Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and 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.”
- BSB Then He said to them, “My soul is consumed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep 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 is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
- 1 Pet 3:18For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
- 1 Pet 2:24Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
- 1 Pet 4:7But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
- 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.
- Gal 3:13Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
- Matt 26:40–41And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
- Ps 88:14–16LORD, why castest thou off my soul? why hidest thou thy face from me?
- Matt 25:13Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
- Job 6:2–4Oh that my grief were throughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together!
- Rom 8:32He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
- 2 Cor 5:21For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
- Isa 53:3He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
- Ps 88:1–7O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:
- Ps 116:3The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found 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
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