Luke 12:8

THE MESSAGE

"Stand up for me among the people you meet and the Son of Man will stand up for you before all God's angels. But if you pretend you don't know me, do you think I'll defend you before God's angels?

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“And I say to you, anyone who acknowledges

King James Version (1611)
Also I say vnto you, Whosoeuer shall confesse me before men, him shall the Sonne of man also confesse before the Angels of God.

King James Version
Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God:

English Standard Version
"And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God,

New American Standard Bible
"Now I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before people, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God;

New Century Version
"I tell you, all those who stand before others and say they believe in me, I, the Son of Man, will say before the angels of God that they belong to me.

Amplified Bible
"I say to you, whoever declares openly and confesses Me before men [speaking freely of Me as his Lord], the Son of Man also will declare openly and confess him [as one of His own] before the angels of God.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will confess him also before the angels of God;

Legacy Standard Bible
"And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will confess him also before the angels of God,

Berean Standard Bible
I tell you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God.

Contemporary English Version
If you tell others that you belong to me, the Son of Man will tell God's angels that you are my followers.

Complete Jewish Bible
"Moreover, I tell you, whoever acknowledges me in the presence of others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge in the presence of God's angels.

Darby Translation
But I say to you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, the Son of man will confess him also before the angels of God;

Easy-to-Read Version
"I tell you, if you stand before others and are willing to say you believe in me, then I will say that you belong to me. I will say this in the presence of God's angels.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Also I say vnto you, Whosoeuer shall confesse mee before men, him shall the Sonne of man confesse also before the Angels of God.

George Lamsa Translation
I say to you, Whoever will acknowledge me before men, the Son of man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God.

Good News Translation
"I assure you that those who declare publicly that they belong to me, the Son of Man will do the same for them before the angels of God.

Lexham English Bible
"And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before people, the Son of Man also will acknowledge him before the angels of God,

Literal Translation
But I say to you, Everyone who may confess Me before men, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God.

American Standard Version
And I say unto you, Every one who shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God:

Bible in Basic English
And I say to you that to everyone who gives witness to me before men, the Son of man will give witness before the angels of God.

Hebrew Names Version
"I tell you, everyone who confesses me before men, him will the Son of Man also confess before the angels of God;

International Standard Version
"But I tell you, the Son of Man will acknowledge before God's angels everyone who acknowledges me before people.Matthew 10:32; Mark 8:38; 2 Timothy 2:12; 1 John 2:23;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
But I tell you that every one who shall confess me before men, the Son of man will also confess him before the angels of Aloha.

Murdock Translation
And I say to you, that every one that shall confess me before men, the Son of man will also confess him before the angels of God.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Also I say vnto you, whosoeuer confesseth me before men, hym shall the sonne of man knowledge also, before the angels of God.

English Revised Version
And I say unto you, Every one who shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God:

World English Bible
I tell you, everyone who confesses me before men, him will the Son of Man also confess before the angels of God;

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows. And I say to you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God.

Weymouth's New Testament
"And I tell you that every man who shall have acknowledged me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Treuli Y seie to you, ech man that knoulechith me bifor men, mannus sone schal knouleche hym bifor the aungels of God.

Update Bible Version
And I say to you, Every one who shall confess me before men, the Son of man shall also confess him before the angels of God:

Webster's Bible Translation
Also I say to you, Whoever shall confess me before men, him will the Son of man also confess before the angels of God.

New English Translation
"I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before God's angels.

New King James Version
Matthew 10:32,33">[xr] "Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God.

New Living Translation
"I tell you the truth, everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, the Son of Man will also acknowledge in the presence of God's angels.

New Life Bible
"Also, I tell you, everyone who makes Me known to men, the Son of Man will make him known to the angels of God.

New Revised Standard
"And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And I say unto you - Whosoever shall confess me before men, even the Son of Man, will confess him, before the messengers of God;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And I say to you: Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God.

Revised Standard Version
"And I tell you, every one who acknowledges me before men, the Son of man also will acknowledge before the angels of God;

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
I saye vnto you: Whosoever confesseth me before men eve him shall ye sonne of man confesse also before ye angels of God.

Young's Literal Translation
`And I say to you, Every one -- whoever may confess with me before men, the Son of Man also shall confess with him before the messengers of God,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
I saye vnto you: Who so euer knowlegeth me before men, him shal the sonne of ma also knowlege before the angels of God:

Mace New Testament (1729)
moreover I declare unto you, whoever shall acknowledge me before men, him shall the son of man also own before the angels of God.

Simplified Cowboy Version
I'm telling you the truth. If you ride for me in public down here, I will show the angels in heaven that you have eternal life in God's outfit because you are in my tally book.

