Mark 10:44 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest...

Spoken to: 

Apostles

The other apostles express displeasure because James and John asked for good places at the table. 

KJV: 

Mark 10:44 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.

NIV : 

Mark 10:44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.

3RD (NLT, if not otherwise identified): 

NLT Mark 10:44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else.

LISTENERS HEARD: 

And whoever desires among you to be highest will be a slave of all.

MY TAKE: 

Serving comes first and it lasts.

GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page): 

GREEK ORDER: 

καὶ   ὃς    ἂν     θέλῃ    ἐν      ὑμῖν  εἶναι  πρῶτος, ἔσται      πάντων   δοῦλος:
And who ever desires among you to be  highest  will be a of all.   a slave

LOST IN TRANSLATION: 

This verse reads like a punch line to the previous verse, Mark 10:43.

The "will" in the KJV here does not indicate a future tense. It is the verb that means "wants." This is better done in modern translations.

"First" is one of Jesus's favorite "many meaning" words. It means "highest" and "foremost." It has a special resonance in Jesus's time because the "firstborn" son inherited. This verse contrasts that status, the highest position in a house, with the lowest, "a slave" not even "the slave," one among many.

The word translated as "servant" actually means "slave." It is the last word in the last line, so it is the punchline, contrasting with the "first" in the beginning.

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES: 

4
  • WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "of" means "among."
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "will" does not mean the future tense. It means "want" or "desire."
  • MW - Missing Word -- Since the verb "be" is an infinitive, the word "to" should appear here for "to be."
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The word translated as "chiefest" means "first." It is confusing because the word does not necessarily means a ruler or chief.

# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES: 

3
  • MW - Missing Word -- The untranslated word means "among."
  • MW - Missing Word -- The untranslated word means "you."
  • WW - Missing Word -- The "must" should be a "will" or "shall."

# 3RD TRANSLATION ISSUES: 

2
  • WW - Missing Word -- The "must" should be a "will" or "shall."
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "else" doesn't exist in the source.

EACH WORD of KJV : 

And -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and", but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").

whosoever -- "Whoever" is from a special construction connecting a pronoun with a conditional particle. Together, they begin a relative, conditional clause that refers to each individual person or thing.

of -- (WW) The word translated as "of" means "within", "with," or "among."

you  -- The Greek pronoun "you" here is plural and in the form of an indirect object, "to you", "for you", etc. 

will  -- (CW) The Greek word translated as "will" is not the same as the "will" in English, which primarily expresses the future tense. Its primary purpose is to express consent and even a delight in doing something, "want," and "desire" capture it.

missing "to"  -- (MW) This "to" is added because the infinitive form of the following verb requires a "to" in English.

be -- The verb "be" here is the common form of "to be" in Greek. It means to have a certain characteristic or remain in a certain condition. It also equates terms or assigns characteristics.  The form of the verb is an infinitive, "to be." The phrase is "wants to be."

the -- (IS) There is no article in the Greek

chiefest, -- (CW) The word translated as "chiefest" takes a lot of different types of "first" meanings from its context. In place, this means "the foremost." Of time, it means "the initial." In order, it means "the first." In math, it means prime numbers. Of rank or degree, it means "the highest" or "the best."

shall -- This helping verb "shall" indicates that the following verb is the future tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.

be -- The verb "be" here is the common form of "to be" in Greek. It means to have a certain characteristic or remain in a certain condition. It also equates terms or assigns characteristics. 

servant --  This is the last word in the verse, acting like a punchline. This word means "slave," but it is translated as "servant" in the KJV. The word at the end of the previous verse actually means "servant" so this word expresses the idea in a more extreme way.

of --  This comes from the form of the following adjective.

all. -- The word translated as "all" is the Greek adjective meaning "all", "the whole", "every," and similar ideas. When it is used as a noun, we would say "everything." As an adverb, it means "in every way", "on every side," and "altogether."

