John 12:27
Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
Study Note
Study Note
'Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour' — John's Gethsemane, compressed into two clauses, shows Jesus confronting the cross with genuine psychological turmoil while simultaneously embracing it as his purpose. The Greek tarassō ('troubled') is the same verb used in John 11:33 at Lazarus's tomb, suggesting real emotional distress rather than impassive divine serenity. The rhetorical question 'what shall I say?' followed by immediate self-correction ('but for this cause came I') models the prayer-pattern of honest petition followed by submission to divine purpose — a structure that shaped Christian prayer theology across the centuries.
Other Translations
Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this cause came I unto this hour.
`Now hath my soul been troubled, and what? shall I say--Father, save me from this hour? --but because of this I came to this hour;
Now is my soul troubled; and what am I to say? Father, keep me from this hour. No: for this purpose have I come to this hour.
Cross References
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Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.
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