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Matthew 20:17–23

17 And Jesus going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples apart and said to them:

18 Behold we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man shall be betrayed to the chief priests and the scribes: and they shall condemn him to death.

19 And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified: and the third day he shall rise again.

20 Then came to him the mother of the sons of Zebedee with her sons, adoring and asking something of him.

21 Who said to her: What wilt thou? She saith to him: say that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left, in thy kingdom.

22 And Jesus answering, said: You know not what you ask. Can you drink the chalice that I shall drink? They say to him: We can.

23 He saith to them: My chalice indeed you shall drink; but to sit on my right or left hand is not mine to give to you, but to them for whom it is prepared by my Father.

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Matthew 20:17–23 — The New International Version (NIV)

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, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”

20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, 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.”

22 You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”

“We can,” they answered.

23 Jesus said to them, You will indeed drink from my cup, 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.”

Matthew 20:17–23 — English Standard Version (ESV)

17 And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, 18 See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death 19 and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”

20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and 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 are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” 22 Jesus answered, You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” 23 He said to them, You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

Matthew 20:17–23 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

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 Zebedee’s 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.

Matthew 20:17–23 — New Living Translation (NLT)

17 As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside privately and told them what was going to happen to him. 18 Listen,” he said, we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die. 19 Then they will hand him over to the Romans to be mocked, flogged with a whip, and crucified. But on the third day he will be raised from the dead.”

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.”

Matthew 20:17–23 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

17 Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, 18 Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, 19 and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.”

20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.

21 And He said to her, What do you wish?”

She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.”

22 But Jesus answered and said, You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”

They said to Him, “We are able.”

23 So He said to them, You will indeed drink 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 is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.”

Matthew 20:17–23 — New Century Version (NCV)

17 While Jesus was going to Jerusalem, he took his twelve followers aside privately and said to them, 18 “Look, we are going to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be turned over to the leading priests and the teachers of the law, and they will say that he must die. 19 They will give the Son of Man to the non-Jewish people to laugh at him and beat him with whips and crucify him. But on the third day, he will be raised to life again.”

20 Then the wife of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons. She bowed before him and asked him to do something for her.

21 Jesus asked, “What do you want?”

She said, “Promise that one of my sons will sit at your right side and the other will sit at your left side in your kingdom.”

22 But Jesus said, “You don’t understand what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?”

The sons answered, “Yes, we can.”

23 Jesus said to them, “You will drink from my cup. But I cannot choose who will sit at my right or my left; those places belong to those for whom my Father has prepared them.”

Matthew 20:17–23 — American Standard Version (ASV)

17 And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples apart, and on the way he said unto them, 18 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests and scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, 19 and shall deliver him unto the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify: and the third day he shall be raised up.

20 Then came to him the mother of the sons of Zebedee with her sons, worshipping him, and asking a certain thing of him. 21 And he said unto her, What wouldest thou? She saith unto him, Command that these my two sons may sit, one on thy right hand, and one on thy left hand, in thy kingdom. 22 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink the cup that I am about to drink? They say unto him, We are able. 23 He saith unto them, My cup indeed ye shall drink: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left hand, is not mine to give; but it is for them for whom it hath been prepared of my Father.

Matthew 20:17–23 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

17 And Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples with him apart in the way, and said to them, 18 Behold we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man will be delivered up to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death; 19 and they will deliver him up to the nations to mock and to scourge and to crucify, and the third day he shall rise again.

20 Then came to him the mother of the sons of Zebedee, with her sons, doing homage, and asking something of him. 21 And he said to her, What wilt thou? She says to him, Speak the word that these my two sons may sit, one on thy right hand and one on thy left in thy kingdom. 22 And Jesus answering said, Ye know not what ye ask. Can ye drink the cup which I am about to drink? They say to him, We are able. 23 And he says to them, Ye shall drink indeed my cup, but to sit on my right hand and on my left, is not mine to give, but to those for whom it is prepared of my Father.

Matthew 20:17–23 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

17 When Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, he took the twelve apostles aside and said to them privately, 18 “We’re going to Jerusalem. There the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the experts in Moses’ Teachings. They will condemn him to death 19 and hand him over to foreigners. They will make fun of him, whip him, and crucify him. But on the third day he will be brought back to life.” 

20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her two sons. She bowed down in front of him to ask him for a favor. 

21 “What do you want?” he asked her. 

She said to him, “Promise that one of my sons will sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.” 

22 Jesus replied, “You don’t realize what you’re asking. Can you drink the cup that I’m going to drink?” 

“We can,” they told him. 

23 Jesus said to them, “You will drink my cup. But I don’t have the authority to grant you a seat at my right or left. My Father has already prepared these positions for certain people.” 

Matthew 20:17–23 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

17 While going up to Jerusalem, Jesus took the 12 disciples aside privately and said to them on the way: 18 Listen! 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. 19 Then they will hand Him over to the Gentiles to be mocked, flogged, and crucified, and He will be resurrected on the third day.”

20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons approached Him with her sons. She knelt down to ask Him for something. 21 What do you want?” He asked her.

“Promise,” 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.”

22 But Jesus answered, You don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?”

“We are able,” they said to Him.

23 He told them, You will indeed drink My cup. 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.”

Matthew 20:17–23 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

17 While Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and said to them on the way, 18 See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death; 19 then they will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified; and on the third day he will be raised.”

20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favor of him. 21 And he said to her, What do you want?” She said to him, “Declare that these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” 22 But Jesus answered, 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, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

Matthew 20:17–23 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

17 And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples by themselves and said to them on the way, 18 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death, 19 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to mock him and flog him and crucify him, and on the third day he will be raised.”

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.”

Matthew 20:17–23 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

17 Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the 12 disciples to one side to talk to them.

18 “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said. “The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will sentence him to death. 19 Then they will turn him over to people who are not Jews. The people will make fun of him and whip him. They will nail him to a cross. On the third day, he will rise from the dead!”

20 The mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus. Her sons came with her. Getting on her knees, she asked a favor of him.

21 “What do you want?” Jesus asked.

She said, “Promise me that one of my two sons may sit at your right hand in your kingdom. Promise that the other one may sit at your left hand.”

22 “You don’t know what you’re asking for,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup of suffering I am going to drink?”

“We can,” they answered.

23 Jesus said to them, “You will certainly drink from my cup. But it is not for me to say who will sit at my right or left hand. These places belong to those my Father has prepared them for.”

Matthew 20:17–23 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

17 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 will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death,

19 and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.”

20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons, 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 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 to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They said to Him, “We are able.”

23 He said to them, My cup you shall drink; but to sit on My right and on My left, this is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.”


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