Thenτότεhe saysλέγειto them,αὐτοῖς“My soulἡ ψυχή μουisἐστινvery sorrowful,Περίλυπόςto the point ofἕωςdeath;θανάτουremainμείνατεhereὧδεandκαὶkeep watchγρηγορεῖτεwithμετ’me.”ἐμοῦ
Matthew 26:38
Study it in the app“Then he says to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with me.””
In Gethsemane, anguished, Jesus prays that the Father's will be doneThe Cross
With the Greek beneath
Matthew 26:38, word by word
- Thenτότεtote
then
Then, at that time.
Where else “tote” appears- he saysλέγειlegei
say
To express something in words to others.
Where else “legei” appears- “My soulψυχήpsychē
soul
A person's innermost self: what they feel and desire.
Where else “psychē” appears- isἐστινestin
be
To be: says who or what something is.
Where else “estin” appears- very sorrowfulΠερίλυπόςPerilypos
deeply grieved
Very sad, deeply grieved.
Where else “Perilypos” appears- deathθανάτουthanatou
death
The end of the body's life.
Where else “thanatou” appears- remainμείνατεmeinate
stay
Not to move from a place, to go on staying there.
Where else “meinate” appears- keep watchγρηγορεῖτεgrēgoreite
keep watch
To stay awake to keep watch.
Where else “grēgoreite” appears
Translation note
It recalls the refrain of Psalms 42:5, 11 and 43:5 (“Why are you cast down, my soul?”).
Parallel passages
Other books that tell the same thing or quote these words.
Gethsemane
See them side by side
Matthew 26:36-46
36Then Jesus comes with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he says to the disciples, “Sit here while I go away there and pray.” 37And taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be grieved and distressed. 38Then he says to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with me.” 39And going forward a little, he fell on his face praying and saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not as I want, but as you want.” 40And he comes to the disciples and finds them sleeping, and says to Peter, “So you were not able to keep watch with me one hour? 41Keep watch and pray, so that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh weak.” 42Again, a second time, he went away and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, let your will be done.” 43And coming again, he found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44And leaving them again, he went away and prayed a third time, saying the same words again. 45Then he comes to the disciples and says to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Look, the hour has come near, and the Son of Man is handed over into the hands of sinners. 46Get up, let us go; look, the one who hands me over has come near.”
32And they come to a place whose name is Gethsemane, and he says to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33And he takes Peter and James and John with him, and he began to be greatly distressed and troubled. 34And he says to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch.” 35And going forward a little, he was falling on the ground and praying that if it is possible, the hour might pass from him. 36And he was saying, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you; take this cup away from me; yet not what I want, but what you want.” 37And he comes and finds them sleeping, and says to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Were you not able to keep watch one hour? 38Keep watch and pray, so that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh weak.” 39And again going away, he prayed, saying the same words. 40And again coming, he found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to answer him. 41And he comes the third time and says to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come; look, the Son of Man is handed over into the hands of sinners. 42Get up, let us go; look, the one who hands me over has come near.”
39And going out, he went, according to his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples also followed him. 40And when he arrived at the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” 41And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and kneeling down he was praying, 42saying, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; yet not my will, but yours, be done.” 43And an angel from heaven appeared to him, strengthening him. 44And being in anguish, he was praying more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground. 45And rising from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow. 46And he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
The context
37And taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be grieved and distressed.
38 · This verse (above)
39And going forward a little, he fell on his face praying and saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not as I want, but as you want.”
To study Matthew 26 in a group
1. What it says
What did the woman do with the jar of perfume, and what did Jesus say about it (vv. 7, 10–13)?
2. What it means
What does Jesus say about his blood as he gives the cup to the disciples (vv. 27–28)?
3. How I live it
Peter said he would never deny him, and then did (vv. 33–35, 69–75). How can you start over after failing someone?