Matthew 26:74

At that he began to curse, and he swore with an oath, “I do not know the man!” At that moment a rooster crowed. ¹ 

Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, "I don’t know the man!" Immediately a cock crowed.

Then he began to curse and swear, "I do not know the man!" And immediately a rooster crowed.

Peter said, "I swear by God, I don’t know the man." And immediately the rooster crowed.

Then he got really nervous and swore. "I don't know the man!" Just then a rooster crowed.

Then with curses and oaths he said, I have no knowledge of the man. And straight away there came the cry of a cock.

Then he began to curse, and he swore an oath, "I do not know the man!" At that moment the cock crowed.

Then he began to curse and swear, saying , "I do not know the Man!" Immediately a rooster crowed.

At that he began to curse, and he swore with an oath, “I do not know the man!” At that moment a rooster crowed. ¹ 

¹ tn It seems most likely that this refers to a real rooster crowing, although a number of scholars have suggested that “cockcrow” is a technical term referring to the trumpet call which ended the third watch of the night (from midnight to 3 a.m.). This would then be a reference to the Roman gallicinium (ἀλεκτοροφωνία, alektorofwnia; the term is used in Mark 13:35 and is found in some mss [Ì^37vid,45 ˹] in Matt 26:34) which would have been sounded at 3 a.m.; in this case Jesus would have prophesied a precise time by which the denials would have taken place. For more details see J. H. Bernard, St. John (ICC), 2:604. However, in light of the fact that Mark mentions the rooster crowing twice (Mark 14:72) and in Luke 22:60 the words are reversed (ἐφώνησεν ἀλέκτωρ, efwnhsen alektwr), it is more probable that a real rooster is in view. In any event natural cockcrow would have occurred at approximately 3 a.m. in Palestine at this time of year (March-April) anyway.