EACH WORD of NIV : 

and -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and", but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").

whosoever -- "Whoever" is from a special construction connecting a pronoun with a conditional particle. Together, they begin a relative, conditional clause that refers to each individual person or thing.

missing "among"  -- (MW) The untranslated word means "within", "with," or "among."

missing "you"  -- -- (MW) The Greek pronoun "you" here is plural and in the form of an indirect object, "to you", "for you", etc. 

wants-- The Greek word translated as "wants" primarily expresses the future tense. Its primary purpose is to express consent and even a delight in doing something, "want," and "desire" capture it.

to -- This "to" is added because the infinitive form of the following verb requires a "to" in English.

be -- The verb "be" here is the common form of "to be" in Greek. It means to have a certain characteristic or remain in a certain condition. It also equates terms or assigns characteristics.  The form of the verb is an infinitive, "to be." The phrase is "wants to be."

first, --  The word translated as "first" takes a lot of different types of "first" meanings from its context. In place, this means "the foremost." Of time, it means "the initial." In order, it means "the first." In math, it means the prime numbers. Of rank or degree, it means "the highest" or "the best."

must-- (WW) This helping verb "must" should be a "shall" or "will" to indicate that the following verb is the future tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English. There is not Greek word or form here that requires a "must."

be -- The verb "be" here is the common form of "to be" in Greek. It means to have a certain characteristic or remain in a certain condition. It also equates terms or assigns characteristics.

slave --  This is the last word in the verse, acting like a punchline. This word means "slave," but it is translated as "servant" in the KJV. The word at the end of the previous verse actually means "servant" so this word expresses the idea in a more extreme way.

of --  This comes from the form of the following adjective.

all. -- The word translated as "all" is the Greek adjective meaning "all", "the whole", "every," and similar ideas. When it is used as a noun, we would say "everything." As an adverb, it means "in every way", "on every side," and "altogether."

EACH WORD 3RD (NLT or as noted): 

NLT

and -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and", but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").

who-- The "who" part of this word is a demonstrative pronoun ("this," "that"), but it often acts as a pronoun ("he", "she", "who").

ever --The "-soever"is the conjunction usually translated as "if." So the sense is "who, if."

wants-- The Greek word translated as "wants" primarily expresses the future tense. Its primary purpose is to express consent and even a delight in doing something, "want," and "desire" capture it.

to -- This "to" is added because the infinitive form of the following verb requires a "to" in English.

be -- The verb "be" here is the common form of "to be" in Greek. It means to have a certain characteristic or remain in a certain condition. It also equates terms or assigns characteristics.  The form of the verb is an infinitive, "to be." The phrase is "wants to be."

first, --  The word translated as "first" takes a lot of different types of "first" meanings from its context. In place, this means "the foremost." Of time, it means "the initial." In order, it means "the first." In math, it means the prime numbers. Of rank or degree, it means "the highest" or "the best."

among --  The word translated as "among" means "within", "with," or "among."

you  -- The Greek pronoun "you" here is plural and in the form of an indirect object, "to you", "for you", etc. 

must-- (WW) This helping verb "must" should be a "shall" or "will" to indicate that the following verb is the future tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English. There is not Greek word or form here that requires a "must."

be -- The verb "be" here is the common form of "to be" in Greek. It means to have a certain characteristic or remain in a certain condition. It also equates terms or assigns characteristics. 

slave --  This is the last word in the verse, acting like a punchline. This word means "slave," but it is translated as "servant" in the KJV. The word at the end of the previous verse actually means "servant" so this word expresses the idea in a more extreme way.

of --  This comes from the form of the following adjective.

everyone  -- The word translated as "everyone else." is the Greek adjective meaning "all", "the whole", "every," and similar ideas. When it is used as a noun, we would say "everything." As an adverb, it means "in every way", "on every side," and "altogether."

else-- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "else" in the Greek source

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV : 

