Bible Strands
Luke 22:62
And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Peter acts immediately after Jesus turns and looks at him, following the rooster's crow that confirmed his three denials. The moment captures his physical withdrawal from the courtyard into the night.
The words — The text records ἔκλαυσεν (eklausen) as he wept and πικρῶς (pikrōs) as bitterly, describing a sudden, intense emotional collapse. The participle ἐξελθὼν (exelthōn) paired with ἔξω (exō) marks his deliberate movement away from the scene of his failure.
The thread — This event parallels the fulfillment of Jesus’ prediction in Matthew 26:75 and echoes the warning in 1 Corinthians 10:12 regarding those who think they stand firm. It also aligns with the posture of confessed iniquity found in Psalm 38:18.
Why it lands — The verse records a concrete physical and emotional response to a broken promise, demanding recognition that failure requires immediate accountability. It leaves the reader to confront the cost of denial without offering immediate resolution or comfort.
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 Peter went out, and wept bitterly.
Cross-references
- 1 Corinthians 10:12 So the one who thinks he is standing firm should be careful not to fall.
- Matthew 26:75 Then 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.
- Psalms 38:18 Yes, I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin.
- Psalms 126:5 Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy.
- Psalms 130:1 A song of ascents. Out of the depths I cry to You, O LORD!
- Jeremiah 31:18 I 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.
- Ezekiel 7:16 The survivors will escape and live in the mountains, moaning like doves of the valley, each for his own iniquity.
- Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
- Mark 14:72 And 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.
- 2 Corinthians 7:9 yet 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.