M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Samson Troubles the Philistines
15 At the time of the wheat harvest [C late May or early June], Samson went to visit his wife, taking a young goat with him [C as a gift]. He said, “I’m going to my wife’s room,” but her father would not let him go in.
2 He said to Samson, “I thought you really hated your wife, so I gave her to your ·best man [companion; 14:20]. ·Her younger sister is [L Is not her younger sister…?] more beautiful. Take her instead.”
3 But Samson said to them, “This time ·no one will blame me [I am justified/blameless/innocent] for hurting you Philistines!” 4 So Samson went out and caught three hundred ·foxes [or jackals]. He took two at a time, tied their tails together, and then tied a torch to the tails of each pair of ·foxes [or jackals]. 5 After he lit the torches, he let the ·foxes [or jackals] loose in the grainfields of the Philistines so that he burned up their standing grain, the ·piles [heaps; shocks] of grain, their vineyards, and their olive trees.
6 The Philistines asked, “Who did this?”
Someone told them, “Samson, the son-in-law of the ·man from Timnah [L Timnite], did because his father-in-law gave his wife to his ·best man [companion].”
So the Philistines burned Samson’s wife and her father to death. 7 Then Samson said to the Philistines, “Since you did this, I won’t stop until I ·pay you back [get revenge on you]!” 8 Samson ·attacked the Philistines and killed many of them [L struck them down calf on thigh with a great slaughter]. Then he went down and stayed in a cave in the rock of Etam.
9 The Philistines went up and camped in the land of Judah, ·near a place named [spreading out near; or overrunning/raiding] Lehi. 10 The men of Judah asked them, “Why have you come here to fight us?”
They answered, “We have come to make Samson our prisoner, to ·pay him back for what he did to our people [L do to him as he did to us].”
11 Then three thousand men of Judah went to the ·cave [cleft] in the rock of Etam and said to Samson, “What have you done to us? Don’t you know that the Philistines rule over us?”
Samson answered, “I only ·paid them back for [L did to them] what they did to me.”
12 Then they said to him, “We have come to ·tie you up [bind you] and to hand you over to the Philistines.”
Samson said to them, “Promise me you will not ·hurt [attack; come against] me yourselves.”
13 The men from Judah said, “·We agree [L No; C meaning they wouldn’t hurt him]. We will just ·tie you up [bind you] and give you to the Philistines. We will not kill you.” So they tied Samson with two new ropes and led him up from the cave in the rock. 14 When Samson came to the Lehi, the Philistines came to meet him, ·shouting for joy [or with shouts of triumph; L shouting]. Then the Spirit of the Lord ·entered Samson and gave him great power [came upon/rushed upon/empowered him; 14:19]. The ropes on him weakened like burned ·strings [flax] and [L his bonds] fell off his hands! 15 Samson found the ·jawbone [L fresh jawbone; C not yet decayed] of a ·dead donkey [T ass], took it, and ·killed [L struck down] a thousand men with it!
16 Then Samson said,
“With a donkey’s jawbone
I ·made donkeys out of them [or have piled them in heaps].
With a donkey’s jawbone
I ·killed [L struck down] a thousand men!”
17 When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone. So that place was named Ramath Lehi [C Jawbone Hill].
18 Samson was very thirsty, so he cried out to the Lord, “You gave me, your servant, this great victory. Do I have to die of thirst now? Do I have to be captured by ·people who are not circumcised [or these pagans; L the uncircumcised]?” 19 Then God ·opened up a hole in the ground [L split open the basin/hollow place] at Lehi, and water came out. When Samson drank, his strength returned and he ·felt better [revived]. So he named that spring ·Caller’s Spring [or Spring of the One Who Cries Out; L En Hakkore], which is still in Lehi.
20 Samson ·judged [led] Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines.
Paul in Ephesus
19 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions [C the mountainous northern route through the interior of Phrygia; 18:23] to Ephesus [C a major city in western Asia Minor; 18:23]. There he found some ·followers [disciples] 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit ·when [or after] you believed?”
They said, “We have never even heard ·of [or that there is] a Holy Spirit.”
