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Matthew 20:20-28
New International Version
Matthew 20:20-28
New International Version
A Mother’s Request(A)
20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons(B) came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down,(C) 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.”(D)
22 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup(E) I am going to drink?”
“We can,” they answered.
23 Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup,(F) 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(G) 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,(H) 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man(I) did not come to be served, but to serve,(J) and to give his life as a ransom(K) for many.”
Matthew 20:20-28
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Matthew 20:20-28
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Suffering and Service
20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons approached Him with her sons.(A) She knelt down to ask Him for something.(B) 21 “What do you want?” He asked her.
“Promise,”[a] 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.”(C)
22 But Jesus answered, “You don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink the cup[b] that I am about to drink?”[c](D)
“We are able,” they said to Him.
23 He told them, “You will indeed drink My cup.[d] But to sit at My right and left is not Mine to give; instead, it belongs to those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.”(E) 24 When the 10 disciples heard this, they became indignant with the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them over and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles dominate them, and the men of high position exercise power 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,(F) 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,(G) and to give His life—a ransom for many.”(H)
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- Matthew 20:21 Lit Say
- Matthew 20:22 Figurative language referring to His coming suffering; Mt 26:39; Jn 18:11
- Matthew 20:22 Other mss add and (or) to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”
- Matthew 20:23 Other mss add and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with.
Matthew 20:20-28
New Living Translation
Matthew 20:20-28
New Living Translation
Jesus Teaches about Serving Others
20 Then the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus with her sons. She knelt respectfully to ask a favor. 21 “What is your request?” he asked.
She replied, “In your Kingdom, please let my two sons sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.”
22 But Jesus answered by saying to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink?”
“Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!”
23 Jesus told them, “You will indeed drink from my bitter cup. But I have no right to say who will sit on my right or my left. My Father has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen.”
24 When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. 25 But Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. 26 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. 28 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
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Matthew 20:20-28
English Standard Version
Matthew 20:20-28
English Standard Version
A Mother's Request
20 (A)Then (B)the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and (C)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 (D)are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, (E)in your kingdom.” 22 Jesus answered, (F)“You do not know what you are asking. Are you able (G)to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” 23 He said to them, (H)“You will drink (I)my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, (J)but it is for those for whom it has been (K)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, (L)“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles (M)lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 (N)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 (O)to serve, and (P)to give his life as a ransom for (Q)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)
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.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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.