Font Size
Matthew 20:16-28
King James Version
Matthew 20:16-28
King James Version
16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.
17 And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them,
18 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death,
19 And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.
20 Then came to him the mother of Zebedees children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.
21 And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.
22 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.
23 And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.
24 And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.
25 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.
26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Read full chapter
Matthew 20:16-28
New International Version
Matthew 20:16-28
New International Version
16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”(A)
Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time(B)
17 Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, 18 “We are going up to Jerusalem,(C) and the Son of Man(D) will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law.(E) They will condemn him to death 19 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged(F) and crucified.(G) On the third day(H) he will be raised to life!”(I)
A Mother’s Request(J)
20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons(K) came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down,(L) asked a favor of him.
21 “What is it you want?” he asked.
She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”(M)
22 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup(N) I am going to drink?”
“We can,” they answered.
23 Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup,(O) but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”
24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant(P) with the two brothers. 25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,(Q) 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man(R) did not come to be served, but to serve,(S) and to give his life as a ransom(T) for many.”
Matthew 20:16-28
English Standard Version
Matthew 20:16-28
English Standard Version
16 So (A)the last will be first, and the first last.”
Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time
17 (B)And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, 18 “See, (C)we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will (D)condemn him to death 19 and (E)deliver him over to the Gentiles (F)to be mocked and flogged and (G)crucified, and he will be raised on (H)the third day.”
A Mother's Request
20 (I)Then (J)the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and (K)kneeling before him she asked him for something. 21 And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine (L)are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, (M)in your kingdom.” 22 Jesus answered, (N)“You do not know what you are asking. Are you able (O)to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” 23 He said to them, (P)“You will drink (Q)my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, (R)but it is for those for whom it has been (S)prepared by my Father.” 24 And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to him and said, (T)“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles (U)lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 (V)It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,[a] 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,[b] 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but (W)to serve, and (X)to give his life as a ransom for (Y)many.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 20:26 Greek diakonos
- Matthew 20:27 Or bondservant, or servant (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface)
Matthew 20:16-28
Christian Standard Bible
Matthew 20:16-28
Christian Standard Bible
16 “So the last will be first, and the first last.”[a](A)
The Third Prediction of His Death
17 While going up to Jerusalem,(B) Jesus took the twelve disciples aside privately and said to them on the way, 18 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death.(C) 19 They will hand him over to the Gentiles(D) to be mocked, flogged,[b] and crucified, and on the third day he will be raised.”[c]
Suffering and Service
20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons approached him with her sons.(E) She knelt down to ask him for something.(F) 21 “What do you want?” he asked her.
“Promise,”[d] she said to him, “that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right and the other on your left, in your kingdom.”(G)
22 Jesus answered, “You don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?”[e](H)
“We are able,” they said to him.
23 He told them, “You will indeed drink my cup,[f] but to sit at my right and left is not mine to give; instead, it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”(I)
24 When the ten disciples heard this, they became indignant with the two brothers. 25 Jesus called them over and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions act as tyrants over them. 26 It must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,(J) 27 and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave; 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,(K) and to give his life as a ransom for many.”(L)
Read full chapterFootnotes
Matthew 20:16-28
New American Standard Bible 1995
Matthew 20:16-28
New American Standard Bible 1995
16 So (A)the last shall be first, and the first last.”
Death, Resurrection Foretold
17 (B)As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way He said to them, 18 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man (C)will be [a]delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, 19 and (D)will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on (E)the third day He will be raised up.”
Preferment Asked
20 (F)Then the mother of (G)the sons of Zebedee came to [b]Jesus with her sons, (H)bowing down and making a request of Him. 21 And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She *said to Him, “Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine (I)may sit one on Your right and one on Your left.” 22 But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able (J)to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They *said to Him, “We are able.” 23 He *said to them, “(K)My cup you shall drink; but to sit on My right and on My left, this is not Mine to give, (L)but it is for those for whom it has been (M)prepared by My Father.”
24 And hearing this, the ten became indignant with the two brothers. 25 (N)But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. 26 It is not this way among you, (O)but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, 27 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; 28 just as (P)the Son of Man (Q)did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His [c]life a ransom for many.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 20:18 Or betrayed
- Matthew 20:20 Lit Him
- Matthew 20:28 Or soul
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.