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Simplified Cowboy Version
Matthew 26:37
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Taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled.
And hee tooke with him Peter, and the two sonnes of Zebedee, and beganne to be sorrowful, and very heauie.
And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.
And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled.
And He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with Him, and began to be grieved and distressed.
He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with him, and he began to be very sad and troubled.
And taking with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee [James and John], He began to be grieved and greatly distressed.
And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed.
And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed.
He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.
Jesus took along Peter and the two brothers, James and John. He was very sad and troubled,
He took with him Kefa and Zavdai's two sons. Grief and anguish came over him,
And taking with [him] Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and deeply depressed.
He told Peter and the two sons of Zebedee to come with him. Then he began to be very sad and troubled.
And hee tooke vnto him Peter, and the two sonnes of Zebedeus, and began to waxe sorowfull, and grieuously troubled.
And he took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and he began to be sorrowful and oppressed.
He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee. Grief and anguish came over him,
And taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be distressed and troubled.
And taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, He began to grieve and to be deeply troubled.
And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and sore troubled.
And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and became sad and very troubled.
He took with him Kefa and the two sons of Zavdai, and began to be sorrowful and severely troubled.
Taking Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with him, he began to be grieved and troubled.Matthew 4:21;">[xr]
And he took Kipha and the two sons of Zabdai; and he began to be sorrowful, and to be vehemently agonized.
And he took Cephas and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be dejected and sorrowful.
And he toke with him Peter, and the two sonnes of Zebedee, and began to waxe sorowfull and heauy.
And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and sore troubled.
He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and severely troubled.
And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and in deep anguish.
And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zabdi. Then He began to be full of anguish and distress,
And whanne he hadde take Peter, and twei sones of Zebedee, he bigan to be heuy and sori.
And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very troubled.
And he took with him Peter, and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.
He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and became anguished and distressed.
And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.
He took Peter and Zebedee's two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed.
He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with Him. He began to have much sorrow and a heavy heart.
He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated.
And, taking with him, Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be grieved and to be in great distress.
And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to grow sorrowful and to be sad.
And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zeb'edee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled.
And he toke with him Peter and the two sonnes of zebede and began to wexe sorowfull and to be in an agonye.
And having taken Peter, and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful, and to be very heavy;
And he toke with him Peter, and the two sonnes of Zebede, and beganne to wexe soroufull and to be in an agonye.
but he took with him Peter, and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be in a very great agony of grief.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Peter: Matthew 4:18, Matthew 4:21, Matthew 17:1, Matthew 20:20, Mark 5:37
sorrowful: Mark 14:33, Mark 14:34, Luke 22:44, John 12:27
Reciprocal: Job 7:11 - the anguish Job 15:24 - anguish Psalms 55:4 - My Psalms 57:6 - my soul Psalms 69:2 - the floods Psalms 69:20 - I am Psalms 88:3 - soul Psalms 102:4 - heart Isaiah 53:3 - a man Isaiah 53:4 - yet Matthew 10:2 - James Luke 9:28 - he Acts 3:1 - Peter Philippians 2:26 - full Hebrews 2:18 - suffered Hebrews 5:7 - in that he feared 1 Peter 1:6 - ye are
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And he took with him Peter, and the two sons of Zebedee,.... James and John, who perhaps were the strongest, and best able to bear the shocking sight, and were his favourite disciples; who were admitted to be with him at other times, when the rest were not; as at the raising of Jairus's daughter, Mark 5:37, and moreover, these were at his transfiguration on the mount, Matthew 17:1, which was a representation and presage of his glory; and so were very proper persons to be witnesses of his sorrows and agonies, which were the way to it; and three of them were taken by him for this purpose, being a sufficient number to bear testimony, since by the mouth of two or three witnesses everything is established:
and began to be sorrowful; his soul was troubled on the same account six days before, John 12:27, but was now sorrowful. He was a man of sorrows all his days, and acquainted with griefs, being reproached and persecuted by men: but now a new scene of sorrows opened; before he was afflicted by men, but now he is bruised, and put to grief by his Father: his sorrows now began, for they did not end here, but on the cross; not that this was but a bare beginning of his sorrows, or that these were but light in comparison of future ones; for they were very heavy, and indeed seem to be the heaviest of all, as appears from his own account of them; his vehement cry to his Father; his bloody sweat and agony; and the assistance he stood in need of from an angel; and the comfort and strength he received from him in his human nature: all which, put together, the like is not to be observed in any part of his sufferings:
and to be very heavy; with the weight of the sins of his people, and the sense of divine wrath, with which he was so pressed and overwhelmed, that his spirits were almost quite gone; he was just ready to swoon away, sink and die; his heart failed him, and became like wax melted in the midst of his bowels, before the wrath of God, which was as a consuming fire: all which shows the truth, though weakness of his human nature, and the greatness of his sufferings in it. The human nature was still in union with the divine person of the Son of God, and was sustained by him, but left to its natural weakness, without sin, that it might suffer to the utmost, and as much as possible for the sins of God's elect.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Jesus’ agony in Gethsemane - This account is also recorded in Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46; John 18:1.
