Mark 6:46-48

6:46 After saying good-bye to them, he went to the mountain to pray. 6:47 When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea and he was alone on the land. 6:48 He ¹  saw them straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. As the night was ending, ²  he came to them walking on the sea, ³  for ⁴  he wanted to pass by them. ⁵ 

Psalms 5:3

5:3 Lord, in the morning ⁶  you will hear ⁷  me; ⁸ 

in the morning I will present my case to you ⁹  and then wait expectantly for an answer. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 109:4

109:4 They repay my love with accusations, ¹¹ 

but I continue to pray. ¹² 

Luke 4:42

4:42 The next morning ¹³  Jesus ¹⁴  departed and went to a deserted place. Yet ¹⁵  the crowds were seeking him, and they came to him and tried to keep him from leaving them.

Luke 6:12

Choosing the Twelve Apostles

6:12 Now ¹⁶  it was during this time that Jesus ¹⁷  went out to the mountain ¹⁸  to pray, and he spent all night ¹⁹  in prayer to God. ²⁰ 

Luke 22:39-46

On the Mount of Olives

22:39 Then ²¹  Jesus ²²  went out and made his way, ²³  as he customarily did, to the Mount of Olives, ²⁴  and the disciples followed him. 22:40 When he came to the place, ²⁵  he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” ²⁶  22:41 He went away from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, take ²⁷  this cup ²⁸  away from me. Yet not my will but yours ²⁹  be done.” 22:43 [Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 22:44 And in his anguish ³⁰  he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.] ³¹  22:45 When ³²  he got up from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping, exhausted ³³  from grief. 22:46 So ³⁴  he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you will not fall into temptation!” ³⁵ 

John 4:34

4:34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me ³⁶  and to complete ³⁷  his work. ³⁸ 

John 6:15

6:15 Then Jesus, because he knew they were going to come and seize him by force to make him king, withdrew again up the mountainside alone. ³⁹ 

Ephesians 6:18

6:18 With every prayer and petition, pray ⁴⁰  at all times in the Spirit, and to this end ⁴¹  be alert, with all perseverance and requests for all the saints.

Philippians 2:5

2:5 You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had, ⁴² 

Hebrews 5:7

5:7 During his earthly life ⁴³  Christ ⁴⁴  offered ⁴⁵  both requests and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death and he was heard because of his devotion.

[6:48]  ¹ tn This verse is one complete sentence in the Greek text, but it has been broken into two sentences in English for clarity.

[6:48]  ² tn Grk “about the fourth watch of the night,” between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m.

[6:48]  ³ tn Or “on the lake.”

[6:48]  ⁴ tn The καί (kai) was translated so as to introduce a subordinate clause, i.e., with the use of “for.” See BDF §442.9.

[6:48]  ⁵ sn The statement he wanted to pass by them is somewhat difficult to understand. There are at least two common interpretations: (1) it refers to the perspective of the disciples, that is, from their point of view it seemed that Jesus wanted to pass by them; or (2) it refers to a theophany and uses the language of the Greek Old Testament (LXX) when God “passed by” Moses at Sinai (cf. Exod 33:19, 22). According to the latter alternative, Jesus is “passing by” the disciples during their struggle, in order to assure them of his presence with them. See W L. Lane, Mark (NICNT), 236.

[5:3]  ⁶ sn In the morning is here viewed as the time of prayer (Pss 59:16; 88:13) and/or of deliverance (Ps 30:5).

[5:3]  ⁷ tn The imperfect is here understood in a specific future sense; the psalmist is expressing his confidence that God will be willing to hear his request. Another option is to understand the imperfect as expressing the psalmist’s wish or request. In this case one could translate, “Lord, in the morning hear me.”

[5:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “my voice.”

[5:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “I will arrange for you.” Some understand a sacrifice or offering as the implied object (cf. NEB “I set out my morning sacrifice”). The present translation assumes that the implied object is the psalmist’s case/request. See Isa 44:7.

[5:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and I will watch.”

[109:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in place of my love they oppose me.”

[109:4]  ¹² tn Heb “and I, prayer.”

[4:42]  ¹³ tn Grk “When it became day.”

[4:42]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:42]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate that the crowds still sought Jesus in spite of his withdrawal.

[6:12]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “Now it happened that in.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[6:12]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:12]  ¹⁸ tn Or “to a mountain” (εἰς τὸ ὅρος, eis to Joro").

[6:12]  ¹⁹ sn This is the only time all night prayer is mentioned in the NT.

[6:12]  ²⁰ tn This is an objective genitive, so prayer “to God.”