καὶ [1089 verses](conj/adv)"And" is from kai, which is the conjunction joining phrases and clauses, "and," or "but." After words implying sameness, "as" (the same opinion as you). Used in series, joins positive with negative "Not only...but also." Also used to give emphasis, "even", "also," and "just." In questions, introduces an objection or express surprise, "pray." Before a participle, express either "and" or "and if," "although," and "albeit." With adverbs and in answers, to give emphasis, "really,"

ὃς ἂν [36 verses](pron sg masc nom)pron sg masc nom)(partic) This is a special construction that means "whoever" "whatever," or "who if any."  It combines the relative pronoun (hos) with the particle of possibility (an). The literal sense is "this one might." Together, they begin a relative, conditional clause that refers to each individual.

θέλῃ [64 verses](verb 3rd sg pres subj act) "Will" is from thelo, which as a verb means "to be willing (of consent rather than desire)", "to wish", "to ordain", "to decree", "to be resolved to a purpose" "to maintain", "to hold", "to delight in, and "will (too express a future event)." As an adverb, "willingly," and "gladly." and "to desire." As an adjective, it means "wished for" and "desired."

ἐν [413 verses](prep) "In" is en, which means, with a dative object, "in," "on," "at," "by," "among," "within," "surrounded by," "in one's hands," "in one's power," "during,"  and "with." With the accusative, it means "into,"

ὑμῖν [289 verses](pron 2nd pl dat) "To you" is humin the plural form of su the pronoun of the second person, "you."

εἶναι [614 verses](verb pres inf act) "Be" is eimi, (einai)which means "to be," "to exist," "to be the case," of circumstance and events "to happen,"  and "is possible." With the genitive object, the sense is "belongs to." With the dative, it means "have" where the subject and object are reversed.

πρῶτος [41 verses](adj sg masc nom) "Chiefest" is from protos. In place, this means "the foremost." Of time, it means "the initial." In order, it means "the first." In math, it means the prime numbers. Of rank or degree, it means "the highest" or "the best."

ἔσται [614 verses](verb 3rd sg fut ind mid) "Shall be" is from esti which means "to be", "to exist", "to be the case," and "is possible."

πάντων [212 verses] ( adj pl masc gen ) "Of all" is pas, which means "all", "the whole", "every", "anyone", "all kinds," and "anything." In the adverbial form, it means "every way", "on every side", "in every way," and "altogether."

δοῦλος: [56 verses](noun sg masc nom) "Servant" is from doulos, which means a "slave," a "born bondsman," or "one made a slave."

Wordplay: 

Contrasts "first" with "slave." This verse is the same as Matthew 20:27 except that it replaces "your slave" with "slave of all."

Related Verses: 

Unimportant Opinions and Imaginings: 

This verse is the third of four verses (Mar 10:42-45) illustrating Christ's usually pattern of three plus one. However, it also no only echoes Mart 10:31, revealing the general theme of the chapter. Being a salve to others connects the major events here that initially seem disconnected.

  • Starting with his discussion of marriage (Mar 10:3-12), Christ makes it clear that spouses are, in a very strict sense, slaves to each other.
  • To receive the kingdom (Mar 10:14-15), we must be as accepting as a little child or, in another sense, as a slave.
  • In his discussion about worldly riches (Mar 10:18-28), Christ illustrates that the choice is to be slaves to our possessions or slaves to God and others.
  • In terms of our relationships (Mar 10:29-31), we are committed to a hundred times more people and a the last among them.
  • In his accepting death (Mar 10:33-34), Christ accepts slavery to his divine purpose.
  • In answering the request of James and John (Mar 10:36-45), he tells them that they, like him, must be slaves to their destiny, but as the slave of slaves, he hasn't the authority to promise them a special place.
  • The chapter ends (Mar 10:51-52) by Jesus granting a blind man his sight.

Front Page Date: 

Jul 22 2023