Then he began to curse and to swear, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately the rooster crowed.
Parallel Translations
-
Then he began to curse and to swear, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately the rooster crowed.
-
Then beganne he to course and to sweare that he knewe not the man. And immedyatly the cocke krewe.
-
Then began hee to curse himselfe, and to sweare, saying, I knowe not the man. And immediately the cocke crewe.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (16)
Passages linked to Matthew 26:74 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Revelation 3:19 As many as I love, I reprove and chasten. Be zealous therefore, and repent.
- Matthew 10:28 Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.
- Mark 14:71-72 But he began to curse, and to swear, “I don’t know this man of whom you speak!” The rooster crowed the second time. Peter remembered the word, how that Jesus said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” When he thought about that, he wept.
- John 18:27 Peter therefore denied it again, and immediately the rooster crowed.
- Acts 23:12-14 When it was day, some of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. There were more than forty people who had made this conspiracy. They came to the chief priests and the elders, and said, “We have bound ourselves under a great curse to taste nothing until we have killed Paul.
- 1 Corinthians 16:22 If any man doesn’t love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be cursed. Come, Lord!
- Judges 21:18 However, we may not give them wives of our daughters, for the children of Israel had sworn, saying, ‘Cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin.’ ”
- 1 Samuel 14:24-28 The men of Israel were distressed that day; for Saul had adjured the people, saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food until it is evening, and I am avenged of my enemies.” So none of the people tasted food. All the people came into the forest; and there was honey on the ground. When the people had come to the forest, behold, honey was dripping, but no one put his hand to his mouth; for the people feared the oath. But Jonathan didn’t hear when his father commanded the people with the oath. Therefore he put out the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in the honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes brightened. Then one of the people answered, and said, “Your father directly commanded the people with an oath, saying, ‘Cursed is the man who eats food today.’ ” So the people were faint.
- Matthew 10:32-33 Everyone therefore who confesses me before men, I will also confess him before my Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies me before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven.
- Matthew 27:25 All the people answered, “May his blood be on us, and on our children!”
- 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.”
- Mark 14:68 But he denied it, saying, “I neither know, nor understand what you are saying.” He went out on the porch, and the rooster crowed.
- Luke 22:60 But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you are talking about!” Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed.
- John 21:15-17 So when they had eaten their breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I have affection for you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I have affection for you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you have affection for me?” Peter was grieved because he asked him the third time, “Do you have affection for me?” He said to him, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I have affection for you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.
- Romans 9:3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brothers’ sake, my relatives according to the flesh
- Judges 17:2 He said to his mother, “The eleven hundred pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse, and also spoke it in my ears—behold, the silver is with me. I took it.” His mother said, “May Yahweh bless my son!”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (10 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain He swore and cursed himself.
He swore and cursed himself.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 74 Then began he to curse and to swear,…
74 Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.
Ver. 74. Then began he to curse and swear] This he had learned belike of the ruffianly soldiers, with whom, usually, execrations are but expletives, and horrible oaths interjections of speech. But though Israel play the harlot, yet why should Judah offend? come not ye to Gilgal, neither go ye up to Bethaven, nor swear "The Lord liveth," Hos 4:15. David swore once such an oath, and it was enough of that once, 1Sa 25:22. But Peter swears and forswears again and again, and that after warning; as Aaron went down and did that in the valley which he heard forbidden in the Mount, and then excuseth it by his fear of the people. That cowardly passion is the mother of many sins, of lying especially, Zep 3:13, and swearing too, to save the life. But better die than lie: and better bear than swear. We may not break the hedge of any commandment to avoid any piece of foul way, but go in a right line to God. Quas non oportet mortes praeeligere, quod non supplicium potius ferre, imo in quam profundam inferni abyssum non intrare, quam contra conscientiam attestari? saith holy Zuinglius in his third Epistle. What should not a man suffer, rather than sin? Peter sinned to some purpose, if it were, as some have thought, that he not only cursed himself, if he knew Christ, but also cursed Jesus Christ, that so he might appear to be none of his disciples.