3 So he asked, “·What kind of baptism did you have [L Into what were you baptized]?”
They said, “·It was the baptism that John taught [L Into John’s baptism].” [C These followers of John the Baptist either (1) knew only of John’s ministry but had not heard that Jesus was the Messiah, or less likely, (2) believed in Jesus as Messiah, but had not been baptized in his name to receive the Holy Spirit.]
4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of ·changed hearts and lives [repentance; C in preparation for the Messiah]. He told people to believe in the one who would come after him, and that one is Jesus.”
5 When they heard this, they were baptized ·in [or into] the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 Then Paul ·laid [placed] his hands on them [C a ritual of blessing and/or conferring of authority], and the Holy Spirit came upon them. They began speaking ·different languages [or in tongues; ecstatic utterance] and prophesying. 7 There were about twelve people in this group.
8 Paul went into the synagogue and spoke out ·boldly [confidently; fearlessly] for three months. He ·talked [reasoned; argued] with the people and persuaded them ·to accept the things he said about [L concerning] the kingdom of God. 9 But some of them became ·stubborn [hardened]. They refused to believe and ·said evil things about [slandered; cursed] ·the Way of Jesus [L the Way; C another name for the Christian movement; 9:2; 18:25; 22:4] before ·all the people [the crowd]. So Paul left them, and taking the ·followers [disciples] with him, he went to the ·school [lecture hall] of a man named Tyrannus. There Paul ·talked [discussed; reasoned; debated] with people every day 10 for two years. Because of his work, ·everyone who lived in [the whole population of] the province of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.
The Sons of Sceva
11 God ·used Paul to do [L through the hands of Paul did] some ·very special [extraordinary] miracles. 12 Some people took ·handkerchiefs [face cloths] and ·clothes [work aprons; or hand towels] ·that Paul had used [that had touched Paul; L from his skin] and put them on the sick. When they did this, ·the sick were healed [L the diseases left them] and evil spirits ·left [L came out of] them.
13 But some ·people also were traveling around and making evil spirits go out of people [L traveling/itinerant Jewish exorcists…]. They tried to ·use [invoke; L name] the name of the Lord Jesus to force the evil spirits out. They would say, “By the same Jesus that Paul ·talks about [L preaches; proclaims], I ·order [command; adjure] you to come out!” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a ·leading [L Jewish chief] priest, were doing this.
15 But one time ·an [L the] evil spirit said to them, “I know Jesus, and I ·know about [recognize] Paul, but who are you?”
16 Then the man who had the evil spirit ·jumped on [leaped on; attacked] them. Because he ·was so much stronger than all of them [violently overpowered them], they ran away from the house naked and ·hurt [wounded]. 17 All the people [L who lived] in Ephesus—Jews and Greeks—learned about this and were filled with fear and ·gave great honor to [praised/magnified the name of] the Lord Jesus. 18 Many of ·the believers [those who now believed] began to confess openly and ·tell all the evil things they had done [L disclose their (evil/magical) practices]. 19 ·Some [or A significant number] of them who had ·used magic [practiced sorcery/witchcraft] brought their magic ·books [or scrolls] and burned them before everyone. Those books were worth about fifty thousand silver coins [C probably drachmas, each worth a day’s wages].
20 ·So in a powerful way [L In this way; Thus] the word of the Lord kept spreading and ·growing [or grew strong; prevailed].
21 After these things [L had been fulfilled/accomplished], Paul decided [L in his spirit; or in the Spirit] to go to Jerusalem, planning to go through Macedonia [C northern Greece] and Achaia [C southern Greece] and then on to Jerusalem. He said, “After I have been ·to Jerusalem [L there], I must also ·visit [L see] Rome.” 22 Paul sent Timothy and Erastus, two of his ·helpers [assistants], ahead to Macedonia, but he himself stayed in [C the province of] Asia for a while.
