MARK 8:34 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) [ref]Calling out to them and to the crowd, he said, “Anyone who wants to follow me must first put aside their own desires and then follow me—even through very difficult times.

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT And having summoned the crowd along with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

UST Then Jesus told his apprentices and the large group of people to come to him. He told them, “People who want to come with me and be my apprentices must refuse to do what they want to do. They must be willing to suffer or die as if they were carrying their own crosses when they come with me as my apprentices.

BLB And having summoned the crowd with His disciples, He said to them, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and let him take up his cross, and let him follow Me.

AICNT And calling the crowd together with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone wishes to follow me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

OEB Calling the people and his disciples to him, Jesus said, ‘If anyone wishes to walk in my steps, they must renounce self, take up their cross, and follow me.

WEBBE He called the multitude to himself with his disciples and said to them, “Whoever wants to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Then Jesus called the crowd, along with his disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.

LSV And having called near the multitude, with His disciples, He said to them, “Whoever wills to come after Me—let him disown himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me;

FBV Jesus called the crowd and his disciples over to him, and told them, “If you want to follow me, you must give up on yourselves, pick up your cross and follow me.

TCNT Then he called the crowd over, along with his disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wants to be one of my disciples, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.

T4T Then he summoned the crowd along with his disciples so that they might listen to him. He told them, “If any one of you wants to be my disciple, you must not do only what you yourself want to do. Specifically, you must be willing to allow people to hurt you and to disgrace you. That is what they do to criminals who are forced to carry crosses [MET] to the places where they will be crucified. That is what anyone who wants to be my disciple must do.

LEB ¶ And summoning the crowd together with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone wants to come[fn] after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

8:34 Some manuscripts have “to follow”

BBE And turning to the mass of people with his disciples, he said to them, If any man has the desire to come after me, let him give up all other desires, and take up his cross and come after me.

Moff Then he called the crowd to him with his disciples and said to them, "If anyone wishes to follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and so follow me;

Wymth Then calling to Him the crowd and also His disciples, He said to them, "If any one is desirous of following me, let him ignore self and take up his cross, and so be my follower.

ASV And he called unto him the multitude with his disciples, and said unto them, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

DRA And calling the multitude together with his disciples, he said to them: If any man will follow me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

YLT And having called near the multitude, with his disciples, he said to them, 'Whoever doth will to come after me — let him disown himself, and take up his cross, and follow me;

Drby And having called the crowd with his disciples, he said to them, Whoever desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.

RV And he called unto him the multitude with his disciples, and said unto them, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

SLT And having called the crowd with his disciples, he said to them, Whoever wills to come after me, let him absolutely deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Wbstr And when he had called the people to him with his disciples also, he said to them, Whoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

KJB-1769 ¶ And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

KJB-1611 ¶ And when he had called the people vnto him, with his disciples also, he said vnto them, Whosoeuer will come after me, let him denie himselfe, and take vp his crosse and follow mee.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps And when he had called the people vnto hym, with his disciples also, he said vnto them: Whosoeuer wyll folow me, let hym forsake hym selfe, and take vp his crosse, and folowe me.
(And when he had called the people unto him, with his disciples also, he said unto them: Whosoever will follow me, let him forsake himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.)

Gnva And hee called the people vnto him with his disciples, and saide vnto them, Whosoeuer will follow me, let him forsake himselfe, and take vp his crosse, and follow me.
(And he called the people unto him with his disciples, and said unto them, Whosoever will follow me, let him forsake himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. )

Cvdl And he called vnto him the people with his disciples, and sayde vnto them: Who so euer wyl folowe me, let him denye himself, and take vp his crosse, and folowe me.
(And he called unto him the people with his disciples, and said unto them: Whoso/Whoever ever will follow me, let him denye himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.)

TNT And he called the people vnto him with his disciples also and sayd vnto them: Whosoever will folowe me let him forsake him sylfe and take vp his crosse and folowe me.
(And he called the people unto him with his disciples also and said unto them: Whosoever will follow me let him forsake himself and take up his cross and follow me. )

Wycl And whanne the puple was clepid togidere, with hise disciplis, he seide to hem, If ony man wole come after me, denye he hym silf, and take his cros, and sue he me.
(And when the people was called together, with his disciples, he said to hem, If any man will come after me, denye he himself, and take his cros, and sue he me.)

Luth Und er rief zu sich das Volk samt seinen Jüngern und sprach zu ihnen: Wer mir will nach folgen, der verleugne sich selbst und nehme sein Kreuz auf sich und folge mir nach.
(And he shouted to/for itself/yourself/themselves the people together_with his disciples and spoke to/for to_them: Who to_me will after follow/obey, the/of_the deny itself/yourself/themselves himself/itself and take be cross(n) on/in/to itself/yourself/themselves and consequence to_me after.)

ClVg Et convocata turba cum discipulis suis, dixit eis: Si quis vult me sequi, deneget semetipsum: et tollat crucem suam, et sequatur me.[fn]
(And convocata crowd when/with students to_his_own, he/she_said to_them: When/But_if who/any wants me to_follow, deneget oneself: and take_away cross/frame his_own, and follow me. )

8.34 Si quis vult, etc. BEDA. Postquam mysterium suæ passionis et resurrectionis ostendit, hortatur omnes ad imitandum passionis exemplum, et omnibus salutem promittit animarum. Sed perfectioribus, quanta passurus quod a mortuis resurrecturus esset aperuit, formam tribuens prædicandi, ut scilicet, pro suo quisque modo instruatur, neque infirmis altiora committantur. Deneget. Non valet apprehendere quod ultra ipsum est si nescierit mactare quod est. Nisi quis a semetipso deficiat, ad Deum, qui supra ipsum est, non appropinquat. Tollat crucem. Vel per abstinentiam macerando corpus, vel per compassionem animum. De corpore dicit Paulus: Castigo corpus meum, et in servitutem redigo II Cor. 9., etc. Idem de compassione animi: Quis infirmatur, et ego non infirmor? II Cor. 11.

