am God.'"
Geneva Bible (1587)
For it is written, I liue, sayth the Lord, and euery knee shall bowe to me, and all tongues shall confesse vnto God.
George Lamsa Translation
For it is written, As I live, said the LORD, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess me.
Good News Translation
For the scripture says, "As surely as I am the living God, says the Lord, everyone will kneel before me, and everyone will confess that I am God."
Lexham English Bible
For it is written, "As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will praise God."
Literal Translation
For it has been written, "As I live, says the Lord, that every knee will bow to Me, and every tongue confess to God." Isa. 45:23
American Standard Version
For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, to me every knee shall bow, And every tongue shall confess to God.
Bible in Basic English
For it is said in the holy Writings, By my life, says the Lord, to me every knee will be bent, and every tongue will give worship to God.
Hebrew Names Version
For it is written, "'As I live,' says the Lord, 'to me every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess to God.'"
International Standard Version
For it is written,Isaiah 45:23; Philippians 2:10;">[xr] "As certainly as I live, declares the Lord, every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will praiseconfess
">[fn] God."Isaiah 49:18; 45:23">[fn]
Etheridge Translation
as it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, unto me every knee shall bow, and to me shall every tongue confess.
Murdock Translation
as it is written: As I live, saith the Lord, to me every knee shall bow; and to me every tongue shall give praise.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
For it is written, I lyue, sayth the Lorde: and all knees shall bowe to me, & all tongues shall geue prayse to God.
English Revised Version
For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, to me every knee shall bow, And every tongue shall confess to God.
World English Bible
For it is written, "'As I live,' says the Lord, 'to me every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess to God.'"
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
Weymouth's New Testament
for it is written, "`As I live,' says the Lord, `to Me every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall make confession to God.'"
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
For it is writun, Y lyue, seith the Lord, for to me ech kne schal be bowid, and ech tunge schal knouleche to God.
Update Bible Version
For it is written, As I live, says the Lord, to me every knee shall bow, And every tongue shall confess to God.
Webster's Bible Translation
For it is written, [As] I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
New English Translation
For it is written, " As I live , says the Lord , every knee will bow to me , and every tongue will give praise to God ."
New King James Version
For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord,Every knee shall bow to Me,And every tongue shall confess to God." Isaiah 45:23 ">[fn]
New Living Translation
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.'"
New Life Bible
The Holy Writings say, "As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before Me. And every tongue will say that I am God."
New Revised Standard
For it is written, "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
For it is written - Living am, I, saith the Lord, unto me, shall bow every knee, and, every tongue, shall openly confess unto God.
Douay-Rheims Bible
For it is written: As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to God.
Revised Standard Version
for it is written, "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God."
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
For it is written: as truely as I lyve sayth ye lorde all knees shall bowe to me and all tonges shall geve a knowledge to God.
Young's Literal Translation
for it hath been written, `I live! saith the Lord -- to Me bow shall every knee, and every tongue shall confess to God;'
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
For it is wrytte: As truly as I lyue, (sayeth the LORDE) all knees shal bowe vnto me, & all tuges shal knowlege vnto God.
Mace New Testament (1729)
for it is written , "as I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God."
Simplified Cowboy Version
The Good Book says, "'As much as I am alive, every soul will bend the knee and every mouth shall pledge themselves to me,' says the Lord."

Contextual Overview

1 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. 2 One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. 4 Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. 5 One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. 10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God;

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

As: Numbers 14:21, Numbers 14:28, Isaiah 49:18, Jeremiah 22:24, Ezekiel 5:11, Zephaniah 2:9

every knee: Psalms 72:11, Isaiah 45:22-25, Philippians 2:10, Revelation 5:14

confess: Romans 10:9, Romans 15:9, Matthew 10:32, 1 John 4:15, 2 John 1:7

Reciprocal: Genesis 43:26 - bowed 2 Chronicles 29:29 - bowed themselves Isaiah 65:16 - he that Jeremiah 12:16 - my name Ezekiel 33:11 - As I live Zephaniah 1:5 - by the Lord Zechariah 14:17 - that Mark 15:19 - and bowing Philippians 2:11 - is Lord James 4:7 - Submit

