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They said to Him, “Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.”
Mark 10:37 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB They said to him, “Grant to us that we may sit, one at your right hand, and one at your left hand, in your glory.”
  • KJV They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.
  • BSB They answered, “Grant that one of us may sit at Your right hand and the other at Your left in Your glory.”
  • NKJV They said to Him, “Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.”
  • NLT They replied, “When you sit on your glorious throne, we want to sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.”

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

They ask to sit at his right and left in his glory. They crave positions of highest honor, misunderstanding the nature of his kingdom.

Overview

James and John seek the chief places of power, assuming glory without suffering. Their request shows they still picture a kingdom of earthly prestige rather than the way of the cross. Their ambition gives Jesus occasion to redefine greatness and to foretell that his path, and theirs, runs through suffering.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Matt 19:28Jesus said to them, “Most certainly I tell you that you who have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on the throne of his glory, you also will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
  • 1 Kgs 22:19Micaiah said, “Therefore hear Yahweh’s word. I saw Yahweh sitting on his throne, and all the army of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.
  • Ps 110:1A Psalm by David. Yahweh says to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet.”
  • Mark 16:19So then the Lord, after he had spoken to them, was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.
  • Luke 24:26Didn’t the Christ have to suffer these things and to enter into his glory?”
  • Mark 8:38For whoever will be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man also will be ashamed of him, when he comes in his Father’s glory, with the holy angels.”
  • 1 Pet 1:11searching for who or what kind of time the Spirit of Christ, which was in them, pointed to, when he predicted the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that would follow them.
  • Matt 25:31“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.
  • Ps 45:9Kings’ daughters are among your honorable women. At your right hand the queen stands in gold of Ophir.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Mark videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Mark 10:37YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MarkMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 10:37 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.