Simon Peter therefore, having a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Parallel Translations

  • WEB World English Bible

    Simon Peter therefore, having a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.

  • TYNDALE Tyndale New Testament (1534)

    That the sayinge might be fulfilled which he spake: of the which thou gavest me have I not lost one.

  • GNV Geneva Bible (1599)

    Then Simon Peter hauing a sword, drewe it, and smote the hie Priests seruant, and cut off his right eare. Nowe the seruants name was Malchus.

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Cross-references (6)

Passages linked to John 18:10 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.

  • Mark 14:47 But a certain one of those who stood by drew his sword, and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.
  • Matthew 26:51-54 Behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck the servant of the high priest, and struck off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place, for all those who take the sword will die by the sword. Or do you think that I couldn’t ask my Father, and he would even now send me more than twelve legions of angels? How then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that it must be so?”
  • Luke 22:49-51 When those who were around him saw what was about to happen, they said to him, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” A certain one of them struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. But Jesus answered, “Let me at least do this”—and he touched his ear, and healed him.
  • John 18:26 One of the servants of the high priest, being a relative of him whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?”
  • Mark 14:30 Jesus said to him, “Most certainly I tell you, that you today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.”
  • Luke 22:33 He said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death!”

Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)

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Explain this verse (17 sources)

Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.

John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 10. Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it.…

10. Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it. The Evangelist now describes the foolish zeal of Peter, who attempted to defend his Master in an unlawful manner. Boldly and courageously, indeed, he incurs great risk on Christ’s account; but as he does not consider what his calling demands, and what God permits, his action is so far from deserving praise, that he is severely blamed by Christ. But let us learn that, in the person of Peter, Christ condemns every thing that men dare to attempt out of their own fancy. This doctrine is eminently worthy of attention; for nothing is more common than to defend, under the cloak of zeal, every thing that we do, as if it were of no importance whether God approved, or not, what men suppose to be right, whose prudence is nothing else than mere vanity.

If we saw nothing faulty in the zeal of Peter, still we ought to be satisfied on this single ground, that Christ declares that he is displeased with it. But we see that it was not owing to him that Christ did not turn aside from death, and that his name was not exposed to perpetual disgrace; for, in offering violence to the captain and the soldiers, he acts the part of a highwayman, because he resists the power which God has appointed. Christ having already been more than enough hated by the world, this single deed might give plausibility to all the calumnies which his enemies falsely brought against him. Besides, it was exceedingly thoughtless in Peter to attempt to prove his faith by his sword, while he could not do so by his tongue. When he is called to make confession, he denies his Master; and now, without his Master’s authority, he raises a tumult.

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Warned by so striking an example, let us learn to keep our zeal within proper bounds; and as the wantonness of our flesh is always eager to attempt more than God commands, let us learn that our zeal will succeed ill, whenever we venture to undertake any thing contrary to the word of God. It will sometimes happen that the commencement gives us flattering promises, but we shall at length be punished for our rashness. Let obedience, therefore, be the foundation of all that we undertake. We are also reminded, that those who have resolved to plead the cause of Christ do not always conduct themselves so skilfully as not to commit some fault; and, therefore, we ought the more earnestly to entreat the Lord to guide us in every action by the spirit of prudence.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain We ought to contain the zeal we bear to…
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 10 Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it,…
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain It is thought that this action of Peter’s was…
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain Observe here, St. Peter’s love unto, and zeal for,…
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Then Simon Peter having a sword,.... Girt about him,…
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Then Simon Peter - No other evangelist names him.…
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 10. Having a sword] See Clarke on Lu…
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain See the notes at Mat 26:51-52.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it, and…
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 10. Malchus—The Greek and Latin form of Malek, signifying…
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 10. Then Simon Peter] Simon Peter therefore (Joh_18:3), because…
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (10) Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it.…
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Then Simon Peter. The other evangelists simply tell us…
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The arrest:
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Malchus is a male servant of the high priest.…
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 18:10-11 Simon Peter drew a short sword or a…

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