Matthew 26:36
Then cometh ... - After the institution of the Lord’s Supper, in the early part of the night, he went out to the Mount of Olives.
In his journey he passed over the brook Cedron John 18:1, which bounded Jerusalem on the east.
Unto a place - John calls this “a garden.” This garden was on the western side of the Mount of Olives, and a short distance from Jerusalem. The word used by John means not properly a garden for the cultivation of vegetables, but a place planted with the olive and other trees, perhaps with a fountain of water, and with walks and groves; a proper place of refreshment in a hot climate, and of retirement from the noise of the adjacent city. Such places were doubtless common in the vicinity of Jerusalem. Messrs. Fisk and King, American missionaries were at the place which is commonly supposed to have been the garden of Gethsemane in 1823. They tell us that the garden is about a stone’s cast from the brook of Cedron; that it now contains eight large and venerable-looking olives, whose trunks show their great antiquity. The spot is sandy and barren, and appears like a forsaken place. A low broken wall surrounds it.
Mr. King sat down beneath one of the trees and read Isaiah 53:1-12, and also the gospel history of our Redeemer’s sorrow during that memorable night in which he was there betrayed; and the interest of the association was heightened by the passing through the place of a party of Bedouins, armed with spears and swords. A recent traveler says of this place that it “is a field or garden about 50 paces square, with a few shrubs growing in it, and eight olive-trees of great antiquity, the whole enclosed with a stone wall.” The place was probably fixed upon, as Dr. Robinson supposes, during the visit of Helena to Jerusalem, 326 a.d., when the places of the crucifixion and resurrection were believed to be identified. There is, however, no absolute certainty respecting the places. Dr. Thomson (The Land and the Book, vol. ii. p. 484) supposes it most probable that the real “Garden of Gethsemane” was several hundred yards to the northwest of the present Gethsemane, in a place much more secluded than the one usually regarded as that where the agony of the Saviour occurred, and therefore more likely to have been the place of his retirement. Nothing, however, that is of importance depends on ascertaining the exact spot.
Luke says that Jesus “went as he was wont” - that is, accustomed - “to the Mount of Olives.” Probably he had been in the habit of retiring from Jerusalem to that place for meditation and prayer, thus enforcing by his example what he had so often done by his precepts the duty of retiring from the noise and bustle of the world to hold communion with God.
Gethsemane - This word is made up either of two Hebrew words, signifying “valley of fatness” - that is, a fertile valley; or of two words, signifying “an olive-press,” given to it, probably, because the place was filled with olives.
Sit ye here - That is, in one part of the garden to which they first came.
While I go and pray yonder - That is, at the distance of a stone’s cast, Luke 22:41. Luke adds that when he came to the garden he charged them to pray that they might not enter into temptation - that is, into deep “trials and afflictions,” or, more probably, into scenes and dangers that would tempt them to deny him.