Contextual Overview

¹By this time the crowd, unwieldy and stepping on each other's toes, numbered into the thousands. But Jesus' primary concern was his disciples. He said to them, "Watch yourselves carefully so you don't get contaminated with Pharisee yeast, Pharisee phoniness. You can't keep your true self hidden forever; before long you'll be exposed. You can't hide behind a religious mask forever; sooner or later the mask will slip and your true face will be known. You can't whisper one thing in private and preach the opposite in public; the day's coming when those whispers will be repeated all over town. ⁴"I'm speaking to you as dear friends. Don't be bluffed into silence or insincerity by the threats of religious bullies. True, they can kill you, but then what can they do? There's nothing they can do to your soul, your core being. Save your fear for God, who holds your entire life—body and soul—in his hands. ⁶"What's the price of two or three pet canaries? Some loose change, right? But God never overlooks a single one. And he pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail—even numbering the hairs on your head! So don't be intimidated by all this bully talk. You're worth more than a million canaries. ⁸"Stand up for me among the people you meet and the Son of Man will stand up for you before all God's angels. But if you pretend you don't know me, do you think I'll defend you before God's angels? ¹⁰ "If you bad-mouth the Son of Man out of misunderstanding or ignorance, that can be overlooked. But if you're knowingly attacking God himself, taking aim at the Holy Spirit, that won't be overlooked. ¹¹"When they drag you into their meeting places, or into police courts and before judges, don't worry about defending yourselves—what you'll say or how you'll say it. The right words will be there. The Holy Spirit will give you the right words when the time comes."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Whosoever: 1 Samuel 2:30, Psalms 119:46, Matthew 10:32, Matthew 10:33, Romans 10:9, Romans 10:10, 2 Timothy 2:12, 1 John 2:23, Revelation 2:10, Revelation 2:13, Revelation 3:4, Revelation 3:5

confess: Matthew 25:31-34, Jude 1:24, Jude 1:25

Reciprocal: Ezra 5:11 - We are Song of Solomon 8:1 - I would Matthew 6:25 - I say Mark 8:38 - ashamed Luke 9:26 - whosoever Luke 23:42 - when John 5:23 - all men John 12:42 - they did not Philippians 2:16 - Holding 1 Timothy 6:12 - hast 1 John 4:15 - confess Revelation 14:1 - having

Cross-References

Genesis 12:14
When Abram arrived in Egypt, the Egyptians took one look and saw that his wife was stunningly beautiful. Pharaoh's princes raved over her to Pharaoh. She was taken to live with Pharaoh.

Genesis 12:16
Because of her, Abram got along very well: he accumulated sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, men and women servants, and camels. But God hit Pharaoh hard because of Abram's wife Sarai; everybody in the palace got seriously sick.

Genesis 21:33
Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and worshiped God there, praying to the Eternal God. Abraham lived in Philistine country for a long time.

Joshua 7:2
Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai (The Ruin), which is near Beth Aven just east of Bethel. He instructed them, "Go up and spy out the land." The men went up and spied out Ai.

Joshua 8:3
Joshua and all his soldiers got ready to march on Ai. Joshua chose thirty thousand men, tough, seasoned fighters, and sent them off at night with these orders: "Look sharp now. Lie in ambush behind the city. Get as close as you can. Stay alert. I and the troops with me will approach the city head-on. When they come out to meet us just as before, we'll turn and run. They'll come after us, leaving the city. As we are off and running, they'll say, ‘They're running away just like the first time.' That's your signal to spring from your ambush and take the city. God , your God, will hand it to you on a platter. Once you have the city, burn it down. God says it, you do it. Go to it. I've given you your orders."

Nehemiah 11:31
The Benjaminites from Geba lived in: Micmash Aijah Bethel and its suburbs Anathoth Nob and Ananiah Hazor Ramah and Gittaim Hadid, Zeboim, and Neballat Lod and Ono and the Valley of the Craftsmen. Also some of the Levitical groups of Judah were assigned to Benjamin.

