Again Peter denied it, this time with an oath. “I don’t even know the man,” he said.
Parallel translations
- WEB Again he denied it with an oath, “I don’t know the man.”
- KJV And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man.
- BSB And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man!”
- NKJV But again he denied with an oath, “I do not know the Man!”
- NASB And again he denied it, with an oath: “I do not know the man.”
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 denies Jesus a second time, now strengthening his lie with an oath. His resolve to protect himself is hardening into deeper sin.
Overview
Under continued pressure in the courtyard, Peter not only repeats his denial but reinforces it with an oath, calling God to witness a falsehood. This escalation shows how quickly fear can deepen one failure into another. The scene fulfills Jesus' earlier warning and underscores human frailty, even in a leading apostle, against the backdrop of Jesus' faithful endurance before His accusers.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Zech 8:17and let none of you devise evil in your hearts against his neighbor, and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate,” says Yahweh.
- Acts 5:3–4But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
- Isa 48:1“Hear this, house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel, and have come out of the waters of Judah. You swear by Yahweh’s name, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness
- Mal 3:5I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the perjurers, and against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and who deprive the foreigner of justice, and don’t fear me,” says Yahweh of Armies.
- Zech 5:3–4Then he said to me, “This is the curse that goes out over the surface of the whole land; for everyone who steals shall be cut off according to it on the one side; and everyone who swears falsely shall be cut off according to it on the other side.
- Matt 26:74Then he began to curse and to swear, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately the rooster crowed.
- Luke 22:34He said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will by no means crow today until you deny that you know me three times.”
- Matt 5:34–36but I tell you, don’t swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God;
- Exod 20:7“You shall not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain, for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
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Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
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Original language
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