Matthew 26:37
And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee - That is, James and John, Matthew 10:2. On two other occasions he had favored these disciples in a particular manner, suffering them to go with him to witness his power and glory, namely, at the healing of the ruler’s daughter Luke 8:51, and at his transfiguration on the mount, Matthew 17:1.
Sorrowful - Affected with grief.
Very heavy - The word in the original is much stronger than the one translated “sorrowful.” It means, to be pressed down or overwhelmed with great anguish. This was produced, doubtless, by a foresight of his great sufferings on the cross in making an atonement for the sins of people.
Matthew 26:38
My soul is exceeding sorrowful - His human nature - his soul - was much and deeply affected and pressed down.
Even unto death - This denotes extreme sorrow and agony.
The sufferings of death are the greatest of which we have any knowledge; they are the most feared and dreaded by man; and those sufferings are therefore put for extreme and indescribable anguish. The meaning may be thus expressed: My sorrows are so great that under their burden I am ready to die; such is the anxiety of mind, that I seem to bear the pains of death!
Tarry ye here and watch with me - The word rendered “watch” means, literally, to abstain from sleep; then to be vigilant, or to guard against danger. Here it seems to mean to sympathize with him, to unite with him in seeking divine support, and to prepare themselves for approaching dangers.
Matthew 26:39
And he went a little further - That is, at the distance that a man could conveniently cast a stone (Luke).
Fell on his face - Luke says “he kneeled down.” He did both.
He first kneeled, and then, in the fervency of his prayer and the depth of his sorrow, he fell with his face on the ground, denoting the deepest anguish and the most earnest entreaty. This was the usual posture of prayer in times of great earnestness. See Numbers 16:22; 2 Chronicles 20:18; Nehemiah 8:6.
If it be possible - That is, if the world can be redeemed - if it be consistent with justice, and with maintaining the government of the universe, that people should be saved without this extremity of sorrow, let it be done. There is no doubt that if it had been possible it would have been done; and the fact that these sufferings were “not” removed, and that the Saviour went forward and bore them without mitigation, shows that it was not consistent with the justice of God and with the welfare of the universe that people should be saved without the awful sufferings of “such an atonement.”
Let this cup - These bitter sufferings. These approaching trials. The word cup is often used in this sense, denoting sufferings. See the notes at Matthew 20:22.
Not as I will, but as thou wilt - As Jesus was man as well as God, there is nothing inconsistent in supposing that, as man, he was deeply affected in view of these sorrows. When he speaks of His will, he expresses what “human nature,” in view of such great sufferings, would desire. It naturally shrunk from them and sought deliverance. Yet he sought to do the will of God. He chose rather that the high purpose of God should be done, than that that purpose should be abandoned from regard to the fears of his human nature. In this he has left a model of prayer in all times of affliction. It is right, in times of calamity, to seek deliverance. Like the Saviour, also, in such seasons we should, we must submit cheerfully to the will of God, confident that in all these trials he is wise, and merciful, and good.
Matthew 26:40
And findeth them asleep - It may seem remarkable that in such circumstances, with a suffering, pleading Redeemer near, surrounded by danger, and having received a special charge to watch - that is, not to sleep - they should so soon have fallen asleep.
It is frequently supposed that this was proof of wonderful stupidity, and indifference to their Lord’s sufferings. The truth is, however, that it was just the reverse; “it was proof of their great attachment, and their deep sympathy in his sorrows.” Luke has added that he found “them sleeping” for sorrow - that is, “on account” of their sorrow; or their grief was so great that they naturally fell asleep. Multitudes of facts might be brought to show that this is in accordance with the regular effects of grief. Dr. Rush says: “There is another symptom of grief, which is not often noticed, and that is “profound sleep.” I have often witnessed it even in mothers, immediately after the death of a child. Criminals, we are told by Mr. Akerman, the keeper of Newgate, in London, often sleep soundly the night before their execution. The son of General Custine slept nine hours the night before he was led to the guillotine in Paris.” - Diseases of the Mind, p. 319.
