# Matthew 20.20-28

<!-- type: passage | created: 2026-06-01 | updated: 2026-06-01 -->

**Book:** [Matthew](/codex/matthew-the-apostle/) · NASB95

## Immediate context (±2 verses)

**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> 18. <span class="rl-speech">Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests and scribes; and they shall condemn him to death,</span> 19. <span class="rl-speech">and shall deliver him unto the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify: and the third day he shall be raised up.</span>
>
> **20. <span class="rl-speech">Then came to him the mother of the sons of Zebedee with her sons, worshipping him, and asking a certain thing of him.</span> 21. And he said unto her, <span class="rl-speech">What wouldest thou?</span> She saith unto him, Command that these my two sons may sit, one on thy right hand, and one on thy left hand, in thy kingdom. 22. But Jesus answered and said, <span class="rl-speech">Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink the cup that I am about to drink? They say unto him, We are able.</span> 23. He saith unto them, <span class="rl-speech">My cup indeed ye shall drink: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left hand, is not mine to give; but it is for them for whom it hath been prepared of my Father.</span> 24. <span class="rl-speech">And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation concerning the two brethren.</span> 25. But Jesus called them unto him, and said, <span class="rl-speech">Ye know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.</span> 26. <span class="rl-speech">Not so shall it be among you: but whosoever would become great among you shall be your minister;</span> 27. <span class="rl-speech">and whosoever would be first among you shall be your servant:</span> 28. <span class="rl-speech">even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.</span>**
>
> 29. And as they went out from Jericho, a great multitude followed him. 30. And behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, Lord, have mercy on us, thou son of David. (Matthew 20:18-30, ASV)

**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> 18. <span class="rl-speech">“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death,</span> 19. <span class="rl-speech">and will hand him over to the Gentiles to mock, to scourge, and to crucify; and the third day he will be raised up.”</span>
>
> **20. <span class="rl-speech">Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, kneeling and asking a certain thing of him.</span> 21. He said to her, <span class="rl-speech">“What do you want?”</span> She said to him, “Command that these, my two sons, may sit, one on your right hand, and one on your left hand, in your Kingdom.” 22. But Jesus answered, <span class="rl-speech">“You don’t know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”</span> They said to him, “We are able.” 23. He said to them, <span class="rl-speech">“You will indeed drink my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with, but to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it is for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”</span> 24. When the ten heard it, they were indignant with the two brothers. 25. But Jesus summoned them, and said, <span class="rl-speech">“You know that the rulers of the nations lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.</span> 26. <span class="rl-speech">It shall not be so among you, but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.</span> 27. <span class="rl-speech">Whoever desires to be first among you shall be your bondservant,</span> 28. <span class="rl-speech">even as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”</span>**
>
> 29. As they went out from Jericho, a great multitude followed him. 30. Behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, you son of David!” (Matthew 20:18-30, WEB)

**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> 18. <span class="rl-speech">Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death,</span> 19. <span class="rl-speech">And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.</span>
>
> **20. <span class="rl-speech">Then came to him the mother of Zebedee's children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.</span> 21. And he said unto her, <span class="rl-speech">What wilt thou?</span> She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom. 22. But Jesus answered and said, <span class="rl-speech">Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.</span> 23. And he saith unto them, <span class="rl-speech">Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.</span> 24. <span class="rl-speech">And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.</span> 25. But Jesus called them unto him, and said, <span class="rl-speech">Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.</span> 26. <span class="rl-speech">But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;</span> 27. <span class="rl-speech">And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:</span> 28. <span class="rl-speech">Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.</span>**
>
> 29. And as they departed from Jericho, a great multitude followed him. 30. And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David. (Matthew 20:18-30, KJV)

**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> 18. <span class="rl-speech">'Lo, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man shall be delivered to the chief priests and scribes,</span> 19. <span class="rl-speech">and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the nations to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify, and the third day he will rise again.'</span>
>
> **20. <span class="rl-speech">Then came near to him the mother of the sons of Zebedee, with her sons, bowing and asking something from him,</span> 21. and he said to her, <span class="rl-speech">'What wilt thou?'</span> She saith to him, 'Say, that they may sit, these my two sons, one on thy right hand, and one on the left, in thy reign.' 22. And Jesus answering said, <span class="rl-speech">'Ye have not known what ye ask for yourselves; are ye able to drink of the cup that I am about to drink? and with the baptism that I am baptized with, to be baptized?' They say to him, 'We are able.'</span> 23. And he saith to them, <span class="rl-speech">'Of my cup indeed ye shall drink, and with the baptism that I am baptized with ye shall be baptized; but to sit on my right hand and on my left is not mine to give, but, to those for whom it hath been prepared by my father.'</span> 24. And the ten having heard, were much displeased with the two brothers, 25. and Jesus having called them near, said, 'Ye have known that the rulers of the nations do exercise lordship over them, and those great do exercise authority over them, 26. but not so shall it be among you, but whoever may will among you to become great, let him be your ministrant; 27. and whoever may will among you to be first, let him be your servant; 28. even as the Son of Man did not come to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.'**
>
> 29. And they going forth from Jericho, there followed him a great multitude, 30. and lo, two blind men sitting by the way, having heard that Jesus doth pass by, cried, saying, 'Deal kindly with us, sir, Son of David.' (Matthew 20:18-30, YLT)

## Setting

- **Speaker:** _TBD_
- **Audience:** _TBD_
- **Location:** _TBD_
- **Time period:** _TBD_

## Theological reading

_Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added._

## Key words

_Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap._

- _TBD_
- _TBD_
- _TBD_
- _TBD_

<!-- BACKLINKS:START -->
## Quoted in

**Arguments and defeaters:**

- [Harm-Reduction Cannot Ground Morality (Defeater)](/codex/harm-reduction-cannot-ground-morality-defeater/), via [Matthew 20.26-28](/codex/matthew-20-26-28/)
- [Isaiah 14 Reverse Slavery Prophecy Objection Defeater](/codex/isaiah-14-reverse-slavery-prophecy-objection-defeater/), via [Matthew 20.25-28](/codex/matthew-20-25-28/)

**Concepts:**

- [Atonement Theory Spread](/codex/atonement-theory-spread/), via [Matthew 20.25-28](/codex/matthew-20-25-28/)
- [Black People Shouldnt Be Christian](/codex/black-people-shouldnt-be-christian/), via [Matthew 20.25-28](/codex/matthew-20-25-28/)
- [Christianity in Africa](/codex/christianity-in-africa/), via [Matthew 20.25-28](/codex/matthew-20-25-28/)
- [Jesus Said](/codex/jesus-said/), via [Matthew 20.18-28](/codex/matthew-20-18-28/)
- [Papal Bulls and Slavery](/codex/papal-bulls-and-slavery/), via [Matthew 20.25-28](/codex/matthew-20-25-28/)

**People:**

- [James the Greater](/codex/james-the-greater/)

**Lexicon:**

- [G3083 - lytron](/codex/g3083-lytron/), via [Matthew 20.28](/codex/matthew-20-28/)
- [H5650 - ebed](/codex/h5650-ebed/), via [Matthew 20.26-28](/codex/matthew-20-26-28/)

<!-- BACKLINKS:END -->
---

_Scripture quotations taken from the **New American Standard Bible®** (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by **The Lockman Foundation**. Used by permission. All rights reserved. [www.lockman.org](https://www.lockman.org)_

## Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

- **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.