Section 22:54–62

Jesus’ enemies arrested him, and Peter denied him

In 22:33 Peter said that he would never leave Jesus or be unfaithful to him. But in 22:34 Jesus predicted that actually Peter would say three times that he did not know Jesus. After Jesus was arrested, Peter followed Jesus to the house of the high priest and waited in the courtyard. Three different people said that Peter had been with Jesus, and three times Peter said he did not know Jesus. But then a rooster crowed, and Peter suddenly remembered what Jesus had said. Peter wept with great sorrow because he had denied that he knew Jesus his Lord.

Some other examples of headings for this section are:

Peter Denies Jesus (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
Jesus’ Condemnation and Peter’s Denials (NET Bible)
-or-
Peter Says He Doesn’t Know Jesus (New Century Version)

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 26:57–58, 26:69–75, Mark 14:53–54, 14:66–72, and John 18:12–18, 18:25–27.

Paragraph 22:54–57

22:54a

Then: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Then is a common conjunction that can be translated in different ways. Here it introduces what happened after Jesus spoke to the crowd. Many English versions introduce this next event with Then or “So.” Other versions do not have a conjunction. Introduce this event in a natural way in your language.

they seized Jesus: The phrase they seized Jesus indicates that the temple guards (police) held Jesus firmly in their hands so that he could not leave. They arrested him and made him their prisoner.

In many languages it may be necessary to make clear who arrested Jesus. The people who actually took hold of him were the officers of the temple guard, who were mentioned in 22:52b. Refer back to them in a natural way in your language.

Here are some other ways to translate the clause they seized Jesus:

• Use an active clause with subject and object. For example:

the captains of the temple guard seized/grabbed Jesus
-or-
the temple guards/police arrested Jesus

• Use a passive verb. For example:

Jesus was arrested (Contemporary English Version)

Translate the clause in a natural way in your language.

22:54b–c

led Him away, and took Him into the house of the high priest: This clause has the two verbs led and took. The first verb refers to leading Jesus out of the garden. The second verb refers to taking him to the high priest’s house. Some versions put the second verb in a separate sentence. For example:

…led him away. They brought him to the high priest’s house (Revised English Bible)

These verbs do not imply that the guards took Jesus violently. They forced Jesus to go with them, but he did not resist them.

In some languages it may be more natural to use only one verb to describe the actions. For example:

and led him away to the chief priest’s house (God’s Word)
-or-
and they took him to the house of the High Priest

Translate the actions in a natural way in your language.

into the house of the high priest: This house, where the high priest lived, was probably large. It is likely that it had an open courtyard with rooms around it.

the high priest: The term high priest occurred in 22:50. You should translate it in the same way here. See the note at 22:50 for more information.

22:54c

And Peter followed at a distance: The clause And Peter followed at a distance indicates that Peter walked behind the people who were taking Jesus to the high priest’s house. Peter did not get close to them as he walked. He stayed far enough from them so that they would not notice him. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

Peter followed but not very close
-or-
Peter followed ⌊them⌋ from a ⌊safe⌋ distance
-or-
Peter went along behind ⌊Jesus and his captors⌋, but he did not come near them

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