Mark 14:26
in Mark 14And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when they had sung a hymn, they went out unto the mount of Olives.
KJV
And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.
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This verse in Mark 14
Commentary
11 notes on this verse(ubi sup.) That hymn in the Gospel of John (John 17.) may also be meant, which the Lord sang, returning thanks to the Father, in which also He prayed, raising His eyes to heaven, for Himself and His disciples, and those who were to believe, through their word. (ubi sup.) Beautifully also does the Lord lead out His disciples, when they had tasted His Sacraments, into the mount of Olives, to show typically that we ought through the reception of the Sacraments to rise up to higher gifts of virtue, and graces of the Holy Ghost, that we may be anointed in heart.
This site's exposition
when they had sung an hymn
When they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives, almost certainly the second half of the Hallel, Psalms 115 through 118, sung at the close of the Passover meal by long-standing Jewish custom. The commentators note the strangeness and the strength of it, Jesus singing praise on his way toward betrayal and the cross, the same Psalm 118 he had already applied to himself at the temple as the stone the builders rejected. The short verse marks the last calm moment before Gethsemane's agony begins.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church4 voices
And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. This is what we read in the psalm: "The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will praise Him" (Psalm 21). The hymn can also be …
They gave thanks both before drinking and after drinking, so that we too might know that we ought to give thanks and sing hymns both before food and after food. By this the Lord also shows that death for our sake is not fearful to …
As they returned thanks, before they drank, so they return thanks after drinking; wherefore it is said, And when they had sung a hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives, to teach us to return thanks both before and after our food. He also shows by this that He was glad to die for us, because when about to be betrayed, He deigned to praise God. He also teaches us when we fall into troubles for the sake of the salvation of many, not to be sad, but to give thanks to God, who through our distress works the salvation of many. Again, He went out into a mountain, that they might come to Him in a lonely place, and take Him without tumult. For if they had come to Him, whilst He was abiding in the city, the multitude of the people would have been in an uproar, and then His enemies, who took occasion against Him, should seem to have slain Him justly, because He stirred up the people.
For by a hymn he means the praise of the Lord, as is said in the Psalms, The poor shall eat and be satisfied; they that seek after the Lord shall praise him. (Ps. 22:26, 29) And again, All such as be fat upon earth have eaten and worshipped. Jesus also is held captive on the mount of Olives, whence He ascended to heaven, that we may know, that we ascend into heaven from that place in which we watch and pray; there we are bound and do not tend back again to earth.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And when they had sung an hymn,.... The Hallell, used at the passover: they went out into the Mount of Olives; Christ, and eleven of his disciples; for Judas now separated from them, and went to the chief priests to acquaint them how things were, where Jesus was going, and where they might apprehend him; See Gill on Mat 26:30.
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
This night - The Jews in reckoning their days began with the evening, according to the Mosaic computation, which called the evening and the morning the first day, Gen. i, 5. And so that which after sunset is here called this night is, ver. 30, called today. The expression there is peculiarly significant.
quarantine:anchor (2026-07-29) — cites-ver-30-anchored-26-26
Though Christ was in the midst of his enemies, yet he did not, for fear of them, omit this sweet duty of singing psalms. Paul and Silas sang, when the prisoners heard them. This was an evangelical song, and gospel times are often spoken of in the Old Testament, as times of rejoicing, and praise is expressed by singing.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
We see in these verses, how well our Lord foreknew the weakness and infirmity of His disciples. He tells them plainly what they were going to do: "All of you shall desert Me." He tells Peter in particular of the astounding sin which he was about to commit, "This night, before the rooster crows twice, you shall deny Me three times." Yet our Lord's fore-knowledge did not prevent His choosing these twelve disciples to be His apostles. He allowed them to be His intimate friends and companions, knowing perfectly well what they would one day do.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
proposed
We see in these verses, how well our Lord foreknew the weakness and infirmity of His disciples. He tells them plainly what they were going to do: "All of you shall desert Me." He tells Peter in particular of the astounding sin which he was about to commit, "This night, before the rooster crows twice, you shall deny Me three times." Yet our Lord's fore-knowledge did not prevent His choosing these twelve disciples to be His apostles. He allowed them to be His intimate friends and companions, knowing perfectly well what they would one day do. With a clear foresight of the melancholy weakness and lack of faith which they would exhibit at the end of His ministry — He granted them the mighty privilege of being continually with Him, and hearing His voice. This is a remarkable fact, and deserves to be had in continual remembrance. Let us take comfort in the thought that the Lord Jesus does not cast off His believing people because of failures and imperfections . He knows what they are. He takes them, as the husband takes the wife — with all their blemishes and defects; and once joined to Him by faith, He will never leave them. He is a merciful and compassionate High-priest. It is His glory to pass over the transgressions of His people, and to cover their many sins. He knew what they were before conversion — wicked, guilty, and defiled; yet He loved them. He knows what they will be after conversion — weak, erring, and frail; yet He loves them. He has undertaken to save them, notwithstanding all their shortcomings, and what He has undertaken He will perform. Let us learn to pass a charitable judgment on the conduct of professing believers. Let us not set them down in a low place, and say they have no grace — because we see much weakness and corruption in them.