Read full note →
And immediately the cock crew] Gallicinium complevit Christi vaticinium. The cock proved a preacher to Peter. Despise not the minister though never so mean; it is the foolishness of preaching that must bring men to heaven. Cocks call men out of their beds, and there hence have their name in the Greek tongue, {a} They constantly keep the law of crowing at those set times that nature hath enjoined them; they cry loud and thick against a storm. So do faithful ministers, when gotten upon their battlements; they clap their own sides first, and then constantly call up others. They cry aloud, and spare not, but lift up their voice like a trumpet, to tell Judah of their sins, &c. The roaring lion of hell trembleth at their note: and the world’s Sybarites cannot bear their disturbances, and therefore wish them banished. But wisdom is justified of her children, and though fierce before, and untamable, yet now "a little child shall lead them," Isa 11:6.
{a} αλικτωρ, quod nos excitet e lecto.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And Peter remembered the words of Jesus,.... Forgetfulness of…
And Peter remembered the words of Jesus,.... Forgetfulness of God, of his works, of his words, and of his law, of his revealed mind and will, is often the cause of sin; and a remembrance of things is necessary to the recovery of a fallen or backsliding professor; as, of what he is fallen from, of the love and kindness of God formerly shown to him, of his evil ways and works he is fallen into, and of the words and truths of Christ he has been very indifferent unto and lukewarm about:
which said unto him, before the cock crow, or is done crowing,
Read full note →
thou shalt deny me thrice; which he was put in mind of on hearing the cock crow. So by one means, or another, sometimes by some remarkable providence, and sometimes by the ministry of the word, God is pleased to alarm and awaken sleepy professors, backsliding believers, and remind them of their condition and duty, and restore them by repentance, as he did Peter:
and he went out; of the high priest's palace, either through fear, lest he should be seen weeping, and be suspected; or rather through shame, not being able to continue where his Lord was, when he had so shamefully denied him; as also to leave the company he had got into, being sensible he was wrong in mingling himself with such, and thereby exposed himself to these temptations; as well as to vent his grief in tears privately:
and wept bitterly; being thoroughly sensible what an evil and bitter thing the sin was, he had been guilty of: his repentance sprung from Christ's looking upon him, and from his looking to Jesus, and was truly evangelical: it was a sorrow after a godly sort, and was increased by the discoveries of Christ's love unto him; and was attended with faith in him, and views of pardon through him: the Persic version adds, "and his sin is forgiven"; which, though not in the text, yet is a truth; for Peter's repentance was not like Cain's, nor Esau's, nor Judas's; it was not the repentance of one in despair, but was a repentance unto life and salvation, which needed not to be repented of.
Next: Matthew Chapter 27
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Then began he to curse and to swear -…
Then began he to curse and to swear - Having now quite lost the reins, the government of himself.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 74. Then began he to curse and to…
Verse 74. Then began he to curse and to swear] Rather, Then he began positively to affirm - καταθεματιζειν, from κατα intensive, and τιθημι, I lay down, place, affirm. But the common reading is καταναθεματιζειν, which signifies to wish curses on himself. The former reading is supported by almost every MS. of value, and is, beyond dispute, the true reading, and has been received by Griesbach into the text. The business is bad enough, but the common reading makes it worse. In Mt 26:72, Peter is said to deny with an oath; here, he positively affirms and swears, probably by the name of God, for this is the import of the word ομνυειν. This makes the fourth and final gradation in the climax of Peter's fall. From these awful beginnings it is not unfair to conclude that Peter might have gone almost as far as Judas himself, had not the traitorous business been effected before. Yet all this evil sprung simply from the fear of man. How many denials of Christ and his truth have sprung since, from the same cause!
