Matthew 20:20-28

A Request by the Mother of James and John

20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, [and] kneeling down [she] asked something from him.
21 And he said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Say that these two sons of mine may sit one at your right hand and one at your left in your kingdom."
22 But Jesus answered [and] said, "You do not know what you are asking! Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?" They said to him, "We are able."
23 He said to them, "You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but [is] for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father."
24 And [when] the ten heard [this], they were indignant concerning the two brothers.
25 But Jesus called them to himself [and] said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions exercise authority over them.
26 It will not be like this among you! But whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
27 and whoever wants to be most prominent among you must be your slave--
28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life [as] a ransom for many."

Footnotes 7

  • [a]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the participle ("kneeling down") has been translated as a finite verb in keeping with English style
  • [b]. *Here the participle ("asked") is translated as a finite verb because of English style
  • [c]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("answered") has been translated as a finite verb
  • [d]. Some manuscripts have "this is not mine"
  • [e]. *Here "[when]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("heard") which is understood as temporal
  • [f]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  • [g]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("called ... to himself") has been translated as a finite verb
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.