Gethsemane

Hand colored stencil print on momigami by Sadao Watanabe (1962). Image taken with permission from the SadaoHanga Catalogue where you can find many more images and information about Sadao Watanabe. For other images of Sadao Watanabe art works in TIPs, see here.

Following is a painting (“Jesus’ agony in the garden of Gethsemane”) by Kim Ki-chang (1913-2001):

Kim Ki-chang (pen name: Unbo) had been deaf and partially mute since the age of 7. He painted a series of 30 paintings for the “Life of Christ” cycle in 1952 during the Korean War. Kim portrayed Jesus as a seonbi / 선비, or a Joseon Period (1392-1910) gentleman scholar, wearing a gat / 갓 (hat) and dopo / 도포 (robe). For other images of Kim Ki-chang art works in TIPs, see here.

Following is a painting (“Prayer at Gethsemane”) by He Qi:

He Qi © 2021 All Rights Reserved.

Image taken from He Qi Art . For purchasing prints of this and other artworks by He Qi go to heqiart.com . For other images of He Qi art works in TIPs, see here

Following is a painting in the Hamzanama style:

Prayer at Gethsemane, 2017-2018, Paul Abraham with Manish Soni, Opaque watercolour and natural pigments on hand-made paper, © Sarmaya Arts Foundation. (2018.33.12)

Following is a 1973 painting of the JESUS MAFA project, a response to New Testament readings from the Lectionary by a Christian community in Cameroon, Africa. Each of the readings was selected and adapted to dramatic interpretation by the community members. Photographs of their interpretations were made, and these were then transcribed to paintings:

From Art in the Christian Tradition , a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. Image retrieved March 23, 2026. Original source: librairie-emmanuel.fr.

The following is a stained glass window from 1906 and made by R. T. Giles & Co. of Minneapolis for the First Presbyterian Church, Salt Lake City, Utah :

Photo by NateBergin, hosted by Wikimedia Commons under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license

Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )

Translation commentary on Mark 14:38

Exegesis:

grēgoreite kai proseuchesthe hina ‘you (plural) must watch and pray that’: Revised Standard Version takes ‘that’ to refer to the content of the prayer (as in v. 35 and 13.38); if, however, both verbs be taken with hina, it could indicate purpose – ‘watch and pray, in order that…’ (so Translator’s New Testament; cf. Moffatt “so that”).

peirasmon (only here in Mark; cf. peirazō 1.13) ‘temptation’: the context seems to demand the meaning of ‘temptation’ leading to sin, and not merely the idea of ‘trial’ or ‘testing.’

pneuma (cf. 2.8) … sarx (cf. 10.8) ‘spirit … flesh’: here presented as distinct and antithetical elements of man’s nature. The contrast between the two, say Arndt & Gingrich, is between the will as opposed to inferior feelings such as fear, anxiety, etc. which are attributed to the ‘flesh.’

prothumon (only here in Mark) ‘ready,’ ‘willing,’ ‘eager.’

asthenēs (only here in Mark); cf. astheneō (6.56) ‘weak,’ ‘powerless.’

Translation:

Watch would seem to be best translated as ‘stay awake’ or ‘stay alert.’

Enter into temptation is an awkward idiom in most languages, for one does not literally ‘enter into’ such an experience. In Tzeltal this concept is expressed as ‘end by being tempted,’ and in Copainalá Zoque one must say ‘fall when Satan tries you.’ In Highland Puebla Nahuatl one may ‘enter into sin,’ but not ‘enter into temptation.’

The spirit … the flesh is a fundamental contrast, but one which is variously expressed in different languages. Often, however, spirit is equivalent to ‘heart’ (Eastern Highland Otomi, Loma (Liberia), Guerrero Amuzgo, Highland Puebla Nahuatl ), and flesh may be rendered as ‘body’ (Guerrero Amuzgo, Highland Puebla Nahuatl , Tzeltal), ‘you yourself’ (Central Tarahumara). The following translations are illustrative of the contrastive expressions: ‘your hearts are ready but your bodies are weak’ (Highland Puebla Nahuatl ), ‘your heart is strong but you yourselves are not strong’ (Central Tarahumara), ‘your heart has strength, but your body does not have strength’ (Tzeltal), ‘your heart desires to do good, but your heart is weak,’ in which ‘heart’ must be used in both clauses since it not only stands for the center of the personality, but is also the symbol of typical human nature (Loma (Liberia)).

