Peter’s Denials

⁶⁹ Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant-girl came up to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.”^{(A) 70} But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.” ⁷¹ And when he had gone out to the gateway, another servant-girl saw him and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus the Nazarene.” ⁷² And again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man.” ⁷³ After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Surely you are one of them too; for even your [Galilean] accent gives you away.” ⁷⁴ Then he began to curse [that is, to invoke God’s judgment on himself] and swear [an oath], “I do not know the man!” And at that moment a rooster crowed. ⁷⁵ And Peter remembered the [prophetic] words of Jesus, when He had said, “Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly [in repentance].

Peter’s Denials

⁶⁶ While Peter was down below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came,^{(A) 67} and when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked intently at him and said, “You were with Jesus the Nazarene, too.” ⁶⁸ But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.” Then he went out [of the courtyard] to the porch, ^[a][and a rooster crowed.] ⁶⁹ The servant-girl saw him, and began once more to tell the bystanders, “This [man] is one of them.” ⁷⁰ But again he denied it. After a little while, the bystanders again said to Peter, “You are in fact one of them, for [it is clear from your accent, that] you are a Galilean, too.” ⁷¹ But he began to ^[b]invoke a curse [on himself] and to swear [an oath], “I do not know this man you are talking about!” ⁷² Immediately a rooster crowed the second time. And Peter remembered what Jesus said to him: “Before a rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And thinking of this, he began weeping [in anguish].

⁵⁵ After they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat among them.^{(A) 56} And a servant-girl, seeing him as he sat in the firelight and looking intently at him, said, “This man was with Him too.” ⁵⁷ But Peter denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know Him!” ⁵⁸ A little later someone else saw him and said, “You are one of them too.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!” ⁵⁹ After about an hour had passed, another man began to insist, “This man was with Him, for he is a Galilean too.” ⁶⁰ But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. ⁶¹ The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, “Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.” ⁶² And he went out and wept bitterly [deeply grieved and distressed].