Bible Strands
Matthew 26:72
And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man!”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Peter speaks to the household servants and bystanders at the high priest’s courtyard, responding to a second accusation after his initial denial at the gateway.
The words — The text records ἠρνήσατο (ērnēsato) as “he denied” and ὅρκου (horkou) as “an oath,” showing Peter used a formal sworn statement to reject association. He follows with οὐκ οἶδα (ouk oida), literally “I do not know,” to sever any claimed connection to Jesus.
The thread — The act of swearing a false denial directly engages the warning in Exodus 20:7 against taking God’s name in vain, while the pattern of disowning a known association aligns with the curse described in Zechariah 5:3.
Why it lands — The passage requires a reader to examine how pressure and fear produce sworn disavowals of known truth. It demands honest accountability for one’s words and the discipline to resist compromising loyalty under scrutiny.
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 again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man.
Cross-references
- Exodus 20:7 You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.
- Isaiah 48:1 “Listen to this, O house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel, who have descended from the line of Judah, who swear by the name of the LORD, who invoke the God of Israel—but not in truth or righteousness—
- Zechariah 5:3 Then he told me, “This is the curse that is going out over the face of all the land, for according to one side of the scroll, every thief will be removed; and according to the other side, every perjurer will be removed.
- Zechariah 8:17 do not plot evil in your hearts against your neighbor, and do not love to swear falsely, for I hate all these things,” declares the LORD.
- Malachi 3:5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- Matthew 5:34 But I tell you not to swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne;
- Matthew 26:74 At that he began to curse and swear to them, “I do not know the man!” And immediately a rooster crowed.
- Luke 22:34 But Jesus replied, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.”
- Acts 5:3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and withhold some of the proceeds from the land?