Bible Strands
Mark 14:66
While Peter was in the courtyard below, one of the servant girls of the high priest came down
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Peter remains in the lower courtyard of the high priest while a servant girl descends to approach him. This moment follows the temple officers' mockery of Jesus and precedes the girl's verbal identification of Peter.
The words — ὄντος (ontos) operates as a genitive absolute participle meaning "being" or "while he was," establishing Peter's continuous presence. κάτω (katō) literally translates to "below," marking the specific lower level of the courtyard relative to the high priest's residence.
The thread — The narrative runs parallel to Matthew 26:58 and 26:69, which record Peter's entry into the high priest's courtyard and his subsequent encounter with the same servant girl. Mark 14:54 also documents Peter's initial movement into that same location.
Why it lands — The text positions Peter in a confined space where his proximity to the high priest's household makes his association with Jesus visibly unavoidable. It requires a reader to acknowledge that remaining in a hostile environment inevitably produces exposure.
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 as Peter was beneath in the palace, there cometh one of the maids of the high priest:
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.
- Matthew 26:69 Meanwhile, Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came up to him. “You also were with Jesus the Galilean,” she said.
- Matthew 26:58 But Peter followed Him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. And he went in and sat down with the guards to see the outcome.
- John 18:15 Now Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he also went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest.
- 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.”
- 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.