Trouble in Ephesus
23 And during [or about; at] that time, there was ·some serious trouble [L no small disturbance] in Ephesus about ·the Way of Jesus [L the Way; C another name for the Christian movement; 9:2; 18:25; 22:4]. 24 A man named Demetrius, who worked with silver, made little silver ·models that looked like the temple [L shrines; C probably reliefs depicting the goddess in her temple] of the goddess Artemis [C Greek goddess of fertility, worshiped particularly in Ephesus]. ·Those who did this work [The artisans/craftsmen] made much money [L had no little business]. 25 ·Demetrius [L He] had a meeting with them and ·some others [L workers] who did ·the same kind of work [or similar trades]. He told them, “Men, you know that ·we make a lot of money [our wealth/livelihood comes] from this business. 26 But ·look at [L you have seen and heard] what this man Paul is doing. He has ·convinced [persuaded] and ·turned away [or led astray] many people, not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of [C the province of] Asia! He says the gods made by human hands are not ·real [L gods (at all); Is. 44:9–20; 46:1–7; 1 Cor. 8:4–6]. 27 There is a danger that our business will ·lose its good name [be discredited], but there is also another danger: People will begin to think that the temple of the great goddess Artemis is not important, and the goddess herself, whom everyone in [C the province of] Asia and the whole world worships, will ·lose [be deposed of/stripped of] her majesty [magnificence; greatness].
28 When the others heard this, they became ·very angry [enraged; furious] and shouted, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 The whole city ·became confused [was filled with confusion; was in an uproar]. The people grabbed Gaius and Aristarchus [20:4; 27:2; Col. 4:10; Philem. 24], who were from Macedonia and were traveling with Paul, and ·ran [rushed together] to the theater. 30 Paul wanted to ·go in and talk to the crowd [appear before the assembly], but the ·followers [disciples] did not let him. 31 Also, some ·leaders of Asia [provincial authorities; L of the Asiarchs; C a group of wealthy political leaders who had religious functions] who were friends of Paul sent him a message, ·begging [urging; encouraging] him not to ·go [venture; take the risk of going] into the theater. 32 Some people were shouting one thing, and some were shouting another. The ·meeting [assembly] was completely confused; most of them did not know why they had come together. 33 The Jews ·pushed forward [put in front] a man named Alexander, and some of them [C either the crowd or the Jews] ·told him to explain [or gave him advice on what to say; or assumed he was responsible for the trouble]. Alexander ·waved [gestured with] his hand [C for silence] so he could ·explain things to [or make a defense before] the ·people [crowd]. 34 But when they ·saw [recognized] that Alexander was a Jew [C Jews opposed idol worship, so the crowd was suspicious of him], they all shouted ·the same thing [in unison; L with one voice] for two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
35 Then the city clerk [C the head of the assembly and the senior local official] quieted [calmed down] the crowd. He said, “·People of Ephesus [L Men, Ephesians], ·everyone knows [L who does not know…?] that Ephesus is the city that ·keeps [guards] the temple of the great goddess Artemis and her ·holy stone [or image; or statue] that fell from heaven [C probably a meteorite that resembled the many-breasted image of Artemis]. 36 Since no one can say this is not true, you should ·be quiet [keep calm]. ·Stop and think before you do anything [Do nothing reckless/rash]. 37 You brought these men here, but they have not ·said anything evil against [L blasphemed] our goddess or ·stolen anything from [or committed sacrilege against] her temple. 38 If Demetrius and ·those who work [L the artisans/craftmen] with him have a ·charge [complaint; grievance; L word] against anyone, ·they should go to the courts and judges [L the courts are open/in session and there are proconsuls] where they can ·argue with [or bring charges against] each other. 39 If there is something else you want to talk about, it ·can [or must] be decided at the ·regular town meeting of the people [legal assembly; C which met three times a month]. 40 I say this because [L we are in danger that] some people might see this trouble today and ·say that we are [accuse us of; charge us with] rioting. We could not explain this, because there is no real reason for this ·meeting [or uproar; commotion].” 41 After the city clerk said these things, he ·told the people to go home [L dismissed the assembly].
The False Prophet Hananiah
28 It was in that same year, in the fifth month of Zedekiah’s fourth year as king of Judah [C 593 bc], soon after he began to rule. The prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, from the town of Gibeon, spoke to me in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord ·in front [L before the eyes] of the priests and all the people. He said: 2 “The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], the God of Israel, says: ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 Before two years are over, I will ·bring back [restore] ·everything [L all the vessels] that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took to Babylon from the Lord’s ·Temple [L house]. 4 I will also ·bring back [restore] ·Jehoiachin [L Jeconiah] son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and all the other ·captives [exiles] from Judah who went to Babylon,’ says the Lord. ‘So I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’”
5 Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah ·in front [L before the eyes] of the priests and all the people who were standing in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. 6 He said, “Amen! Let the Lord really do that! May the Lord ·make the message you prophesy come true [L confirm your word which you prophesied]. May he ·bring back here [L restore] ·everything [L the vessels] the Lord’s ·Temple [L house] and all the ·people who were taken as captives [exiles] to Babylon.