[22:39]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[22:39]  ²² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:39]  ²³ tn Grk “went.”

[22:39]  ²⁴ sn See the note on the Mount of Olives in Luke 19:29.

[22:40]  ²⁵ sn Luke does not mention Gethsemane by name, but calls it simply the place.

[22:40]  ²⁶ sn Jesus’ instructions to pray not to fall into temptation is an allusion to Luke 22:28-38, especially 22:31. The temptation is Satan’s challenge to them to defect, like what happened to Judas and what will happen to Peter.

[22:42]  ²⁷ tn Luke’s term παρένεγκε is not as exact as the one in Matt 26:39. Luke’s means “take away” (BDAG 772 s.v. παρένεγκε 2.c) while Matthew’s means “take away without touching,” suggesting an alteration (if possible) in God’s plan. For further discussion see D. L. Bock, Luke (BECNT), 2:1759-60.

[22:42]  ²⁸ sn This cup alludes to the wrath of God that Jesus would experience (in the form of suffering and death) for us. See Ps 11:6; 75:8-9; Isa 51:17, 19, 22 for this figure.

[22:42]  ²⁹ sn With the statement “Not my will but yours be done” Jesus submitted fully to God’s will.

[22:44]  ³⁰ tn Grk “And being in anguish.”

[22:44]  ³¹ tc Several important Greek mss (Ì⁷⁵ א¹ A B N T W 579 1071*) along with diverse and widespread versional witnesses lack 22:43-44. In addition, the verses are placed after Matt 26:39 by ˹³. Floating texts typically suggest both spuriousness and early scribal impulses to regard the verses as historically authentic. These verses are included in א*^,2 D L Θ Ψ 0171 ˹ Ï lat Ju Ir Hipp Eus. However, a number of mss mark the text with an asterisk or obelisk, indicating the scribe’s assessment of the verses as inauthentic. At the same time, these verses generally fit Luke’s style. Arguments can be given on both sides about whether scribes would tend to include or omit such comments about Jesus’ humanity and an angel’s help. But even if the verses are not literarily authentic, they are probably historically authentic. This is due to the fact that this text was well known in several different locales from a very early period. Since there are no synoptic parallels to this account and since there is no obvious reason for adding these words here, it is very likely that such verses recount a part of the actual suffering of our Lord. Nevertheless, because of the serious doubts as to these verses’ authenticity, they have been put in brackets. For an important discussion of this problem, see B. D. Ehrman and M. A. Plunkett, “The Angel and the Agony: The Textual Problem of Luke 22:43-44,” CBQ 45 (1983): 401-16.

[22:45]  ³² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[22:45]  ³³ tn Grk “from grief.” The word “exhausted” is not in the Greek text, but is implied; the disciples have fallen asleep from mental and emotional exhaustion resulting from their distress (see L&N 25.273; cf. TEV, NIV, NLT).

[22:46]  ³⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Jesus finding them asleep.

[22:46]  ³⁵ sn Jesus calls the disciples again to prayerful watchfulness with the words “Get up and pray” (see 22:40). The time is full of danger (22:53).

[4:34]  ³⁶ sn The one who sent me refers to the Father.

[4:34]  ³⁷ tn Or “to accomplish.”

[4:34]  ³⁸ tn The substantival ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as an English infinitive clause.

[6:15]  ³⁹ sn Jesus, knowing that his “hour” had not yet come (and would not, in this fashion) withdrew again up the mountainside alone. The ministry of miracles in Galilee, ending with this, the multiplication of the bread (the last public miracle in Galilee recorded by John) aroused such a popular response that there was danger of an uprising. This would have given the authorities a legal excuse to arrest Jesus. The nature of Jesus’ kingship will become an issue again in the passion narrative of the Fourth Gospel (John 18:33ff.). Furthermore, the volatile reaction of the Galileans to the signs prepares for and foreshadows the misunderstanding of the miracle itself, and even the misunderstanding of Jesus’ explanation of it (John 6:22-71).

[6:18]  ⁴⁰ tn Both “pray” and “be alert” are participles in the Greek text (“praying…being alert”). Both are probably instrumental, loosely connected with all of the preceding instructions. As such, they are not additional commands to do but instead are the means through which the prior instructions are accomplished.

[6:18]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “and toward it.”

[2:5]  ⁴² tn Grk “Have this attitude in/among yourselves which also [was] in Christ Jesus,” or “Have this attitude in/among yourselves which [you] also [have] in Christ Jesus.”

[5:7]  ⁴³ tn Grk “in the days of his flesh.”

[5:7]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Christ) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:7]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “who…having offered,” continuing the description of Christ from Heb 5:5-6.