What Does Matthew 26:34 Mean in the King James?
Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny 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
The Greek frames this as disowning, not mere silence, and names it as happening three times before the rooster’s cry.
THE MEANING
Jesus sees the coming break before it happens: the person before him will deny their bond with him three times before morning. The verse speaks to the moment when what you say about a relationship and what you do under pressure no longer match. That fracture is visible to him before it unfolds.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that confident commitment guarantees you will never disown a bond when the moment comes.
THE ROOT
ἀπαρνήσῃ
aparnēsē
GROWS FROM
ἀρνέομαι
To deny, refuse to acknowledge, or disown.
“deny” in this verse is aparnēsē. The verse uses ἀπαρνήσῃ, built on ἀρνέομαι with ἀπό, “away”: the coming denial is a speaking-away from association. Its threefold repetition gives that disowning a repeated, unmistakable shape.
ALSO GROWS
arnēsis: Denial, disavowal.
ἄρνησις
This noun shares the ἀρν- stem and names the act expressed by the verse’s verb.
arnoumenos: Denying, disowning.
ἀρνούμενος
This participial form shares the same stem and shows denial as an enacted refusal of association.
THE PATTERN
A spoken profession and enacted allegiance can split apart, and the split becomes visible in words and deeds.
Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues.But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.THE THREAD
And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. They said therefore unto him, Art not thou also one of his disciples? He denied it, and said, I am not.The future denial named here becomes a scene in which Peter is asked directly whether he belongs to Jesus. John uses the same Greek verb family, turning the prediction into an enacted disavowal.
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