7 “But listen to ·what I am going to say to you and [L this word which I am speaking in your ears and the ears of] all the people. 8 There were prophets long before we became prophets, Hananiah. They prophesied that war, ·hunger [famine; or disaster; calamity], and ·terrible diseases [plague; pestilence] would come to many countries and great kingdoms. 9 But if a prophet prophesies that we will have peace and that message comes true, he can be recognized as one truly sent by the Lord [C prophets usually came announcing judgment not peace].”
10 Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off Jeremiah’s neck and ·broke [shattered] it. 11 Hananiah said ·in front [L before the eyes] of all the people, “This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He put that yoke on all the nations of the world, but I will break it before two years are over.’” After Hananiah had said that, Jeremiah ·left the Temple [L went on his way].
12 The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke off of the prophet Jeremiah’s neck. 13 The Lord said, “Go and tell Hananiah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You have broken a wooden yoke, but I will make a yoke of iron in its place! 14 The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], the God of Israel, says: I will put a yoke of iron on the necks of all these nations to make them serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they will be slaves to him. I will even give Nebuchadnezzar ·control over the wild animals [L the beasts of the field].’ ”
15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord did not send you, and you have made the people of Judah ·trust [have confidence] in lies. 16 So this is what the Lord says: ‘Soon I will ·remove you from [L send you off the face of] the earth. You will die this year, because you taught ·the people to turn [rebellion] against the Lord [Deut. 18:20].’”
17 Hananiah died in the seventh month of that same year.
The Plan to Kill Jesus(A)
14 It was now only two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread [C the annual festival that celebrates God’s rescue of Israel from Egypt; Ex. 12]. The ·leading [T chief] priests and ·teachers of the law [scribes] were trying to find a ·trick [secret way] to arrest Jesus and kill him. 2 But they said, “We must not do it during the feast, because the people might cause a riot.”
A Woman with Perfume for Jesus(B)
3 Jesus was in Bethany at the house of ·Simon, who had a skin disease [L Simon the leper; C for leprosy, see 1:40; Simon may have been healed by Jesus]. While Jesus was ·eating there [L reclining; C the posture for a banquet or dinner party; 2:15], a woman approached him with an alabaster ·jar [vial] filled with very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She ·opened [broke open] the ·jar [vial] and poured the perfume on Jesus’ head.
4 Some who were there became ·upset [indignant] and said to each other, “Why waste that perfume? 5 It was worth ·a full year’s work [L over three hundred denarii]. It could have been sold and the money given to the poor.” And they ·got very angry with [harshly scolded] the woman.
6 Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why are you ·troubling [bothering; criticizing] her? She did an ·excellent thing [beautiful/good deed] for me. 7 You will always have the poor with you, and you can help them anytime you want [Deut. 15:11]. But you will not always have me. 8 This woman did the only thing she could do for me; she ·poured perfume on [anointed] my body to prepare me for burial. 9 I tell you the truth, wherever the ·Good News [Gospel] is preached in all the world, what this woman has done will be told, and people will remember her.”
Judas Betrays Jesus(C)
10 One of ·the twelve apostles [the Twelve], Judas Iscariot, went to talk to the ·leading [T chief] priests to offer to ·hand Jesus over [betray him] to them. 11 These priests were pleased about this and promised to pay Judas money. So he watched for ·the best time [an opportunity] to ·turn Jesus in [betray him].
Jesus Eats the Passover Meal(D)
12 It was now the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread when the Passover lamb was sacrificed. Jesus’ ·followers [disciples] said to him, “Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover meal?”
13 Jesus sent two of his ·followers [disciples] and said to them, “Go into the city and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 When he goes into a house, tell the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says: “Where is my guest room in which I can eat the Passover meal with my ·followers [disciples]?”’ 15 The owner will show you a large ·room upstairs [T upper room] that is furnished and ready. ·Prepare the food [Make preparations] for us there.”
