“What is your request?” he asked.
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?”
- KJV And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you?
- BSB “What do you want Me to do for you?” He inquired.
- NKJV And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
- NASB And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus asks what they want him to do for them. He patiently invites them to voice their request rather than rebuking them outright.
Overview
Rather than dismissing the brothers, Jesus draws out their desire so it can be addressed honestly. The same question he asks them he will soon ask blind Bartimaeus (10:51), inviting a telling comparison. His gentleness here models how he engages flawed disciples with patience and truth.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- 1 Kgs 3:5–15In Gibeon, Yahweh appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask for what I should give you.”
- John 15:7If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you.
- Mark 10:51Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “Rabboni, that I may see again.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 10:36 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.