# Matthew 26.37-40

<!-- type: passage | created: 2026-05-06 | updated: 2026-05-06 -->

**Book:** [Matthew](/codex/matthew-the-apostle/) · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

## Immediate context (±2 verses)

**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> 35. Peter saith unto him, Even if I must die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples. 36. Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto his disciples, <span class="rl-speech">Sit ye here, while I go yonder and pray.</span>
>
> **37. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and sore troubled. 38. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: abide ye here, and watch with me. 39. And he went forward a little, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass away from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. 40. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, <span class="rl-speech">What, could ye not watch with me one hour?</span>**
>
> 41. <span class="rl-speech">Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.</span> 42. <span class="rl-speech">Again a second time he went away, and prayed, saying, My Father, if this cannot pass away, except I drink it, thy will be done.</span> (Matthew 26:35-42, ASV)

**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> 35. Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you.” All of the disciples also said likewise. 36. Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to his disciples, <span class="rl-speech">“Sit here, while I go there and pray.”</span>
>
> **37. He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and severely troubled. 38. Then he said to them, <span class="rl-speech">“My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here, and watch with me.”</span> 39. He went forward a little, fell on his face, and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from me; nevertheless, not what I desire, but what you desire.” 40. He came to the disciples, and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, <span class="rl-speech">“What, couldn’t you watch with me for one hour?</span>**
>
> 41. <span class="rl-speech">Watch and pray, that you don’t enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”</span> 42. <span class="rl-speech">Again, a second time he went away, and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cup can’t pass away from me unless I drink it, your desire be done.”</span> (Matthew 26:35-42, WEB)

**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> 35. Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples. 36. Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, <span class="rl-speech">Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.</span>
>
> **37. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. 38. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. 39. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. 40. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, <span class="rl-speech">What, could ye not watch with me one hour?</span>**
>
> 41. <span class="rl-speech">Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.</span> 42. <span class="rl-speech">He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.</span> (Matthew 26:35-42, KJV)

**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> 35. Peter saith to him, 'Even if it may be necessary for me to die with thee, I will not deny thee;' in like manner also said all the disciples. 36. Then come with them doth Jesus to a place called Gethsemane, and he saith to the disciples, <span class="rl-speech">'Sit ye here, till having gone away, I shall pray yonder.'</span>
>
> **37. And having taken Peter, and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful, and to be very heavy; 38. then saith he to them, 'Exceedingly sorrowful is my soul, unto death; abide ye here, and watch with me.' 39. And having gone forward a little, he fell on his face, praying, and saying, 'My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou.' 40. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them sleeping, and he saith to Peter, <span class="rl-speech">'So! ye were not able one hour to watch with me!</span>**
>
> 41. <span class="rl-speech">watch, and pray, that ye may not enter into temptation: the spirit indeed is forward, but the flesh weak.'</span> 42. <span class="rl-speech">Again, a second time, having gone away, he prayed, saying, 'My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from me except I drink it, Thy will be done;'</span> (Matthew 26:35-42, YLT)

## Setting

- **Speaker:** Matthew (traditionally) the tax-collector-apostle / narrator + Jesus's direct teaching
- **Audience:** Jewish-Christian audience (heavy OT-fulfillment emphasis)
- **Location:** first-century Palestine (events); possibly Antioch (composition)
- **Time period:** events c. 4 BC, AD 30/33; composed c. AD 60-80

## Theological reading

## Key words

- [G2288 - thanatos](/codex/g2288-thanatos/), *thanatos* (Strong's G2288). Also appears in: [Matthew 15](/codex/matthew-15/), [Matthew 16.28](/codex/matthew-16-28/), [Matthew 26.57-68](/codex/matthew-26-57-68/).
- [G3962 - pater](/codex/g3962-pater/), *pater* (Strong's G3962). Also appears in: [Matthew 5.48](/codex/matthew-5-48/), [Matthew 6.25-26](/codex/matthew-6-25-26/), [Matthew 6.25-34](/codex/matthew-6-25-34/).
- [G4314 - pros](/codex/g4314-pros/), *pros* (Strong's G4314). Also appears in: [Matthew 3.13](/codex/matthew-3-13/), [Matthew 5.28](/codex/matthew-5-28/), [Matthew 11.28](/codex/matthew-11-28/).
- [G5207 - huios](/codex/g5207-huios/), *huios* (Strong's G5207). Also appears in: [Matthew 1.1](/codex/matthew-1-1/), [Matthew 1.20](/codex/matthew-1-20/), [Matthew 1.21](/codex/matthew-1-21/).
- [G5590 - psyche](/codex/g5590-psyche/), *psyche* (Strong's G5590). Also appears in: [Matthew 6.25-26](/codex/matthew-6-25-26/), [Matthew 10.28](/codex/matthew-10-28/), [Matthew 10.37-39](/codex/matthew-10-37-39/).

