Matthew Chapter 20 verse 27 Holy Bible

ASV Matthew 20:27

and whosoever would be first among you shall be your servant:
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BBE Matthew 20:27

And whoever has a desire to be first among you, let him take the lowest place:
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DARBY Matthew 20:27

and whosoever will be first among you, let him be your bondman;
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KJV Matthew 20:27

And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
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WBT Matthew 20:27


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WEB Matthew 20:27

Whoever desires to be first among you shall be your bondservant,
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YLT Matthew 20:27

and whoever may will among you to be first, let him be your servant;
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Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerse 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.

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(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.