Isaiah 10:28
You Who Legislate Evil Doom to you who legislate evil, who make laws that make victims— Laws that make misery for the poor, that rob my destitute people of dignity, Exploiting defenseless widows, taking advantage of homeless children. What will you have to say on Judgment Day, when Doomsday arrives out of the blue? Who will you get to help you? What good will your money do you? A sorry sight you'll be then, huddled with the prisoners, or just some corpses stacked in the street. Even after all this, God is still angry, his fist still raised, ready to hit them again. "Doom to Assyria, weapon of my anger. My wrath is a cudgel in his hands! I send him against a godless nation, against the people I'm angry with. I command him to strip them clean, rob them blind, and then push their faces in the mud and leave them. But Assyria has another agenda; he has something else in mind. He's out to destroy utterly, to stamp out as many nations as he can. Assyria says, ‘Aren't my commanders all kings? Can't they do whatever they like? Didn't I destroy Calno as well as Carchemish? Hamath as well as Arpad? Level Samaria as I did Damascus? I've eliminated kingdoms full of gods far more impressive than anything in Jerusalem and Samaria. So what's to keep me from destroying Jerusalem in the same way I destroyed Samaria and all her god-idols?'" When the Master has finished dealing with Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he'll say, "Now it's Assyria's turn. I'll punish the bragging arrogance of the king of Assyria, his high and mighty posturing, the way he goes around saying, "‘I've done all this by myself. I know more than anyone. I've wiped out the boundaries of whole countries. I've walked in and taken anything I wanted. I charged in like a bull and toppled their kings from their thrones. I reached out my hand and took all that they treasured as easily as a boy taking a bird's eggs from a nest. Like a farmer gathering eggs from the henhouse, I gathered the world in my basket, And no one so much as fluttered a wing or squawked or even chirped.'" Does an ax take over from the one who swings it? Does a saw act more important than the sawyer? As if a shovel did its shoveling by using a ditch digger! As if a hammer used the carpenter to pound nails! Therefore the Master, God -of-the-Angel-Armies, will send a debilitating disease on his robust Assyrian fighters. Under the canopy of God's bright glory a fierce fire will break out. Israel's Light will burst into a conflagration. The Holy will explode into a firestorm, And in one day burn to cinders every last Assyrian thornbush. God will destroy the splendid trees and lush gardens. The Assyrian body and soul will waste away to nothing like a disease-ridden invalid. A child could count what's left of the trees on the fingers of his two hands. And on that Day also, what's left of Israel, the ragtag survivors of Jacob, will no longer be fascinated by abusive, battering Assyria. They'll lean on God , The Holy—yes, truly. The ragtag remnant—what's left of Jacob—will come back to the Strong God. Your people Israel were once like the sand on the seashore, but only a scattered few will return. Destruction is ordered, brimming over with righteousness. For the Master, God -of-the-Angel-Armies, will finish here what he started all over the globe. Therefore the Master, God -of-the-Angel-Armies, says: "My dear, dear people who live in Zion, don't be terrorized by the Assyrians when they beat you with clubs and threaten you with rods like the Egyptians once did. In just a short time my anger against you will be spent and I'll turn my destroying anger on them. I, God -of-the-Angel-Armies, will go after them with a cat-o'-nine-tails and finish them off decisively—as Gideon downed Midian at the rock Oreb, as Moses turned the tables on Egypt. On that day, Assyria will be pulled off your back, and the yoke of slavery lifted from your neck." Assyria's on the move: up from Rimmon, on to Aiath, through Migron, with a bivouac at Micmash. They've crossed the pass, set camp at Geba for the night. Ramah trembles with fright. Gibeah of Saul has run off. Cry for help, daughter of Gallim! Listen to her, Laishah! Do something, Anathoth! Madmenah takes to the hills. The people of Gebim flee in panic. The enemy's soon at Nob—nearly there! In sight of the city he shakes his fist At the mount of dear daughter Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. But now watch this: The Master, God -of-the-Angel-Armies, swings his ax and lops the branches, Chops down the giant trees, lays flat the towering forest-on-the-march. His ax will make toothpicks of that forest, that Lebanon-like army reduced to kindling.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Also I say unto you, c. The same as in Matthew 10:32

whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the son of man also confess before the angels of God only instead of I, he here calls himself "the son of man"; and instead of "before my Father which is in heaven", here it is, "before the angels of God"; who will accompany Christ when he comes to judgment, and will be present, when he shall acknowledge his true followers as the blessed of his Father, the chosen of God, his redeemed and sanctified ones; and reject others before his Father, and the whole universe of rational beings: it is said in the Targum on Song of Solomon 1:15.

"when the children of Israel do the will of their king, he by his word (the Logos) praises them in the family of the holy angels.''

This Christ, the eternal word, will do at the great day.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Nothing covered - See the notes at Matthew 10:26-32.

Luke 12:3

Shall be proclaimed upon the housetops - See the notes at Matthew 10:27. The custom of making proclamation from the tops or roofs of houses still prevails in the East. Dr. Thomson (“The Land and the Book,” vol. i. p. 51, 52) says: “At the present day, local governors in country districts cause their commands thus to be published. Their proclamations are generally made in the evening, after the people have returned from their labors in the field. The public crier ascends the highest roof at hand, and lifts up his voice in a long-drawn call upon all faithful subjects to give ear and obey. He then proceeds to announce, in a set form, the will of their master, and demand obedience thereto.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Luke 12:8. Shall confess — See on Matthew 10:32; Matthew 10:33.