Luke 22:34

22:34 Jesus replied, ¹  “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow ²  today until you have denied ³  three times that you know me.”

Matthew 26:74-75

26:74 At that he began to curse, and he swore with an oath, “I do not know the man!” At that moment a rooster crowed. ⁴  26:75 Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly. ⁵ 

Mark 14:71-72

14:71 Then he began to curse, and he swore with an oath, “I do not know this man you are talking about!” 14:72 Immediately a rooster ⁶  crowed a second time. Then ⁷  Peter remembered what Jesus had said to him: “Before a rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept. ⁸ 

John 18:27

18:27 Then Peter denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed. ⁹ 

¹ tn Grk “he said”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² sn That is, Peter’s denials will happen before the sun rises.

³ sn Once again, Jesus is quite aware that Peter will deny him. Peter, however, is too nonchalant about the possibility of stumbling.

⁴ tn It seems most likely that this refers to a real rooster crowing, although a number of scholars have suggested that “cockcrow” is a technical term referring to the trumpet call which ended the third watch of the night (from midnight to 3 a.m.). This would then be a reference to the Roman gallicinium (ἀλεκτοροφωνία, alektorofwnia; the term is used in Mark 13:35 and is found in some mss [Ì^37vid,45 ˹] in Matt 26:34) which would have been sounded at 3 a.m.; in this case Jesus would have prophesied a precise time by which the denials would have taken place. For more details see J. H. Bernard, St. John (ICC), 2:604. However, in light of the fact that Mark mentions the rooster crowing twice (Mark 14:72) and in Luke 22:60 the words are reversed (ἐφώνησεν ἀλέκτωρ, efwnhsen alektwr), it is more probable that a real rooster is in view. In any event natural cockcrow would have occurred at approximately 3 a.m. in Palestine at this time of year (March-April) anyway.

⁵ sn When Peter went out and wept bitterly it shows he really did not want to fail here and was deeply grieved that he had.

⁶ tn This occurrence of the word ἀλέκτωρ (alektwr, “rooster”) is anarthrous and consequently may not point back explicitly to the rooster which had crowed previously in v. 68. The reason for the anarthrous construction is most likely to indicate generically that some rooster crowed. Further, the translation of ἀλέκτωρ as an indefinite noun retains the subtlety of the Greek in only hinting at the Lord’s prediction v. 30. See also NAB, TEV, NASB.

⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

⁸ tn Grk “he wept deeply.”

⁹ tn It seems most likely that this refers to a real rooster crowing, although a number of scholars have suggested that “cockcrow” is a technical term referring to the trumpet call which ended the third watch of the night (from midnight to 3 a.m.). This would then be a reference to the Roman gallicinium (ἀλεκτοροφωνία, alektorofwnia; the term is used in Mark 13:35 and is found in some mss [Ì^37vid,45 ˹] in Matt 26:34) which would have been sounded at 3 a.m.; in this case Jesus would have prophesied a precise time by which the denials would have taken place. For more details see J. H. Bernard, St. John (ICC), 2:604. However, in light of the fact that Mark mentions the rooster crowing twice (Mark 14:72) and in Luke 22:60 the words are reversed (ἐφώνησεν ἀλέκτωρ, efwnhsen alektwr), it is more probable that a real rooster is in view. In any event natural cockcrow would have occurred at approximately 3 a.m. in Palestine at this time of year (March-April) anyway.