2:11a

every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord: 2:11a repeats the same basic meaning that is in 2:10a but uses a different figure of speech. It means that everyone will acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the supreme Lord over all creation. In order to honor Jesus two things will happen: everyone will bow to Jesus Christ as Lord and everyone will say that Jesus Christ is Lord.

In some languages this requires a direct quote. For example:

everybody will say, “Jesus Christ is Lord of all”
-or-
everyone will say, “Jesus Christ is the one who rules us(incl.).”

every tongue: The phrase every tongue is a figure of speech that represents every created being that is able to think and speak. It is parallel to the phrase “every knee” in 2:10a.

confess: Here confess means “to say something openly and publicly.” It means to acknowledge something that is true, or to tell others something you know that is true. The word confess here does not mean to confess sin.

This does not mean that everyone will happily or gladly acknowledge Jesus as Lord. But God will force Satan and all who previously have refused to acknowledge Jesus as Lord to admit that Jesus is Lord.

2:11b

to the glory of God the Father: People will say “Jesus Christ is Lord,” and by saying this they will give glory to God, the Father of Jesus Christ. The statement “Jesus Christ is Lord” will not mean that Jesus is taking glory away from the Father. He has the lordship (authority) that the Father has given him. Jesus will be Lord of all creation but will still be under the authority of his Father, God. This is God’s plan, and so this will glorify God the Father.

There are several possible ways to translate the phrase to the glory of God the Father. For example:

…and therefore all people will praise our(incl.) Father, God.
-or-
…and ⌊this will result in⌋ people saying that God the Father is very, very great.
-or-
…and his Father, God, will receive honor when this happens.

© 2002 by SIL International®
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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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