16 So the ·followers [disciples] left and went into the city. Everything happened as Jesus had said, so they prepared the Passover meal.
17 In the evening, Jesus went to that house with the twelve. 18 While they were all ·eating [L reclining and eating; see v. 3], Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will ·turn against [betray] me—one of you eating with me now.”
19 The ·followers [disciples] were very ·sad [distressed; pained] to hear this. Each one began to say to Jesus, “·I am not the one, am I [Surely not I; or Is it I]?”
20 Jesus answered, “It is one of the twelve—one who dips his bread into the bowl with me [C probably not a signal, but means “one who shares close fellowship with me”]. 21 The Son of Man will ·die [go to his fate; L go], just as the Scriptures say. But ·how terrible it will be for [L woe to] the person ·who hands the Son of Man over to be killed [L by whom the Son of Man is betrayed]. It would be better for him if he had never been born.”
The Lord’s Supper(E)
22 While they were eating, Jesus took some bread and ·thanked God for [blessed] it and broke it. Then he gave it to his ·followers [disciples] and said, “Take it; this is my body.”
23 Then Jesus took a cup and ·thanked God for it [gave thanks] and gave it to ·the followers [the disciples; them], and they all drank from the cup.
24 Then Jesus said, “This is my blood ·which is the new[a] agreement that God makes with his people [or which confirms/establishes the new covenant; L of the new covenant; Ex. 24:8. Jer. 31:31–34]. This blood is poured out for many [Is. 53:12]. 25 I tell you the truth, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine [C wine] again until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
26 After singing a hymn [C probably the Hallel psalms (Ps. 113—118), sung during the Passover meal], they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Jesus’ Followers Will Leave Him(F)
27 Then Jesus told them, “You will all ·stumble in your faith [fall away; desert me], because it is written in the Scriptures:
‘I will ·kill [strike] the shepherd,
and the sheep will ·scatter [be scattered]’ [Zech. 13:7].
28 But after ·I rise from the dead [L I am raised], I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”
29 Peter said, “Everyone else may ·stumble in their faith [fall away; desert you], but I will not.”
30 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, tonight before the rooster crows twice you will ·say three times you don’t know me [deny/disown me three times].”
31 But Peter insisted, “Even if I must die with you, I will never ·say that I don’t know [deny/disown] you!” And all the others said the same thing.
Jesus Prays Alone(G)
32 Jesus and his ·followers [disciples] went to a place called Gethsemane. He said to them, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him, and he began to be very ·sad [distressed] and ·troubled [anguished]. 34 He said to them, “My ·heart [soul] is ·full of sorrow [overwhelmed with grief], to the point of death. Stay here and ·watch [stay awake; be alert].”
35 After walking a little farther away from them, Jesus fell [with his face] to the ground and prayed that, if possible, ·he would not have this time of suffering [L the hour might pass him by]. 36 He prayed, “Abba [C Aramaic for “father”], Father! You can do all things. ·Take away this cup of suffering [L Take this cup from me; C suffering is metaphorically portrayed as something bitter to drink; see 10:38]. But do ·what you want [your will], not ·what I want [my will].”
37 Then Jesus went back to his ·followers [disciples] and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Couldn’t you ·stay awake [watch] with me for one hour? 38 ·Stay awake [Keep watch] and pray for strength ·against temptation [or not to fail the test]. The spirit ·wants to do what is right [is willing], but ·the body [human nature; T the flesh] is weak.”
39 Again Jesus went away and prayed the same thing. 40 Then he went back to his ·followers [disciples], and again he found them asleep, because their eyes were very heavy. And they did not know what to say to him.
41 After Jesus prayed a third time, he went back to his ·followers [disciples] and said to them, “·Are you still sleeping and resting? [or Go ahead, sleep and have your rest!] ·That’s enough [It’s all over; The account is settled; C the meaning of this phrase is uncertain]. The time has come for the Son of Man to be ·handed over to [L betrayed/delivered into the hands of] sinful people. 42 Get up, we must go. Look, here comes ·the man who has turned against me [my betrayer].”
