18:16a

But Peter stood outside at the door: Here and through 18:18, Simon Peter is referred to as just Peter. The guard at the gate did not know Peter and did not allow Peter to come into the courtyard. So Peter remained outside the wall, near the gate to the compound. For example:

But Peter waited outside near the door. (New Century Version)

But: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But indicates the contrast between the other disciple going in and Peter staying outside.

Peter stood: The verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as stood indicates that Peter had to wait outside the wall. He was not allowed to enter the high priest’s compound with Jesus and the guards and the other unidentified disciple. If a literal translation implies that Peter did not want to enter, it may be good to correct that idea. For example:

but Peter had to wait outside at the door (New International Version)
-or-
but Peter was left standing at the door outside (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

outside: This word refers to being in the street rather than in the courtyard. The courtyard was also outside because it did not have a roof, but it was inside the wall.

at the door: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as at the door here refers to the entrance to the courtyard. This entrance was an opening in the wall with a door to allow people to go in and out of the courtyard. A servant was at the door to open and close it. Translate this idea in a way that is natural in your language. For example:

at the entrance

18:16b

Then the disciple: This disciple is the same person who came with Peter and was introduced in 18:15. See how you referred to this person there.

who was known to the high priest: This clause tells which disciple John is talking about. See how you translated this idea in 18:15. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

the disciple whom the high priest knew
-or-
the high priest’s friend

went out: The verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as went out refers to going outside the gate to speak to the guard standing there.

18:16c

spoke to the doorkeeper: This clause does not make explicit what the disciple said. However, the context implies that the disciple asked the guard to allow Peter to come into the courtyard. In some languages it is more natural to include some or all of this implicit information. For example:

asked the guard at the gate ⌊to allow Peter to enter the courtyard⌋ ⌊and she agreed⌋

the doorkeeper: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the doorkeeper refers to the female servant who was responsible for allowing visitors to enter the courtyard. We do not know how old she was. Some translations say “woman” and some say “girl.” However her age is not important. Use the expression that is natural for a female servant with this role. For example:

the guard(fem)
-or-
the girl on duty at the door (Revised English Bible)

and brought Peter in: This clause indicates that the guard allowed Peter to enter, and that the other disciple then returned with Peter into the courtyard. In some languages it is more natural to translate this clause with the guard as the subject. For example:

and she let Peter in (New Living Translation (2004))

General Comment on 18:15c,16c

The woman guarding the gate is not mentioned until 18:16c, but 18:15c implies that the guard allowed the unidentified disciple to enter. In some languages it may be natural to rearrange the information and mention the servant at the gate in 18:15c. For example:

15c
⌊The woman guarding the gate allowed⌋ that disciple to enter the high priest’s courtyard with Jesus…. 16c He spoke to the guard at the gate…

© 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.