What Does Mark 10:35 Mean in the King James?

And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.

Mark 10:35 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

THE KEY

Their first request is for Jesus to pre-approve whatever they will ask before they name it.

THE MEANING

A desire can approach as a request for consent before it appears in its actual words. This verse places the reader in that pause: the yes is sought while the particular thing remains unnamed. The tension lies in the sequence, with agreement asked for before disclosure.

THE ROOT

αἰτήσωμεν

aitēsōmen

GROWS FROM

αἰτέω

The Greek verbal root means to ask or make a request.

“desire / ask” in this verse is aitēsōmen. The Greek form ⁨αἰτήσωμεν⁩ (aitēsōmen, “we ask”) places the act of requesting beneath the KJV’s “desire.” The preceding ⁨θέλομεν⁩ (thelomen, “we wish”) leads into that ask, holding wanting and requesting together while the specific request remains unnamed.

ALSO GROWS

aitēma: request; thing asked for

αἴτημα

This noun makes the ask itself visible as a distinct thing, still to be disclosed here.

aitēsis: asking; petition

αἴτησις

This branch names the act of petitioning, which James and John make before stating its contents.

THE PATTERN

An open-ended request is brought into the open by naming what is wanted.

And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you?

Mark 10:36 · KJVJesus answers their blanket request with a question that invites them to name its contents.

And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.

Mark 10:51 · KJVThe question makes the man’s particular desire explicit before the response.

In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.

1 Kings 3:5 · KJVThe invitation to ask leaves the request open until Solomon gives it shape.

THE THREAD

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

Matthew 7:7 · KJV

The verb beneath “desire” here is ⁨αἰτέω⁩ (aiteō), “ask” or “request”; Matthew 7:7 uses the same verb: “Ask, and it shall be given you.” The shared word-family keeps the focus on the act of asking, while the next line in Mark brings the request’s hidden contents into view.

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