Mark 10:40 (DBY)

Passage

but to sit on my right hand or on my left is not mine to give, but for those for whom it is prepared.

Nearby Context

Mark 10:38 And Jesus said to them, Ye do not know what ye ask. Are ye able to drink the cup which *I* drink, or be baptised with the baptism that *I* am baptised with?

Mark 10:39 And they said to him, We are able. And Jesus said to them, The cup that *I* drink ye will drink and with the baptism that *I* am baptised with ye will be baptised,

Mark 10:40 but to sit on my right hand or on my left is not mine to give, but for those for whom it is prepared.

Mark 10:41 And the ten having heard [of it], began to be indignant about James and John.

Mark 10:42 But Jesus having called them to [him], says to them, Ye know that those who are esteemed to rule over the nations exercise lordship over them; and their great men exercise authority over them;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "right", "hand", "left", "mine", "give", and "prepared". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "right" and "hand", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 39's "And they said to him We are..." into verse 41's "And the ten having heard of it...", so "right" and "hand" belong inside that flow. In Mark context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "right" and "hand" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.