Mark 10:40 (YLT)

Passage

but to sit on my right and on my left, is not mine to give, but--to those for whom it hath been prepared.'

Nearby Context

Mark 10:38 and Jesus said to them, `Ye have not known what ye ask; are ye able to drink of the cup that I drink of, and with the baptism that I am baptized with--to be baptized?'

Mark 10:39 And they said to him, `We are able;' and Jesus said to them, `Of the cup indeed that I drink of, ye shall drink, and with the baptism that I am baptized with, ye shall be baptized;

Mark 10:40 but to sit on my right and on my left, is not mine to give, but--to those for whom it hath been prepared.'

Mark 10:41 And the ten having heard, began to be much displeased at James and John,

Mark 10:42 but Jesus having called them near, saith to them, `Ye have known that they who are considered to rule the nations do exercise lordship over them, and their great ones do exercise authority upon them;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "right", "left", "mine", "give", "but--to", "hath", "been", and "prepared". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "right" and "left", 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 began to...", so "right" and "left" 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 "left" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.