Bible Strands
Mark 14:70
But he denied it again. After a little while, those standing nearby said once more to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you too are a Galilean.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The bystanders confront Peter after his initial denials, identifying him by his Galilean origin. This occurs moments after the servant girl first points him out and before Peter’s final sworn denial.
The words — The Greek term ἠρνεῖτο (ērneito) employs the imperfect tense to depict a continuous or repeated denial. The adverb πάλιν (palin) appears twice in the verse to emphasize the recurring nature of both Peter’s rejection and the accusers’ accusations.
The thread — The pattern of repeated identification by Galilean speech or origin appears in Matthew 26:73 and Luke 22:59. Mark 14:68 records the immediate prior denial, while 14:71 shows the escalation to cursing and swearing.
Why it lands — The text records Peter’s third rejection and the bystanders’ specific claim about his Galilean accent. It requires the reader to acknowledge how incremental social pressure exposes human vulnerability to fear.
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 he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilean, and thy speech agreeth thereto.
Cross-references
- Matthew 26:73 After a little while, those standing nearby came up to Peter. “Surely you are one of them,” they said, “for your accent gives you away.”
- Mark 14:68 But he denied it. “I do not know or even understand what you are talking about,” he said. Then he went out to the gateway, and the rooster crowed.
- Luke 22:59 About an hour later, another man insisted, “Certainly this man was with Him, for he too is a Galilean.”
- Acts 2:7 Astounded and amazed, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?
- Judges 12:6 they told him, “Please say Shibboleth.” If he said, “Sibboleth,” because he could not pronounce it correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. So at that time 42,000 Ephraimites were killed.
- John 18:26 One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Didn’t I see you with Him in the garden?”