Mark 14:53-72
New American Standard Bible
Jesus before His Accusers
53 (A)They led Jesus away to the high priest; and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes *gathered together. 54 And Peter had followed Him at a distance, (B)right into (C)the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the [a]officers and (D)warming himself at the [b]fire. 55 Now the chief priests and the entire [c](E)Council were trying to obtain testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, and they were not finding any. 56 For many people were giving false testimony against Him, and so their testimonies were not consistent. 57 And then some stood up and began giving false testimony against Him, saying, 58 “We heard Him say, ‘(F)I will destroy this [d]temple that was made by hands, and in three days I will build another, made without hands.’” 59 And not even in this respect was their testimony consistent. 60 And then the high priest stood up and came forward and questioned Jesus, saying, “Do You not offer any answer for what these men are testifying against You?” 61 (G)But He kept silent and did not offer any answer. (H)Again the high priest was questioning Him, and *said to Him, “Are You the [e]Christ, the Son of [f]the Blessed One?” 62 And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see (I)the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and (J)coming with the clouds of heaven.” 63 (K)Tearing his clothes, the high priest *said, “What further need do we have of witnesses? 64 You have heard the (L)blasphemy; how does it seem to you?” And they all condemned Him as deserving of death. 65 And some began to (M)spit on Him, and [g](N)to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists and say to Him, “(O)Prophesy!” Then the officers took custody of Him [h]and slapped Him in the face.
Peter’s Denials
66 (P)And while Peter was below in (Q)the courtyard, one of the slave women of the high priest *came, 67 and seeing Peter (R)warming himself, she looked at him and *said, “You were with Jesus the (S)Nazarene as well.” 68 But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.” And he (T)went out onto the [i]porch.[j] 69 The slave woman saw him, and began once more to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them!” 70 But again (U)he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders were again saying to Peter, “You really are one of them, (V)for you are a Galilean as well.” 71 But he began to [k]curse himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak!” 72 And immediately a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had made the remark to him, “Before (W)a rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And [l]he hurried on and began to weep.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Mark 14:54 Or servants
- Mark 14:54 Lit light
- Mark 14:55 Or Sanhedrin
- Mark 14:58 Or sanctuary
- Mark 14:61 I.e., Messiah
- Mark 14:61 A common way for the Jewish leaders to refer to God
- Mark 14:65 Or cover over His face
- Mark 14:65 Or with blows inflicted by rods
- Mark 14:68 Or forecourt, gateway
- Mark 14:68 Later mss add and a rooster crowed
- Mark 14:71 Lit put himself under a curse
- Mark 14:72 Or after thinking of this, he began
Mark 14:53-72
New Living Translation
Jesus before the Council
53 They took Jesus to the high priest’s home where the leading priests, the elders, and the teachers of religious law had gathered. 54 Meanwhile, Peter followed him at a distance and went right into the high priest’s courtyard. There he sat with the guards, warming himself by the fire.
55 Inside, the leading priests and the entire high council[a] were trying to find evidence against Jesus, so they could put him to death. But they couldn’t find any. 56 Many false witnesses spoke against him, but they contradicted each other. 57 Finally, some men stood up and gave this false testimony: 58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this Temple made with human hands, and in three days I will build another, made without human hands.’” 59 But even then they didn’t get their stories straight!
60 Then the high priest stood up before the others and asked Jesus, “Well, aren’t you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself?” 61 But Jesus was silent and made no reply. Then the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”
62 Jesus said, “I am.[b] And you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand[c] and coming on the clouds of heaven.[d]”
63 Then the high priest tore his clothing to show his horror and said, “Why do we need other witnesses? 64 You have all heard his blasphemy. What is your verdict?”
“Guilty!” they all cried. “He deserves to die!”
65 Then some of them began to spit at him, and they blindfolded him and beat him with their fists. “Prophesy to us,” they jeered. And the guards slapped him as they took him away.
Peter Denies Jesus
66 Meanwhile, Peter was in the courtyard below. One of the servant girls who worked for the high priest came by 67 and noticed Peter warming himself at the fire. She looked at him closely and said, “You were one of those with Jesus of Nazareth.[e]”
68 But Peter denied it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, and he went out into the entryway. Just then, a rooster crowed.[f]
69 When the servant girl saw him standing there, she began telling the others, “This man is definitely one of them!” 70 But Peter denied it again.
A little later some of the other bystanders confronted Peter and said, “You must be one of them, because you are a Galilean.”
71 Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know this man you’re talking about!” 72 And immediately the rooster crowed the second time.
Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And he broke down and wept.
Read full chapterNew American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
