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Mark 10:44

And whosoever of you will be the chiefest...

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

Spoken to:: Apostles
KJV issues:: 4

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.

What His Listeners Heard

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

Greek

Mark 10:44 καὶ ὃς ἂν θέλῃ ἐν ὑμῖν εἶναι πρῶτος, ἔσται πάντων δοῦλος:

Greek Word 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

Serving comes first and it lasts.

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.

Vocabulary (Greek word by word)

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."

KJV — word by word

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."

NIV — word by word

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

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.

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."