Jesus Is Arrested(H)
43 At once, while Jesus was still speaking, Judas, one of ·the twelve apostles [the Twelve], came up. With him were many people carrying swords and clubs who had been sent from the ·leading [T chief] priests, the ·teachers of the law [scribes], and the Jewish elders.
44 ·Judas [L The betrayer] had planned a signal for them, saying, “The man I kiss is Jesus. ·Arrest [Seize] him and guard him while you lead him away.” 45 So Judas went straight to Jesus and said, “·Teacher [L Rabbi]!” and kissed him. 46 Then the people grabbed Jesus and arrested him. 47 One of ·his followers [L those] standing nearby pulled out his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.
48 Then Jesus said, “You came to get me with swords and clubs as if I were a ·criminal [revolutionary; rebel; L robber; C the term “robber” was used by the Romans of insurrectionists]. 49 Every day I was with you teaching in the Temple, and you did not arrest me there. But all these things have happened to ·make the Scriptures come true [fulfill the Scriptures].” 50 Then ·all of Jesus’ followers [L everyone] ·left [deserted] him and ·ran away [fled].
51 A young man [C perhaps the author Mark himself], wearing only a linen ·cloth [sheet; shirt], was following Jesus, and the people also grabbed him. 52 But the cloth [sheet; shirt] he was wearing came off, and he ran away naked.
Jesus Before the Leaders(I)
53 The people who arrested Jesus led him to the house of the high priest, where all the ·leading [T chief] priests, the elders, and the ·teachers of the law [scribes] were gathered. 54 Peter followed far behind and entered the courtyard of the high priest’s house. There he sat with the guards, warming himself by the fire.
55 The ·leading [T chief] priests and the whole ·Jewish council [Sanhedrin; C the highest Jewish court] tried to find ·something that Jesus had done wrong [evidence/testimony against him] so they could ·kill [execute] him. But the council could find no proof of anything. 56 Many people came and ·told false things [gave false testimony] about him, but all said different things—none of them agreed.
57 Then some people stood up and ·lied [gave false testimony] about Jesus, saying, 58 “We heard this man say, ‘I will destroy this Temple that people made. And three days later, I will build another Temple not made by people.’” 59 But even ·the things these people said [their testimony] did not agree.
60 Then the high priest stood before them and asked Jesus, “Aren’t you going to answer? ·Don’t you have something to say about their [or What are these] ·charges [testimony] against you?” 61 But Jesus ·said nothing [was silent; Is. 53:7]; he did not answer.
The high priest asked Jesus another question: “Are you the ·Christ [Messiah], the Son of ·the blessed God [L the blessed (one)]?”
62 Jesus answered, “I am. And ·in the future you will see [L you will see] the Son of Man sitting at the right ·side [L hand; see 12:36] of God, the Powerful One, and coming on clouds ·in the sky [of heaven; Ps. 110:1; Dan. 7:13–14].”
63 When the high priest heard this, he tore his clothes [C a sign of sorrow or outrage] and said, “Why do we need more witnesses? 64 You all heard ·him say these things against God [the blasphemy]. What ·do you think [is your verdict]?”
They all said that Jesus was guilty and ·should [deserved to] die. 65 Some of the people there began to spit at Jesus. They blindfolded him and beat him with their fists and said, “·Prophesy! [Prove you are a prophet!]” Then the guards led Jesus away and beat him.
Peter Denies Jesus(J)
66 While Peter was in the courtyard, a servant girl of the high priest came there. 67 She saw Peter warming himself at the fire and looked closely at him.
Then she said, “You also were with Jesus, that man from Nazareth.”
68 But Peter denied it. He said, “I don’t know or understand what you are talking about.” Then Peter left and went toward the entrance of the courtyard. And the rooster crowed.[b]
69 The servant girl saw Peter there, and again she said to the people who were standing nearby, “This man is one of those who followed Jesus.” 70 Again Peter ·said that it was not true [denied it].
A short time later, some people were standing near Peter saying, “Surely you are one of those who followed Jesus, because you are from Galilee, too [C Peter’s Galilean accent gave him away; Matt. 26:73].”
71 Then Peter began to place a curse on himself and swear, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about!”
72 At once, the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered what Jesus had told him: “Before the rooster crows twice, you will ·say three times that you don’t know me [deny/disown me three times].” Then Peter broke down and began to cry.
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