Matthew 7:23

Matthew 7:23 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
• New International Version (NIV)Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
• English Standard Version (ESV)And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'
• New King James Version (NKJV)And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Context of Matthew 7:23

21Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’ 24Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because its foundation was on the rock.

Matthew 7:23 word by word

καὶ τότε ὁμολογήσω αὐτοῖς ὅτι οὐδέποτε ἔγνων ὑμᾶς· ἀποχωρεῖτε ἀπ᾽ ἐμοῦ οἱ ἐργαζόμενοι τὴν ἀνομίαν.¶Read the interlinear

• ·καίkai · andG2532
• Thenτότεtote · thenG5119
• I will tell them plainlyὁμολογέωhomologeō · to confess/professG3670
• I will tell them plainlyαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• ·ὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• I never knewγινώσκωginōskō · to knowG1097
• I never knewοὐδέποτεoudepote · neverG3763
• youσύsu · youG4771
• departἀποχωρέωapochōreō · to leaveG672
• fromἀπόapo · away fromG575
• Meἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• workersἐργάζομαιergazomai · to workG2038
• of lawlessnessἀνομίαanomia · lawlessnessG458

Cross-references for Matthew 7:23

• Matthew 25:12But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’
• John 10:14I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me,
• 2 Timothy 2:19Nevertheless, God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from iniquity.”
• Matthew 25:41Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
• Psalms 5:5The boastful cannot stand in Your presence; You hate all workers of iniquity.
• Psalms 6:8Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity, for the LORD has heard my weeping.
• Luke 13:25After the master of the house gets up and shuts the door, you will stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ But he will reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’
• Revelation 22:15But outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

Commentaries on Matthew 7:23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23Will I profess - , I will fully and plainly tell them, I never knew you - I never approved of you; for so the word is used in many places, both in the Old and New Testaments. You held the truth in unrighteousness, while you preached my pure and holy doctrine; and for the sake of my own truth, and through my love to the souls of men, I blessed your preaching; but yourselves I could never esteem, because you were destitute of the spirit of my Gospel, unholy…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23Profess unto them - Say unto them; plainly declare. I never knew you - That is, I never approved of your conduct; never loved you; never regarded you as my friends. See Psalm 1:6; 2 Timothy 2:19; 1 Corinthians 8:3. This proves that, with all their pretensions, they had never been true followers of Christ. Jesus will not then say to false prophets and false professors of religion that he had once known them and then rejected them; that they had been once…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 21-29Verses 21-29 Christ here shows that it will not be enough to own him for our Master, only in word and tongue. It is necessary to our happiness that we believe in Christ, that we repent of sin, that we live a holy life, that we love one another. This is his will, even our sanctification. Let us take heed of resting in outward privileges and doings, lest we deceive ourselves, and perish eternally, as multitudes do, with a lie in our right hand. Let every…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23I never knew you: These people were never truly converted, even though they did great works in the name of God. They refused to follow the Father's will as taught by Jesus, and they continued to break Gods commands. Because they never knew Christ, they never learned to do what he commanded.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. And then will I profess unto them--or, openly proclaim--tearing off the mask. I never knew you--What they claimed--intimacy with Christ--is just what He repudiates, and with a certain scornful dignity. "Our acquaintance was not broken off--there never was any." depart from me--(Compare Mt 25:41). The connection here gives these words an awful significance. They claimed intimacy with Christ, and in the corresponding passage, Lu 13:26, are represented…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 7:23

• Commandments
• Confession
• Hypocrisy
• Judgment
• Minister, Christian
• Quotations and Allusions
• Readings, Select
• Religion
• Self-Delusion
• Self-Righteousness
• Sin
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Ask
• Descend
• Destruction
• Gather
• Judge
• Measure
• Mote
• None
• Profess
• Rock

Commentaries on Matthew 7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings