Matthew 20:27
New International Version
and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—

New Living Translation
and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave.

English Standard Version
and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,

Berean Standard Bible
and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave—

Berean Literal Bible
and whoever wishes to be first among you, he will be your slave--

King James Bible
And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:

New King James Version
And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—

New American Standard Bible
and whoever desires to be first among you shall be your slave;

NASB 1995
and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave;

NASB 1977
and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave;

Legacy Standard Bible
and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave;

Amplified Bible
and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your [willing and humble] slave;

Christian Standard Bible
and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave;

Holman Christian Standard Bible
and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave;

American Standard Version
and whosoever would be first among you shall be your servant:

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
“And whoever wants to be first among you let him be a servant to you.”

Contemporary English Version
And if you want to be first, you must be the slave of the rest.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And he that will be first among you, shall be your servant.

English Revised Version
and whosoever would be first among you shall be your servant:

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Whoever wants to be most important among you will be your slave.

Good News Translation
and if one of you wants to be first, you must be the slave of the others--

International Standard Version
and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave.

Literal Standard Version
and whoever may will among you to be first, let him be your servant;

Majority Standard Bible
and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave—

New American Bible
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.

NET Bible
and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave--

New Revised Standard Version
and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave;

New Heart English Bible
And whoever desires to be first among you must be your slave,

Webster's Bible Translation
And whoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:

Weymouth New Testament
and whoever desires to be first among you shall be your bondservant;

World English Bible
Whoever desires to be first among you shall be your bondservant,

Young's Literal Translation
and whoever may will among you to be first, let him be your servant;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
A Mother's Request
26It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave— 28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”…

Cross References
Matthew 20:26
It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,

Matthew 20:28
just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many."


Treasury of Scripture

And whoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:

whosoever.

Matthew 18:4
Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Mark 9:33-35
And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? …

Luke 22:26
But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.

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Bondman Bondservant Chief Desire Desires First Lowest Servant Slave Wants Wishes
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Bondman Bondservant Chief Desire Desires First Lowest Servant Slave Wants Wishes
Matthew 20
1. Jesus, by the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, shows that God is debtor unto no man;
17. foretells his passion;
20. by answering the mother of Zebedee's children, teaches his disciples to be humble;
29. and gives two blind men their sight.














(27) Whosoever will be chief.--Better, first, as continuing the thought of Matthew 20:16. The "servant" (better, slave) implies a lower and more menial service than that of the "minister" of the preceding verse, just as the "chief" or "first" involves a higher position than the "greatness" there spoken of. We introduce a false antithesis if we assign the "service" to this life, and the "greatness" as its reward to the life after death. The true teaching of the words is that the greatness is the service.

Verse 27. - Whosoever will be (qe/lh""... εϊναι) chief (first, πρῶτος)... servant (bondservant, δοῦλος). The characteristic of the Christian ruler should be humility. Christ enforces the teaching of the previous verse more emphatically by altering the terms in which it was stated. "Great" now becomes "first;" "minister," "slave." Of these two last words the former would imply rather occasional service, to meet some temporary call; the latter, the regular business of a slave bound to his master at all times. We do not gather from this passage that the Christian minister, called by God, is to take his doctrine from his congregation, or to be directed by them in his labours; but he is to devote time, talents, faculties, to the good of his flock, to spend and be spent in their service, to let no private interests or pursuits interfere with his manifold duties to those whom he oversees. The same sentiment is found in Matthew 23:11.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

whoever
ὃς (hos)
Personal / Relative Pronoun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3739: Who, which, what, that.

wants
θέλῃ (thelē)
Verb - Present Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 2309: To will, wish, desire, be willing, intend, design.

to be
εἶναι (einai)
Verb - Present Infinitive Active
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

first
πρῶτος (prōtos)
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 4413: First, before, principal, most important. Contracted superlative of pro; foremost.

among
ἐν (en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

you
ὑμῖν (hymin)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.

must be
ἔσται (estai)
Verb - Future Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

your
ὑμῶν (hymōn)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.

slave—
δοῦλος (doulos)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 1401: (a) (as adj.) enslaved, (b) (as noun) a (male) slave. From deo; a slave.


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NT Gospels: Matthew 20:27 Whoever desires to be first among you (Matt. Mat Mt)
Matthew 20:26
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