And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Parallel translations
- WEB He went out, and wept bitterly.
- KJV And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.
- NKJV So Peter went out and wept bitterly.
- NASB And he went out and wept bitterly.
- NLT And Peter left the courtyard, weeping bitterly.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Peter goes out and weeps bitterly. His tears mark genuine, godly sorrow over his sin.
Overview
Overcome by his betrayal of Jesus, Peter departs and weeps in deep grief. His bitter weeping reflects true repentance rather than mere regret. This sorrow distinguishes him from Judas and opens the way to the forgiveness and recommissioning Jesus will later grant.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Matt 26:75Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.
- 1 Cor 10:12So the one who thinks he is standing firm should be careful not to fall.
- Ps 38:18Yes, I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin.
- Ps 130:1–4A song of ascents. Out of the depths I cry to You, O LORD!
- Ezek 7:16The survivors will escape and live in the mountains, moaning like doves of the valley, each for his own iniquity.
- Matt 5:4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
- Ps 126:5–6Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy.
- Jer 31:18I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning: ‘You disciplined me severely, like an untrained calf. Restore me, that I may return, for You are the LORD my God.
- 2 Cor 7:9–11And now I rejoice, not because you were made sorrowful, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you felt the sorrow that God had intended, and so were not harmed in any way by us.
- Mark 14:72And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And he broke down and wept.
- Ps 143:1–4A Psalm of David. O LORD, hear my prayer. In Your faithfulness, give ear to my plea; in Your righteousness, answer me.
- Zech 12:10Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 22:62 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.