## 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.

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## Quoted in

**Arguments and defeaters:**

- [Cursed Messiah Objection Defeater](/codex/cursed-messiah-objection-defeater/), via [Matthew 26.39](/codex/matthew-26-39/)
- [Jesus is Not a Human Sacrifice (Defeater)](/codex/jesus-is-not-a-human-sacrifice-defeater/), via [Matthew 26.39](/codex/matthew-26-39/)
- [Necessity of the Incarnation](/codex/necessity-of-the-incarnation/), via [Matthew 26.38](/codex/matthew-26-38/)
- [No One Can Die For Another Objection Defeater](/codex/no-one-can-die-for-another-objection-defeater/), via [Matthew 26.39](/codex/matthew-26-39/)

**Concepts:**

- [Can God Have Lackful Emotions](/codex/can-god-have-lackful-emotions/), via [Matthew 26.37-38](/codex/matthew-26-37-38/)
- [Christianity](/codex/christianity/), via [Matthew 26.39-42](/codex/matthew-26-39-42/)
- [God is Impossible Paradox Cluster](/codex/god-is-impossible-paradox-cluster/), via [Matthew 26.38](/codex/matthew-26-38/)
- [Jesus Said](/codex/jesus-said/), via [Matthew 26](/codex/matthew-26/)
- [Theandric Activities](/codex/theandric-activities/), via [Matthew 26.39](/codex/matthew-26-39/)
- [Trinity](/codex/trinity/), via [Matthew 26.39-42](/codex/matthew-26-39-42/)
- [Trinity Common Objections](/codex/trinity-common-objections/), via [Matthew 26.39-42](/codex/matthew-26-39-42/)

**People:**

- [James the Greater](/codex/james-the-greater/), via [Matthew 26.37](/codex/matthew-26-37/)

**Passages:**

- [1 Corinthians 11](/codex/1-corinthians-11/)
- [1 Corinthians 15.53-54](/codex/1-corinthians-15-53-54/)
- [Acts 2.24](/codex/acts-2-24/)
- [Hebrews 11.5](/codex/hebrews-11-5/)
- [Hebrews 5.7](/codex/hebrews-5-7/)
- [James 1.13-15](/codex/james-1-13-15/)
- [John 11](/codex/john-11/)
- [John 11.1-4](/codex/john-11-1-4/)
- [John 11.11-14](/codex/john-11-11-14/)
- [John 11.4](/codex/john-11-4/)
- [John 5](/codex/john-5/)
- [John 5.24](/codex/john-5-24/)
- [John 5.24-27](/codex/john-5-24-27/)
- [Mark 14.53-65](/codex/mark-14-53-65/)
- [Matthew 16.28](/codex/matthew-16-28/)
- [Matthew 26.57-68](/codex/matthew-26-57-68/)
- [Philippians 2.5-8](/codex/philippians-2-5-8/)
- [Philippians 2.6-8](/codex/philippians-2-6-8/)
- [Philippians 2.8-11](/codex/philippians-2-8-11/)
- [Revelation 1.17-18](/codex/revelation-1-17-18/)
- [Revelation 18.6-8](/codex/revelation-18-6-8/)
- [Romans 1.24-32](/codex/romans-1-24-32/)
- [Romans 5.12-15](/codex/romans-5-12-15/)
- [Romans 6.3-4](/codex/romans-6-3-4/)
- [Romans 6.5](/codex/romans-6-5/)
- [Romans 6.9](/codex/romans-6-9/)
- [Romans 7](/codex/romans-7/)
- [Romans 7.14-25](/codex/romans-7-14-25/)
- [Romans 8](/codex/romans-8/)

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