10:40a
But: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But indicates a contrast between 10:39c–d and 10:40a. (In Greek the verb form that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to sit is emphasized. This emphasis and the conjunction but show a contrast between 10:39c–d and 10:40a.) James and John would certainly suffer like Jesus, but Jesus would not promise to give them the places of honor.
to sit at My right or left is not Mine to grant: Jesus was saying here that he did not have the authority to decide who would rule with him.
Here are some other ways to translate this:
I do not have the right to choose who will sit at my right and my left. (Good News Bible)
-or-
I don’t have the authority to grant you a seat at my right or left. (God’s Word)
In some languages it may be natural to translate this as direct or indirect speech: For example:
…it is not I who will say “Sit here next to me.”
-or-
…it is not I who will say who will sit there and rule with me.
to sit at My right: In some languages it may be natural to use a noun form instead of the verb to sit. This noun may be singular or plural. For example:
a seat at my right or my left
-or-
as for seats at my right hand or my left (New Jerusalem Bible)
is not Mine to grant: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as grant means “give.” In this context it refers to giving someone the seats of authority next to him. This statement implies that someone else will decide who will have those seats of authority. The next part of the verse makes that explicit.
10:40b
These seats belong to those for whom they have been prepared: The Greek says literally “but for those it has been prepared.” This is an ellipsis, that is, information is left out of the sentence. The Berean Standard Bible and most other versions supply some of the information that the Greek leaves implicit. This will be explained in the following notes.
Jesus did not say who would sit in the places of honor. But he indicated that those places had been prepared for certain people. This implies that God had already chosen the ones whom he will honor by allowing them to sit beside Jesus. The New Living Translation makes this explicit:
God has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen.
These seats: The phrase These seats refers to the positions on either side of Jesus that were mentioned in 10:40a.
belong to those for whom: The Berean Standard Bible has supplied the phrase belong to in order to make a complete English sentence. This helps to express what the sentence implies, that is, God has decided which people should have the right to sit next to Jesus. The phrase belong to does not indicate here that the people own those seats.
they have been prepared: This is a passive clause. Jesus did not say who prepared the places of honor. However, his statement implies that God has prepared them. If it is necessary in your language to translate this as an active clause, you could state that God has prepared these places. For example, the Good News Bible says:
It is God who will give these places to those for whom he has prepared them.
prepared: God has prepared the places of honor beside Jesus in the sense that he has decided who will have them. In some languages it may be necessary to say this in a different way. For example, the Contemporary English Version says:
But it isn’t for me to say who will sit at my right side and at my left. That is for God to decide.
Paragraph 10:41–45
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