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of Mark. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1961. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator's Notes on Mark 14:38

14:38a

Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation: The clause so that you will not enter into temptation is closely related to the words Watch and pray. Scholars interpret this relationship in two different ways:

(1) The clause tells the purpose for which the disciples should watch and pray. For example:

Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation. (Berean Standard Bible)
-or-
Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. (New Living Translation, 1996 edition)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, King James Version, New Living Translation, 1996 edition)

(2) The clause tells what the disciples should pray. For example, the Good News Bible says:

pray that you will not fall into temptation

(Good News Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New Century Version)

The word “that” with certain speech verbs can introduce either the purpose or content of the speech, so some English versions are ambiguous. It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). This seems to fit both the Greek grammar and the context better. However, both interpretations are valid.

Watch and pray: The verbs Watch and pray are plural forms in Greek. This indicates that Jesus was speaking here to all three disciples. They were to continue to stay awake and continue to pray. See the comments on these verbs in 14:34b.

pray: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as pray means “speak to God.” Some languages use different words to refer to specific kinds of prayer, such as requests, thanks, or praise. Here you should use a general term that means “speak” or “talk.”

Avoid a term that may imply magical or meaningless words.

enter into temptation: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as enter into temptation is literally “come into temptation.” The phrase is a figure of speech. It means “yield to temptation.” It implies that when a person is tempted to do something sinful, he agrees to do it.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

so that you will be able to resist temptation
-or-
so that you do not agree to sin when you are tempted

Notice that the second example uses a passive verb. In some languages it may be necessary to use an active verb and make the subject explicit. If that is true in your language, you may supply “Satan” or use an indefinite subject. For example:

so that if Satan tempts you,(plur) you(plur) will not yield

It may also be necessary to indicate what Satan was tempting the disciples to do. For example:

so that you(plur) will not sin when Satan tempts you(plur) to stop trusting me

temptation: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as temptation here refers to an enticement to sin. A temptation is anything that makes a person consider sinning in order to avoid difficulty or receive some benefit.

See how you translated “tempted” at 1:13a. In some languages there may be an idiom to express the idea.

14:38b

For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak: This statement expresses a contrast: a person wants to do what is right but he is not able to do it without God’s help.

Here are some other ways to translate this contrast:

I know that you(plur) want to do what is right, but you(plur) are unable to do it in/by your(plur) own strength.
-or-
Your(plur) heart/mind wants to do something good, but your(plur) body lacks strength.

the spirit…the body: Jesus was referring mainly to the disciples when he talked about the spirit and the body. However, Jesus expressed his statement in a general way that could also apply to other people who try to resist temptation. You may translate either way. Here is one way to refer to people in general:

A person’s spirit is willing, but his body is weak.

the spirit is willing: Jesus did not say what the disciples were willing to do. There are three possibilities:

(1) They were willing to do the right thing.

(2) They were willing to resist sin / temptation.

(3) They were willing to watch.

The Greek text and English versions are ambiguous about this issue. If you are able to translate ambiguously in your language, it is recommended that you do so. If you need to specify what they were willing to do, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

the spirit: In this context the phrase the spirit refers to the part of a person that thinks and feels and determines his character. It represents the person himself and his own will. In some languages, this may be expressed as:

You(plur)
-or-
People

In some languages speakers use a certain part of a person, such as “heart,” “liver,” or “thoughts,” to express this. If that is true in your language, consider whether you could use that expression here.

but: The connector that the Berean Standard Bible translates as but indicates a contrast. It shows that a person wants to do right, but is not able to resist temptation without God’s help. Express the contrast in a natural way in your language.

the body is weak: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the body is literally “the flesh” (Revised Standard Version). In this context it represents human ability or human strength in general. It includes the physical body and also human self-control. Here it does not represent sinful human nature that is opposed to God.

In some languages a word like body may not be used in such a general way. If that is true in your language, here are some other ways to express the meaning of the phrase the body is weak:

your/their strength is lacking
-or-
they/you are weak
-or-
they/you are unable to do so

Paragraph 14:39–40

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