Matthew 26:36-46

Easy-to-Read Version

Jesus Prays Alone^(A)

³⁶Then Jesus went with his followers to a place called Gethsemane. He said to them, “Sit here while I go there and pray.” ³⁷He told Peter and the two sons of Zebedee to come with him. Then he began to be very sad and troubled. ³⁸Jesus said to Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, “My heart is so heavy with grief, I feel as if I am dying. Wait here and stay awake with me.”

³⁹Then Jesus went on a little farther away from them. He fell to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, don’t make me drink from this cup.^[a] But do what you want, not what I want.” ⁴⁰Then he went back to his followers and found them sleeping. He said to Peter, “Could you men not stay awake with me for one hour? ⁴¹Stay awake and pray for strength against temptation. Your spirit wants to do what is right, but your body is weak.”

⁴²Then Jesus went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if I must do this^[b] and it is not possible for me to escape it, then I pray that what you want will be done.”

⁴³Then he went back to the followers. Again he found them sleeping. They could not stay awake. ⁴⁴So he left them and went away one more time and prayed. This third time he prayed, he said the same thing.

⁴⁵Then Jesus went back to the followers and said, “Are you still sleeping and resting? The time has come for the Son of Man to be handed over to the control of sinful men. ⁴⁶Stand up! We must go. Here comes the one who will hand me over.”

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Footnotes

Matthew 26:39 cup A symbol of suffering. Jesus used the idea of drinking from a cup to mean accepting the suffering he would face in the terrible events that were soon to come.
Matthew 26:42 do this Literally, “drink this,” referring to the “cup,” the symbol of suffering in verse 39.

Mark 14:32-42

Easy-to-Read Version

Jesus Prays Alone^(A)

³²Jesus and his followers went to a place named Gethsemane. He said to them, “Sit here while I pray.” ³³But he told Peter, James, and John to come with him. He began to be very distressed and troubled, ³⁴and he said to them, “My heart is so heavy with grief, I feel as if I am dying. Wait here and stay awake.”

³⁵Jesus went on a little farther away from them, fell to the ground, and prayed. He asked that, if possible, he would not have this time of suffering. ³⁶He said, “ Abba,^[a] Father! You can do all things. Don’t make me drink from this cup.^[b] But do what you want, not what I want.”

³⁷Then he went back to his followers and found them sleeping. He said to Peter, “Simon, why are you sleeping? Could you not stay awake with me for one hour? ³⁸Stay awake and pray for strength against temptation. Your spirit wants to do what is right, but your body is weak.”

³⁹Again Jesus went away and prayed the same thing. ⁴⁰Then he went back to the followers and again found them sleeping. They could not stay awake. They did not know what they should say to him.

⁴¹After Jesus prayed a third time, he went back to his followers. He said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? That’s enough! The time has come for the Son of Man to be handed over to the control of sinful men. ⁴²Stand up! We must go. Here comes the man who is handing me over to them.”

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Footnotes

Mark 14:36 Abba An Aramaic word that was used by Jewish children as a name for their fathers.
Mark 14:36 cup A symbol of suffering. Jesus used the idea of drinking from a cup to mean accepting the suffering he would face in the terrible events that were soon to come.