What Does Matthew 26:70 Mean?
But he denied it before them all, saying, I do not know what you are saying.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest.THE KEY
His denial hides in the words “I know not”: disowning begins by making a known person sound unknown.
THE MEANING
This verse shows how a person distances himself from a bond by denying recognition in front of others. His words make both the relationship and the question sound unfamiliar.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that disowning must be direct: a person can deny a relationship by presenting himself as simply uninformed.
THE ROOT
ἠρνήσατο
ērnēsato
GROWS FROM
ἀρνέομαι
arneomai
To deny, disown, or repudiate.
“denied” in this verse is ērnēsato. The verb means more than failing to answer; it names an act of disowning. Its word family includes both “denier” and “denial,” showing how this sentence makes the refusal of recognition public.
ALSO GROWS
arnētēs: Denier, one who disowns
ἀρνητής
This related noun names the person taking the stance expressed in Peter’s words.
arnēsis: Denial, rejection
ἄρνησις
This noun names the act itself: recognition is refused, not merely left unspoken.
οἶδα
oida
GROWS FROM
εἴδω
eidō
To see; οἶδα carries the established sense “to know,” with the older sense of having seen or recognized.
The word translated “know” has a history connected to seeing and recognition. That makes Peter’s choice of words striking: he disowns the bond by denying that he recognizes what is being said.
ALSO GROWS
eidos: Form, appearance
εἶδος
This related word keeps the family’s connection to what is seen or recognized.
idea: Form, appearance, notion
ἰδέα
Its shared word history echoes the connection between seeing and knowing.
THE PATTERN
A spoken denial can turn a known allegiance into public disavowal.
And again he denied it with an oath, saying, I do not know the man.Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, Are you not also one of his disciples? He denied it and said, I am not.If we remain under it, we will also reign together with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us.THE THREAD
If we remain under it, we will also reign together with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us.The Greek verb translated “deny” belongs to the same word family as Peter’s denial here: ἀρνέομαι (arneomai), “deny” or “disown.” This verse makes explicit the relational weight already present in Peter’s words: disowning is more than withholding information; it is refusing recognition.
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