And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy;
Parallel translations
- WEB He took with him Peter, James, and John, and began to be greatly troubled and distressed.
- BSB He took with Him Peter, James, and John, and began to be deeply troubled and distressed.
- NKJV And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed.
- NASB And He *took with Him Peter, James, and John, and began to be very distressed and troubled.
- NLT He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he became deeply troubled and distressed.
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 takes Peter, James, and John and begins to feel deep distress. He experiences real human anguish as the cross draws near.
Overview
The inner circle who witnessed his glory at the Transfiguration now see his sorrow. Mark's strong language shows Jesus genuinely troubled and overwhelmed. This reveals the reality of his humanity and the weight of the suffering he willingly took up for sinners.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Luke 22:44And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
- Heb 5:7Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
- Mark 5:37And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James.
- Mark 1:16–19Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
- Ps 69:1–3Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul.
- Ps 38:11My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off.
- Ps 88:14–16LORD, why castest thou off my soul? why hidest thou thy face from me?
- Matt 26:37–38And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.
- Mark 9:2And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them.
- Isa 53:10Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
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 14:33 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.