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Mark 14:66-72, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Mark 14:66-72
Peter Denies Jesus and Breaks Down
The second crowing finds a man who remembers and weeps
As Peter is beneath in the palace, there comes one of the maids of the high priest. She sees Peter warming himself, looks upon him, and says, And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth. He denies, saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. He goes out into the porch; and the cock crew. A maid sees him again and begins to say to them that stood by, This is one of them. He denies it again. A little after, they that stood by say again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilaean, and thy speech agreeth thereto. He begins to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak.
The second time the cock crows. Peter calls to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. When he thinks thereon, he weeps. The collapse is complete, and Mark lets the tears stand without a speech. Peter's failure does not prove that fear or trauma makes restoration impossible. Jesus has already promised Galilee. The cockcrow is a wound that remembers, not a locked door.
How this should shape us
When you recognize a denial — a silence, a joke, a distancing — do not explain it away. Weep, tell the truth, and wait for the Lord who already named a meeting after failure.
Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters differ?
Best judgment: Peter's failure fulfills the warning while leaving repentance and restoration beyond Mark's immediate scene. The servant girl's questions are not blameworthy causes of his denial.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph flags, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
Mark 14:66-72, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Greek wording, sentence relations, and material variants checked independently of the KJV.
Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/Mark.txt, 14:66-72
Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges; context controls sense.
STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT Matthew–Acts data, rows for 14:66-72
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, older-English clarification, variants, background, and alternatives.
NET Bible Mark PDF, printed pp. 1868–1901, 14:66-72 and attached translator/textual notes
Supports: Narrative boundaries, plot, characterization, kingdom, Christology, discipleship, conflict, Passion, and ending.
Broadhead, Mark, printed pp. 114–125, Mark 14.43–15.15; subsection covering 14:66-72
Supports: Authorship/date limits, whole-book movement, secrecy, disciple failure, Passion, Sonship, and reader-first context.
Enter the Bible Mark course, Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Theological Themes, and related passage index; applied to 14:66-72
Supports: A complete confessional evangelical interpretation used as one traditioned voice, not consensus.
McKinley, “Mark,” Introduction and commentary heading covering Mark 14:66-72
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph flags, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
Exact location: Mark 14:66-72, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording, sentence relations, and material variants checked independently of the KJV.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/Mark.txt, 14:66-72
Open the Mark Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges; context controls sense.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT Matthew–Acts data, rows for 14:66-72
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Mark with translators' and textual notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005–2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, older-English clarification, variants, background, and alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible Mark PDF, printed pp. 1868–1901, 14:66-72 and attached translator/textual notes
Open the official NET Mark PDF ↗modern scholarly narrative commentary
Mark, Second Edition
Edwin K. Broadhead
Sheffield Phoenix Press; distributed online by the Society of Biblical Literature, 2009
Supports: Narrative boundaries, plot, characterization, kingdom, Christology, discipleship, conflict, Passion, and ending.
Exact location: Broadhead, Mark, printed pp. 114–125, Mark 14.43–15.15; subsection covering 14:66-72
Open Broadhead's complete Mark commentary ↗modern scholarly book introduction
Mark course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Paul S. Berge; revised by Kristofer Phan Coffman
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, 2023 revision; current online course inspected 2026
Supports: Authorship/date limits, whole-book movement, secrecy, disciple failure, Passion, Sonship, and reader-first context.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Mark course, Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Theological Themes, and related passage index; applied to 14:66-72
Open the Enter the Bible Mark course ↗modern open confessional commentary
Mark
Mike McKinley
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023 online edition
Supports: A complete confessional evangelical interpretation used as one traditioned voice, not consensus.
Exact location: McKinley, “Mark,” Introduction and commentary heading covering Mark 14:66-72
Open McKinley's Mark commentary ↗