Bible Strands
Mark 14:34
Then He said to them, “My soul is consumed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses Peter, James, and John in the Garden of Gethsemane immediately after taking them aside and before proceeding farther to pray alone.
The words — The phrase περὶλυπος ἐστιν ἡ ψυχὴ μου (perilupos estin hē psuchē mou) literally translates to "the soul is very sorrowful." The compound adjective combines the idea of being overwhelmed by grief to a breaking point.
The thread — The declaration mirrors Jesus’ statement in John 12:27 that His soul is troubled, while His command to watch directly parallels the vigilance commands in Mark 13:35 and 1 Peter 5:8.
Why it lands — The text states the reality of Christ’s profound human anguish before issuing a direct command to maintain spiritual alertness. Readers must acknowledge the weight of the coming trial while obeying the explicit instruction to stay awake and watchful.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.
Cross-references
- John 12:27 Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? No, it is for this purpose that I have come to this hour.
- Mark 13:35 Therefore keep watch, because you do not know when the master of the house will return—whether in the evening, at midnight, when the rooster crows, or in the morning.
- 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
- Isaiah 53:3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.
- Isaiah 53:12 Therefore I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong, because He has poured out His life unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors. Yet He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.
- Lamentations 1:12 Is this nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look around and see! Is there any sorrow like mine, which was inflicted on me, which the LORD made me suffer on the day of His fierce anger?
- Mark 14:37 Then Jesus returned and found them sleeping. “Simon, are you asleep?” He asked. “Were you not able to keep watch for one hour?
- Ephesians 6:18 Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.
- 1 Peter 4:7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear-minded and sober, so that you can pray.