Saith unto Peter ... - This earnest appeal was addressed to Peter particularly on account of his warm professions, his rash zeal, and his self-confidence. If he could not keep awake and watch with the Saviour for one hour, how little probability was there that he would adhere to him in the trials through which he was soon to pass!
Matthew 26:41
Watch - See Matthew 26:38. Greater trials are coming on. It is necessary, therefore, still to be on your guard.
And pray - Seek aid from God by supplication, in view of the thickening calamities.
That ye enter not into temptation - That ye be not overcome and oppressed with these trials of your faith so as to deny me. The word “temptation” here properly means what would test their faith in the approaching calamities - in his rejection and death. It would “try” their faith, because, though they believed that he was the Messiah, they were not very clearly aware of the necessity of his death, and they did not fully understand that he was to rise again. They had cherished the belief that he was to establish a kingdom “while he lived.” When they should see him, therefore, rejected, tried, crucified, dead - when they should see him submit to all this as if he had not power to deliver himself - “then” would be the trial of their faith; and, in view of that, he exhorted them to pray that they might not so enter temptation as to be overcome by it and fall.
The spirit indeed is willing ... - The mind, the heart is ready and disposed to bear these trials, but the “flesh,” the natural feelings, through the fear of danger, is weak, and will be likely to lead you astray when the trial comes. Though you may have strong faith, and believe now that you will not deny me, yet human nature is weak, and shrinks at trials, and you should therefore seek strength from on high. This was intended to excite them, notwithstanding he knew that they loved him, to be on their guard, lest the weakness of human nature should be insufficient to sustain them in the hour of their temptation.
Matthew 26:42-44
It is probable that our Lord spent considerable time in prayer, and that the evangelists have recorded rather “the substance” of his petitions than the very “words.” He returned repeatedly to his disciples, doubtless to caution them against danger, to show the deep interest which he had in their welfare, and to show them the extent of his sufferings on their behalf
Each time that he returned these sorrows deepened. Again he sought the place of prayer, and as his approaching sufferings overwhelmed him, this was the burden of his prayer, and he prayed the same words. Luke adds that amid his agonies an angel appeared from heaven strengthening him. His human nature began to sink, as unequal to his sufferings, and a messenger from heaven appeared, to support him in these heavy trials. It may seem strange that, since Jesus was divine John 1:1, the divine nature did not minister strength to the human, and that he that was God should receive strength from an “angel.” But it should be remembered that Jesus came in his human nature not only to make an atonement, but to be a perfect example of a holy man; that, as such, it was necessary to submit to the common conditions of humanity - that he should live as other people, be sustained as other people, suffer as other people, and be strengthened as other people; that he should, so to speak, take no advantage in favor of his piety, from his divinity, but submit it in all things to the common lot of pious people. Hence, he supplied his wants, not by his being divine, but in the ordinary way of human life; he preserved himself from danger, not as God, but by seeking the usual ways of human prudence and precaution; he met trials as a man; he received comfort as a man; and there is no absurdity in supposing that, in accordance with the condition of his people, his human nature should be strengthened, as they are, by those who are sent forth to be ministering spirits to the heirs of salvation, Hebrews 1:14.
Further, Luke adds Luke 22:44 that, being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. The word “agony” is taken from the anxiety, effort, and strong emotion of the wrestlers in the Greek games about to engage in a mighty struggle. Here it denotes the extreme anguish of mind, the strong conflict produced in sinking human nature from the prospect of deep and overwhelming calamities.
