Then He said to them, “My soul is consumed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with Me.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Then he said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here, and watch with me.”
- KJV Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.
- NKJV Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”
- NASB Then He *said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.”
- NLT He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
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 tells them His soul is sorrowful unto death and asks them to watch with Him. His anguish is real, and He seeks the support of His friends.
Overview
Jesus expresses overwhelming grief, echoing the laments of Psalms 42 and 43. His sorrow flows not from fear of death alone but from the prospect of bearing God's judgment against sin. In His genuine human need He asks the disciples to keep watch, displaying both His true humanity and His submission to the Father's will.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- John 12:27Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? No, it is for this purpose that I have come to this hour.
- 1 Pet 3:18For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit,
- 1 Pet 2:24He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”
- 1 Pet 4:7The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear-minded and sober, so that you can pray.
- Isa 53:10Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush Him and to cause Him to suffer; and when His soul is made a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
- Gal 3:13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
- Matt 26:40–41Then Jesus returned to the disciples and found them sleeping. “Were you not able to keep watch with Me for one hour?” He asked Peter.
- Ps 88:14–16Why, O LORD, do You reject me? Why do You hide Your face from me?
- Matt 25:13Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
- Job 6:2–4“If only my grief could be weighed and placed with my calamity on the scales.
- Rom 8:32He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?
- 2 Cor 5:21God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
- Isa 53:3He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.
- Ps 88:1–7A song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the choirmaster. According to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite. O LORD, the God of my salvation, day and night I cry out before You.
- Ps 116:3The ropes of death entangled me; the anguish of Sheol overcame me; I was confronted by trouble and sorrow.
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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 26:38 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.