Luke 22:52-54

22:52 Then ¹  Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, ²  and the elders who had come out to get him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs like you would against an outlaw? ³  22:53 Day after day when I was with you in the temple courts, ⁴  you did not arrest me. ⁵  But this is your hour, ⁶  and that of the power ⁷  of darkness!”

Jesus’ Condemnation and Peter’s Denials

22:54 Then ⁸  they arrested ⁹  Jesus, ¹⁰  led him away, and brought him into the high priest’s house. ¹¹  But Peter was following at a distance.

Luke 22:56-60

22:56 Then a slave girl, ¹²  seeing him as he sat in the firelight, stared at him and said, “This man was with him too!” 22:57 But Peter ¹³  denied it: “Woman, ¹⁴  I don’t know ¹⁵  him!” 22:58 Then ¹⁶  a little later someone else ¹⁷  saw him and said, “You are one of them too.” But Peter said, “Man, ¹⁸  I am not!” 22:59 And after about an hour still another insisted, ¹⁹  “Certainly this man was with him, because he too is a Galilean.” ²⁰  22:60 But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” At that moment, ²¹  while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. ²² 

[22:52]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[22:52]  ² tn This title, literally “official of the temple” (στρατηγὸς τοῦ ἱεροῦ, strathgo" tou Jierou), referred to the commander of the Jewish soldiers who guarded and maintained order in the Jerusalem temple. Here, since the term is plural, it has been translated “officers of the temple guard” rather than “commanders of the temple guard,” since the idea of a number of commanders might be confusing to the modern English reader.

[22:52]  ³ tn Or “a revolutionary.” This term can refer to one who stirs up rebellion: BDAG 594 s.v. λῃστής 2 has “revolutionary, insurrectionist, guerrilla” citing evidence from Josephus (J. W. 2.13.2-3 [2.253-254]). However, this usage generally postdates Jesus’ time. It does refer to a figure of violence. Luke uses the same term for the highwaymen who attack the traveler in the parable of the good Samaritan (10:30).

[22:53]  ⁴ tn Grk “in the temple.”

[22:53]  ⁵ tn Grk “lay hands on me.”

[22:53]  ⁶ tn Or “your time.”

[22:53]  ⁷ tn Or “authority,” “domain.”

[22:54]  ⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[22:54]  ⁹ tn Or “seized” (L&N 37.109).

[22:54]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:54]  ¹¹ sn Putting all the gospel accounts together, there is a brief encounter with Annas (brought him into the high priest’s house, here and John 18:13, where Annas is named); the meeting led by Caiaphas (Matt 26:57-68 = Mark 14:53-65; and then a Sanhedrin meeting (Matt 27:1; Mark 15:1; Luke 22:66-71). These latter two meetings might be connected and apparently went into the morning.

[22:56]  ¹² tn The Greek term here is παιδίσκη (paidiskh), referring to a slave girl or slave woman.

[22:57]  ¹³ tn Grk “he denied it, saying.” The referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has not been translated.

[22:57]  ¹⁴ sn Woman was a polite form of address (see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή), similar to “Madam” or “Ma’am” used in English in different regions.

[22:57]  ¹⁵ sn The expression “I do not know him” had an idiomatic use in Jewish ban formulas in the synagogue and could mean, “I have nothing to do with him.”

[22:58]  ¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[22:58]  ¹⁷ sn In Mark 14:69, the same slave girl made the charge. So apparently Peter was being identified by a variety of people.

[22:58]  ¹⁸ tn Here and in v. 60 “Man” is used as a neutral form of address to a stranger.

[22:59]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “insisted, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in English and has not been translated here.

[22:59]  ²⁰ sn According to Mark 14:70 it was Peter’s accent that gave him away as a Galilean.

[22:60]  ²¹ tn Grk “And immediately.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[22:60]  ²² tn A real rooster crowing is probably in view here (rather than the Roman trumpet call known as gallicinium), in part due to the fact that Mark 14:72 mentions the rooster crowing twice. See the discussion at Matt 26:74.