“Great drops of blood,” Luke 22:44. The word rendered here as “great drops” does not mean drops gently falling on the ground, but rather thick and clammy masses of gore, pressed by inward agony through the skin, and, mixing with the sweat, falling thus to the ground. It has been doubted by some whether the sacred writer meant to say that there was actually “blood” in this sweat, or only that the sweat was “in the form” of great drops. The natural meaning is, doubtless, that the blood was mingled with his sweat; that it fell profusely - falling masses of gore; that it was pressed out by his inward anguish; and that this was caused in some way in view of his approaching death. This effect of extreme sufferings, of mental anguish. has been known in several other instances. Bloody sweats have been mentioned by many writers as caused by extreme suffering. Dr. Doddridge says (Note at Luke 22:44) that “Aristotle and Diodorus Siculus both mention bloody sweats as attending some extraordinary agony of mind; and I find Loti, in his “Life of Pope Sextus V.,” and Sir John Chardin, in his “History of Persia,” mentioning a like phenomenon, to which Dr. Jackson adds another from Thuanus.” It has been objected to this account that it is improbable, and that such an event could not occur. The instances, however, which are referred to by Doddridge and others show sufficiently that the objection is unfounded. In addition to these, I may observe that Voltaire has himself narrated a fact which ought forever to stop the mouths of infidels. Speaking of Charles IX of France, in his “Universal History,” he says: “He died in his 35th year. His disorder was of a very remarkable kind; the blood oozed out of all his pores. This malady, of which there have been other instances, was owing to either excessive fear, or violent agitation, or to a feverish and melancholy temperament.”
Various opinions have been given of the probable causes of these sorrows of the Saviour. Some have thought it was strong shrinking from the manner of dying on the cross, or from an apprehension of being “forsaken” there by the Father; others, that Satan was permitted in a special manner to test him, and to fill his mind with horrors, having departed from him at the beginning of his ministry for a season Luke 4:13, only to renew his temptations in a more dreadful manner now; and others that these sufferings were sent upon him as the wrath of God manifested against sin that God inflicted them directly upon him by his own hand, to show his abhorrence of the sins of people for which he was about to die. Where the Scriptures are silent about the cause, it does not become us confidently to express an opinion. We may suppose, perhaps, without presumption, that a part or all these things were combined to produce this awful suffering. There is no need of supposing that there was a single thing that produced it; but it is rather probable that this was a rush of feeling from every quarter - his situation, his approaching death, the temptations of the enemy, the awful suffering on account of people’s sins, and God’s hatred of it about to be manifested in his own death - all coming upon his soul at once sorrow flowing in from every quarter - the “concentration” of the sufferings of the atonement pouring together upon him and filling him with unspeakable anguish.
Matthew 26:45
Sleep on now and take your rest - Most interpreters have supposed that this should be translated as a question rattler than a command,
“Do you sleep now and take your rest? Is this a time, amid so much danger and so many enemies. to give yourselves to sleep?” This construction is strongly countenanced by Luke 22:46, where the expression. Why sleep ye? evidently refers to the same point of time. There is no doubt that the Greek will bear this construction, and in this way the apparent inconsistency will be removed between this command “to sleep,” and that in the next verse, “to rise” and be going. Others suppose that, his agony being over, and the necessity of watching with him being now past, he kindly permitted them to seek repose until they should be roused by the coming of the traitor; that while they slept Jesus continued still awake; that some considerable time elapsed between what was spoken here and in the next verse; and that Jesus suffered them to sleep until he saw Judas coming, and then aroused them. This is the most probable opinion. Others have supposed that he spoke this in irony: “Sleep on now, if you can; take rest, if possible, in such dangers and at such a time.” But this supposition is unworthy the Saviour and the occasion. Mark adds, “It is enough.” That is, sufficient time has been given to sleep. It is time to arise and be going.
The hour is at hand - The “time” when the Son of man is to be betrayed is near.
Sinners - Judas, the Roman soldiers, and the Jews.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse 37. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee — That is, James and John; the same persons who had beheld his transfiguration on the mount - that they might contemplate this agony in the light of that glory which they had there seen; and so be kept from being stumbled by a view of his present humiliation.
Began to be sorrowful — λυπεισθαι, from λυω, to dissolve - exquisite sorrow, such as dissolves the natural vigour, and threatens to separate soul and body.
And very heavy. — Overwhelmed with anguish - αδημονειν. This word is used by the Greeks to denote the most extreme anguish which the soul can feel-excruciating anxiety and torture of spirit.
