What Does John 13:38 Mean in the King James?
Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Jesus’ word for Peter’s coming denial names a disowning, exposing the gap between promising to surrender your life and standing by him under pressure.
THE MEANING
The verse puts a confident vow beside the cost of being publicly identified with Jesus: you can sincerely offer everything and still fail to stand by him when pressure arrives. Jesus names the fracture before it surfaces, showing how declared devotion and sustained allegiance can diverge.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie that a sincere promise to sacrifice everything guarantees courage when the cost becomes immediate.
THE ROOT
ἀρνήσῃ
arnēsē
GROWS FROM
ἀρνέομαι
arneomai
To deny, refuse, or disown.
“denied” in this verse is arnēsē. Here the verb names a repudiation of relationship, not merely a stumble in a test of nerve. Its threefold repetition answers the vow to lay down a life with the stark reality of allegiance that cannot be sustained under pressure.
ALSO GROWS
aparneomai: To deny or disown.
ἀπαρνέομαι
This compound carries the same act of repudiation, clarifying the relational force of Peter’s coming denial.
arnētēs: A denier; one who disowns.
ἀρνητής
This noun names the person by the same act, showing how denial can define a public stance.
THE PATTERN
Public pressure reveals whether allegiance is confessed, concealed, or denied.
But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.THE THREAD
But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.Matthew uses the same Greek verb family for denying Jesus, joining Peter’s forecast to a wider pattern of public disowning. The connection makes the three denials more than a lapse in courage: they enact the rupture named here.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us