And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.
Parallel translations
- WEB He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and severely troubled.
- BSB He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.
- NKJV And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.
- NASB And He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with Him, and began to be grieved and distressed.
- NLT He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished 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 be sorrowful and deeply troubled. He shares His anguish with His closest companions.
Overview
Taking the inner three, Jesus enters profound distress as the weight of His coming death presses upon Him. His sorrow shows the reality of His full humanity and the dreadful nature of bearing sin. That the sinless Son trembles before the cup reveals how great a price our redemption required.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Matt 4:21And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.
- Matt 17:1And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,
- Mark 5:37And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James.
- Mark 14:33–34And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy;
- Matt 20:20Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.
- John 12:27Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
- Matt 4:18And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
- 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.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 26:37 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.