Matthew 20:20–22
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.”
Matthew 20:20–22 — The New International Version (NIV)
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.
Matthew 20:20–22 — English Standard Version (ESV)
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.”
Matthew 20:20–22 — King James Version (KJV 1900)
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.
Matthew 20:20–22 — New Living Translation (NLT)
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!”
Matthew 20:20–22 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
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.”
Matthew 20:20–22 — New Century Version (NCV)
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.”
Matthew 20:20–22 — American Standard Version (ASV)
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.
Matthew 20:20–22 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
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.
Matthew 20:20–22 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
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.
Matthew 20:20–22 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
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.
Matthew 20:20–22 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
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.”
Matthew 20:20–22 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
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.
Matthew 20:20–22 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)
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.”