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Contradictions Debunked Immoral Evidence Silly Debate

Contradictions Debunked Immoral Evidence Silly Debate

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Did the cock crow before or after Peter's denial? · Apolog

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ContradictionsReading order 417Bible context 3 min read

Did the cock crow before or after Peter's denial?

Mark narrates two crows with denials between them, while the other accounts report a crow only at the final denial.

Textual conflict: Weak tension; The alleged conflict needs substantial assumptions, such as treating an omission as a denial or figurative language as literal.
Importance: Minor; A local detail in a story, chronology, or inventory.

Mark includes an early crow, while the other fulfillment scenes only report the final crow without explicitly excluding an earlier one.

An editorial assessment of the quoted passages. Importance describes the stakes; it does not increase certainty. Reading order weighs both.

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The cock's narrated crow follows Peter's third denial

But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest.

Matthew 26:70

Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)

Read the full chapter:Matthew 26

And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man.

Matthew 26:72

Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)

Read the full chapter:Matthew 26

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Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.

Matthew 26:74

Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)

Read the full chapter:Matthew 26

And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not. And after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not. And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilean. And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew.

Luke 22:57-60

Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)

Read the full chapter:Luke 22

Then saith the damsel that kept the door unto Peter, Art not thou also one of this man’s disciples? He saith, I am not.

John 18:17

Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)

Read the full chapter:John 18

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. One of the servants of the high priest, being his kinsman whose ear Peter cut off, saith, Did not I see thee in the garden with him? Peter then denied again: and immediately the cock crew.

John 18:25-27

Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)

Read the full chapter:John 18

Mark includes a crow after the first and another after the third

And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked upon him, and said, And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth. But he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. And he went out into the porch; and the cock crew. And a maid saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them. And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilean, and thy speech agreeth thereto. But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak. And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept.

Mark 14:67-72

Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)

Read the full chapter:Mark 14

Understanding the contradiction

Matthew 26:70, Matthew 26:72, and Matthew 26:74 give three denials and then the cock's crow. Luke 22:57-60 and John 18:25-27 similarly attach the crow to the last denial. Their supplied sequences contain no earlier crow.

Mark 14:67-72 explicitly places one crow after the first denial and another after the third, followed by Peter remembering a prediction about two crows. This makes Mark's rhythm different: Peter continues denying after an initial audible marker. The other narratives do not expressly say no earlier crow occurred in these fulfillment excerpts, so the difference includes omission rather than only contradiction. All versions still place a crow at the completion of the denials.

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contradictionMatthewLukeJohnMark

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