The cock crew] This animal becomes, in the hand of God, the instrument of awaking the fallen apostle, at last, to a sense of his fall, danger, and duty. When abandoned of God, the smallest thing may become the occasion of a fall; and, when in the hand of God, the smallest matter may become the instrument of our restoration. Let us never think lightly of what are termed little sins: the smallest one has the seed of eternal ruin in it. Let us never think contemptibly of the feeblest means of grace: each may have the seed of eternal salvation in it. Let us ever remember that the great Apostle Peter fell through fear of a servant maid, and rose through the crowing of a cock.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Then began he to curse ... - Peter was…
Then began he to curse ... - Peter was now irritated beyond endurance. He could no longer resist the evidence that he was known. It had been repeatedly charged on him. His language had betrayed him, and there was a positive witness who had seen him. He felt it necessary, therefore, to be still more decided, and he accordingly added to the sin of denying his Lord the deep aggravation of profane cursing and swearing, affirming what he must have known was false, that he knew not the man. Immediately then the cock crew - that is, the second crowing, or not far from three in the morning.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 74. Curse and to swear — No doubt he…
74. Curse and to swear — No doubt he first swore, to show that he belonged not to the prophet of Nazareth; but now a real and insane rage seems to have complete mastery, and Satan is sifting him like wheat. But it was in this very depth of abandonment that the voice of convicting mercy reached him. It was the time for the monitory cock to crow for Peter, and he crew.
At this moment of gross denial and profanity Peter was in a state of mortal sin and condemnation. He had fallen from grace; and death, in his present impenitent condition, would have consigned him to remediless woe.
Read full note →
Luke tells us that “the Lord turned and looked upon Peter,” and that Peter thereupon reflected upon his Lord’s warning. Probably our Lord cast this glance as he was led from Annas to Caiaphas. Or at this third denial the door of the apartment where Jesus and Annas were may have been opened upon the court, and Peter may have painfully found himself denying and swearing under his Lord’s glance. That glance doubtless was turned full upon him with a significance that called Peter to his recollections. It does not appear that Peter came into the examination room or was present with his Lord.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (74) To curse and to swear.—We may infer from…
(74) To curse and to swear.—We may infer from the two words that he used some common formula of execration, such as, e.g., “God do so to me and more also” (1Ki_19:2; 1Ki_20:10), as well as the oath-formula, “By Heaven,” or “By the Temple.”
Immediately the cock crew.—St. Mark alone records the first cock-crow. The Greek has no article; “a cock crew.” We find from Mar_13:35 that “cock-crowing” had become a familiar phrase, as with us, for the earliest hour of dawn.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain To curse and to swear. Peter fortifies this, his…
To curse and to swear. Peter fortifies this, his third denial, by imprecating curses on himself (katayematizein) if he spake not the truth, and again (ver. 72) confirming his assertion by a solemn oath. There is a certain gradation in his denials: he first simply asserts; he then asserts with an oath; lastly, he adds curses to his oath. "One temptation unresisted seldom fails to be followed by another; a second and greater infidelity is the punishment of the first, and often the cause of a third. Peter joins perjury to infidelity. Deplorable progress of infidelity and blindness in an apostle in so short a time, only out of fear of some under servants, and in respect of a Master whom he had acknowledged very God. He might possibly have proceeded even as far as Judas, had God left him any longer to himself" (Quesnel). Immediately the cock crew. This was the second crowing; (Mar_14:72) the first had been heard at the first denial. (Mar_14:68)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 74. He began to curse and to swear. Peter's…
74. He began to curse and to swear. Peter's third denial. He not only, with an oath, repeats what he had said in the second, but he affirms it with imprecations of divine wrath on himself if he spake not the truth. The gradations of guilt in the denials of Peter: (1) Ambiguous evasion; (2) distinct denial with a false oath; (3) awful abjuration with solemn imprecations on himself. Immediately the cock crew. This was at the opening of the fourth or morning watch, at about three o'clock. The cock often crows about midnight, or not long after; and again always about the third hour after midnight, or three o'clock. This shows that the second trial of Jesus took place before the dawn.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.