^22:55When they had made a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. ^22:56Then a slave girl,¹⁴² seeing him as he sat in the firelight, stared at him and said, “This man was with him too!” ^22:57But Peter¹⁴³ denied it: “Woman,¹⁴⁴ I don’t know¹⁴⁵ him!” ^22:58Then¹⁴⁶ a little later someone else¹⁴⁷ saw him and said, “You are one of them too.” But Peter said, “Man,¹⁴⁸ I am not!” ^22:59And after about an hour still another insisted,¹⁴⁹ “Certainly this man was with him, because he too is a Galilean.”¹⁵⁰^22:60But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” At that moment,¹⁵¹ while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed.¹⁵²^22:61Then¹⁵³ the Lord turned and looked straight at Peter, and Peter remembered the word of the Lord,¹⁵⁴ how he had said to him, “Before a rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” ^22:62And he went outside and wept bitterly.¹⁵⁵

Read in Logos

Footnotes

142 The Greek term here is παιδίσκη (paidiskē), referring to a slave girl or slave woman.
143 Grk “he denied it, saying.” The referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant and has not been translated.
144 Woman was a polite form of address (see γυνή), similar to “Madam” or “Ma’am” used in English in different regions.
145 The expression “I do not know him” had an idiomatic use in Jewish ban formulas in the synagogue and could mean, “I have nothing to do with him.”
146 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
147 In Mark 14:69, the same slave girl made the charge. So apparently Peter was being identified by a variety of people.
148 Here and in v. 60 “Man” is used as a neutral form of address to a stranger.
149 Grk “insisted, saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant in English and has not been translated here.
150 According to Mark 14:70 it was Peter’s accent that gave him away as a Galilean.
151 Grk “And immediately.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
152 A real rooster crowing is probably in view here (rather than the Roman trumpet call known as gallicinium), in part due to the fact that Mark 14:72 mentions the rooster crowing twice. See the discussion at .
153 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
154 “The word of the Lord” is a technical expression in OT literature, often referring to a divine prophetic utterance (e.g., Gen 15:1, Isa 1:10, Jonah 1:1). In the NT it occurs 15 times: 3 times as ῥῆμα τοῦ κυρίου (rhēma tou kuriou; here and in Acts 11:16, 1 Pet 1:25) and 12 times as λόγος τοῦ κυρίου (logos tou kuriou; Acts 8:25; 13:44, 48, 49; 15:35, 36; 16:32; 19:10, 20; 1 Thess 1:8, 4:15; 2 Thess 3:1). As in the OT, this phrase focuses on the prophetic nature and divine origin of what has been said. Because of its technical nature the expression has been retained in the translation in preference to a smoother rendering like “remembered what the Lord had said” (cf. , ).
155 When Peter went out and wept bitterly it shows he really did not want to fail here and was deeply grieved that he had.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, “This man also was with him.” But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” And a little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.” And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.” But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.”

But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said.

A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”

“Man, I am not!” Peter replied.

About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.”

Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

They lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, and Peter sat among them. When a servant saw him sitting in the light, and looked closely at him, she said, “This man was with him too.”

But he denied it: “Woman, I don’t know him.”

After a little while, someone else saw him and said, “You’re one of them too.”

“Man, I am not!” Peter said.

About an hour later, another kept insisting, “This man was certainly with him, since he’s also a Galilean.”

But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. Then the Lord turned and looked at Peter. So Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

NLTNew Living Translation

The guards lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat around it, and Peter joined them there. A servant girl noticed him in the firelight and began staring at him. Finally she said, “This man was one of Jesus’ followers!”

But Peter denied it. “Woman,” he said, “I don’t even know him!”

After a while someone else looked at him and said, “You must be one of them!”

“No, man, I’m not!” Peter retorted.

About an hour later someone else insisted, “This must be one of them, because he is a Galilean, too.”

But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.

At that moment the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Suddenly, the Lord’s words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And Peter left the courtyard, weeping bitterly.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. And a certain female slave, seeing him sitting in the light and looking intently at him, said, “This man also was with him!” But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him!” And after a short time another person saw him and said, “You also are one of them!” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!” And after about one hour had passed, someone else was insisting, saying, “In truth this man also was with him, because he is also a Galilean!” But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about!” And immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. And the Lord turned around and looked intently at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

KJV 1900King James Version

And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them. But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him. And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not. And after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not. And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilaean. And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew. And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.

Public Domain