Cross-References

Genesis 12:5
And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,
Genesis 14:16
Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people.
Genesis 14:21
And the king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself."
Deuteronomy 28:31
Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat any of it. Your donkey shall be seized before your face, but shall not be restored to you. Your sheep shall be given to your enemies, but there shall be no one to help you.
Deuteronomy 28:35
The Lord will strike you on the knees and on the legs with grievous boils of which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.
Deuteronomy 28:51
It shall eat the offspring of your cattle and the fruit of your ground, until you are destroyed; it also shall not leave you grain, wine, or oil, the increase of your herds or the young of your flock, until they have caused you to perish.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For it is written,.... In Isaiah 45:23; though Justin Martyr o cites a like passage with what follows, as out of Ezekiel 37, but no such words appear there, either in the Hebrew text, or Septuagint version:

as I live, saith the Lord; the form of an oath used often by the Lord; who because he could swear by no greater, he swore by himself, by his own life; signifying, that what he was about to say, would as surely come to pass, as that he lived; and in the original text in Isaiah it is, "I have sworn by myself"; which being generally expressed, the apostle, perfectly agreeable to the meaning of it, gives the particular form of oath he swore, as in Isaiah 49:18;

every knee shall bow to me; which is not to be understood literally of bowing of the knee at the name of Jesus, which has no foundation in this, nor in any other passage of Scripture, but figuratively, of the subjection of all creatures to Christ, both voluntary and involuntary. The Complutensian edition adds, "of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth", as in Philippians 2:10, from whence these words seem to be taken:

and every tongue shall confess to God; that is, everyone that has a tongue, every man, be he who he will, a good or a bad man, shall own at the last day, that Christ is God and Lord of all; see Philippians 2:10. It may be asked, how this passage appears to be a proof of what the apostle had asserted, for which purpose it seems to be cited, since here is nothing said of Christ, nor of his judgment seat, nor of all standing before it? to which may be returned, that it is clear from the context in the prophet, that the Messiah is the person speaking, who is said to be a just God and Saviour; and is represented as calling upon, and encouraging all sorts of persons to look to him for salvation; and as he in whom the church expected righteousness and strength, and in whom all the seed of Israel shall be justified, and shall glory; and which the Chaldee paraphrase all along interprets of מימרא דיי, "the Word of the Lord"; the essential Word of God, the true Messiah: moreover, the bowing of the knee, and swearing, or confessing, to him, relate to his lordship and dominion over all; and suppose him as sitting on his throne of glory, as Lord of all, or as a judge on his judgment seat, in a court of judicature, where such like actions as here mentioned are performed; and whereas every knee is to bow, and every tongue to confess to him, which include all mankind, it follows then, that all the saints shall stand before him, bow unto him, own him as their Lord, and be judged by him. Kimchi says p, that this shall be באחרת הימים, "in the last days": and which the apostle rightly refers to the day of the general judgment. This place affords a considerable proof of Christ's true and proper deity, being in the prophet styled "Jehovah", and by the apostle "God"; and such things being ascribed to him, as swearing by himself, which no creature may do, and the subjection and confession of all creatures to him, whether they will or not.

o Apolog. 2. pro Christianis, p. 87. p In Isaiah 45:23.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

For it is written - This passage is recorded in Isaiah 45:23. It is not quoted literally, but the sense is preserved. In Isaiah there can be no doubt that it refers to Yahweh. The speaker expressly calls himself Yahweh, the name which is appropriate to God alone, and which is never applied to a creature; Romans 14:18. In the place before us, the words are applied by Paul expressly to Christ; compare Romans 14:10. This mode of quotation is a strong incidental proof that the apostle regarded the Lord Jesus as divine. On no other principle could he have made these quotations.

As I live - The Hebrew is, “I have sworn by myself.” One expression is equivalent to the other. An “oath” of God is often expressed by the phrase “as I live;” Numbers 14:21; Isaiah 49:18; Ezekiel 5:11; Ezekiel 14:16, etc.

Saith the Lord - These words are not in the Hebrew text, but are added by the apostle to show that the passage quoted was spoken by the Lord, the Messiah; compare Isaiah 45:18, Isaiah 45:22.

Every knee shall bow to me - To bow the knee” is an act expressing homage, submission, or adoration. It means that every person shall acknowledge him as God, and admit his right to universal dominion. The passage in Isaiah refers particularly to the homage which “his own people” should render to him; or rather, it means that all who are saved shall acknowledge “him” as their God and Saviour. The original reference was not to “all men,” but only to those who should be saved; Isaiah 45:17, Isaiah 45:21-22, Isaiah 45:24. In this sense the apostle uses it; not as denoting that “all men” should confess to God, but that all “Christians,” whether Jewish or Gentile converts, should alike give account to Him. “They” should all bow before their common God, and acknowledge “his” dominion over them. The passage originally did not refer particularly to the day of judgment, but expressed the truth that all believers should acknowledge his dominion. It is as applicable, however, to the judgment, as to any other act of homage which his people will render.

Every tongue shall confess to God - In the Hebrew, “Every tongue shall swear.” Not swear “by God,” but “to him;” that is, pay to him our vows, or “answer to him on oath” for our conduct; and this is the same as confessing to him, or acknowledging him as our Judge.


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile