Bible Strands
John 18:18
Because it was cold, the servants and officers were standing around a charcoal fire they had made to keep warm. And Peter was also standing with them, warming himself.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator describes the courtyard scene immediately after Peter’s first denial, placing him among the guard and household staff during a nighttime interrogation.
The words — The Greek εἱστήκεισαν (heistēkeisan) denotes a continuous past action, emphasizing that the servants and officers (δοῦλοι, hupēretai) remained fixed around the charcoal fire (ἀνθρακιὰν, anthrakian) for warmth.
The thread — This courtyard gathering with a charcoal fire and a warming Peter appears in Mark 14:54, Mark 14:67, and Luke 22:55.
Why it lands — The text places Peter physically among the guards warming himself, establishing his presence at the trial site before his subsequent denials.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And the servants and officers stood there, who had made a fire of coals; for it was cold: and they warmed themselves: and Peter stood with them, and warmed himself.
Cross-references
- Mark 14:54 Peter followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he sat with the officers and warmed himself by the fire.
- Mark 14:67 and saw him warming himself there. She looked at Peter and said, “You also were with Jesus the Nazarene.”
- Luke 22:55 When those present had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them.
- John 18:25 Simon Peter was still standing and warming himself. So they asked him, “Aren’t you also one of His disciples?” He denied it and said, “I am not.”
- Genesis 49:6 May I never enter their council; may I never join their assembly. For they kill men in their anger, and hamstring oxen on a whim.
- Psalms 1:1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers.
- Psalms 26:4 I do not sit with deceitful men, nor keep company with hypocrites.
- Proverbs 13:20 He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.
- John 21:9 When they landed, they saw a charcoal fire there with fish on it, and some bread.
- Ephesians 5:11 Have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.