How the passage was read
On Mark 14:12-26On Mark 14:12-26
The meal on the table
Mark dates the meal precisely: “when they sacrificed the Passover lamb.” Passover (Pesach) was then a Temple feast: the lamb slain in the courts that afternoon, eaten that night with unleavened bread (matzah) and wine, in a room inside Jerusalem, in company: exactly the arrangements the disciples are sent to make. The hymn sung on the way out (14:26) would by long custom have been from the Hallel, Psalms 113–118, the Passover psalms: which means “the stone the builders rejected” (Psalm 118:22) was likely on His lips that night.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Pesachim 10 (the meal's order) · Psalm 118:22 (the Hallel's rejected stone)
The words behind it
8 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ὑμνήσαντες | humnesantes | having sung a hymn | G5214 → | |
| ἐξῆλθον | exelthon | they went out | G1831 → | 216 times |
| εἰς | eis | to | G1519 → | 1755 times |
| τὸ | to | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ὄρος | oros | Mount | G3735 → | 62 times |
| τῶν | ton | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἐλαιῶν.¶ | elaion | of Olives. | G1638 → | 11 times |
ΚαὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ὑμνήσαντεςhaving sung a hymn
humnesantesG5214 →
ἐξῆλθονthey went out
exelthonG1831 →216 times
εἰςto
eisG1519 →1755 times
τὸthe
toG3588 →19766 times
ὄροςMount
orosG3735 →62 times
τῶν<the>
tonG3588 →19766 times
ἐλαιῶν.¶of Olives.
elaionG1638 →11 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Corinthians 14:15What then shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind. I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.
it leads to
- Colossians 3:16
Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to…
- Ephesians 6:18
Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.
- Ephesians 5:17–20
Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
- John 4:23–24
But a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him.
- Jude 1:20
But you, beloved, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,
- Colossians 3:16
Through
Luke 22:39Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed Him.
it leads to
- Matthew 21:1
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent out two disciples,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Luke 21:37
Every day Jesus taught at the temple, but every evening He went out to spend the night on the Mount of Olives.
- John 18:1–2
After Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples across the Kidron Valley, where they entered a garden.
- Matthew 21:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies16
- The Son of Man in 1 Enoch
- Abba, Father
- The Major Prophets
- Gethsemane (The Garden Called the Oil Press)
- Jesus on the Father
- Jesus: Titles & Roles
- Mary Magdalene: the Witness at the Tomb
- The Messianic Secret: Mark
- Passover
- Peter's Denial: Matthew 26 · Mark 14 · Luke 22 · John 18
- Scribes and the Sanhedrin
- The Son of God
- The Son of Man: Daniel 7:13-14
- The Ransom: Mark 10:45
- The Right Hand
- The Tree
About Mark
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Gospels; Bede, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bede, On the Gospel of Mark; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Lightfoot, Horae Hebraicae et Talmudicae on Matthew; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Pseudo-Jerome, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Mark and Theophylact of Ohrid, Catena Aurea by Aquinas.