8.34 When/But_if who/any wants, etc. BEDA. After mystery his/her_own passion and resurrection he_showed, encourages everyone to imitandum passion exemplum, and to_all health promises of_souls. But perfectioribus, how_much about_to_suffer that from dead resurrecturus was opened, form giving beforedicandi, as namely, for his_own everyone/whoever just/only instruatur, nor sick/weak higher committantur. Deneget. Not/No valet apprehendere that beyond/besides him it_is when/but_if nescierit mactare that it_is. Unless who/any from myself to_fail, to God, who/which above him it_is, not/no approaches. Tollat cross/frame. Or through abstinentiam macerando body, or through compassionem mind. From/About body he_says Paulus: Castigo body mine, and in/into/on slavery redigo II Cor. 9., etc. Idem from/about compassione of_the_soul: Who weaktur, and I not/no infirmor? II Cor. 11.

UGNT καὶ προσκαλεσάμενος τὸν ὄχλον σὺν τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ, εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, εἴ τις θέλει ὀπίσω μου ἀκολουθεῖν ἀπαρνησάσθω ἑαυτὸν, καὶ ἀράτω τὸν σταυρὸν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀκολουθείτω μοι.
(kai proskalesamenos ton oⱪlon sun tois mathaʸtais autou, eipen autois, ei tis thelei opisō mou akolouthein aparnaʸsasthō heauton, kai aratō ton stauron autou, kai akoloutheitō moi.)

SBL-GNT Καὶ προσκαλεσάμενος τὸν ὄχλον σὺν τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· ⸂Εἴ τις⸃ θέλει ὀπίσω μου ⸀ἐλθεῖν, ἀπαρνησάσθω ἑαυτὸν καὶ ἀράτω τὸν σταυρὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀκολουθείτω μοι.
(Kai proskalesamenos ton oⱪlon sun tois mathaʸtais autou eipen autois; ⸂Ei tis⸃ thelei opisō mou ⸀elthein, aparnaʸsasthō heauton kai aratō ton stauron autou kai akoloutheitō moi.)

RP-GNT Καὶ προσκαλεσάμενος τὸν ὄχλον σὺν τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ, εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, Ὅστις θέλει ὀπίσω μου ἀκολουθεῖν, ἀπαρνησάσθω ἑαυτόν, καὶ ἀράτω τὸν σταυρὸν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀκολουθείτω μοι.
(Kai proskalesamenos ton oⱪlon sun tois mathaʸtais autou, eipen autois, Hostis thelei opisō mou akolouthein, aparnaʸsasthō heauton, kai aratō ton stauron autou, kai akoloutheitō moi.)

TC-GNT Καὶ προσκαλεσάμενος τὸν ὄχλον σὺν τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ, εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, [fn]Ὅστις θέλει ὀπίσω μου [fn]ἀκολουθεῖν, ἀπαρνησάσθω ἑαυτόν, καὶ ἀράτω τὸν σταυρὸν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀκολουθείτω μοι.
(Kai proskalesamenos ton oⱪlon sun tois mathaʸtais autou, eipen autois, Hostis thelei opisō mou akolouthein, aparnaʸsasthō heauton, kai aratō ton stauron autou, kai akoloutheitō moi. )

8:34 οστις ¦ ει τις ECM^† NA SBL TH WH

8:34 ακολουθειν ¦ ελθειν SBL TR WH

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

TTN Tyndale Theme Notes:

Following Jesus

One of the core purposes of the Gospels is to help readers understand and accept the call to take up their cross and follow Jesus. This call is addressed not only to those who would be Jesus’ apostles (Mark 3:13-19; cp. 1:16-20; 2:14) but to all who desired to follow him (Mark 8:34; cp. 2:15; 10:21, 52). For some, the call to discipleship is very hard (Mark 10:17-25), but God provides grace (10:27). Others find it easy to respond to Jesus’ call (Mark 2:14; cp. Luke 7:36-50).

For everyone, following Jesus requires a total commitment to turn from selfish ways (Mark 8:34-35). Taking up one’s cross is a metaphor for giving up one’s life to follow Jesus—even to death. For example, Peter, Andrew, James, and John left their homes and their source of income to follow Jesus (Mark 1:16-20). For one rich man, turning from his selfish ways required selling all he had and giving the proceeds to the poor (Mark 10:21). Following Jesus also means being identified with him without being ashamed and being faithful to him and his teachings (Mark 8:38; cp. Rom 10:9). It requires removing anything that would interfere with following Jesus, regardless of how painful doing so might be (Mark 9:43-48). It requires entrusting one’s life entirely to Jesus and repenting of sin (Mark 1:15; 6:12). It even requires putting loyalty to Jesus above loyalty to one’s own father and mother (Matt 10:37; Luke 14:26).

Jesus explicitly commanded his disciples to proclaim his message (Matt 28:18-20; Luke 24:47-49; Acts 1:8). And we see throughout the rest of the New Testament that Jesus’ followers did indeed proclaim the Good News wherever they went, leading to more and more followers (see Acts 2:14-41; 3:12-26; 4:1-2, 20; 8:4; 9:20; 11:19-26; 13:1-3; Rom 1:1-16; 10:14-15; 15:18-21; 1 Cor 9:16; Col 1:23; 1 Thes 2:9; 2 Tim 4:2).

Alongside Jesus’ demands for discipleship are the rewards of following Jesus. Those who follow Jesus are promised entrance into the Kingdom of God (Mark 9:43-48; 10:23-31). They receive his forgiveness for their sins (Mark 2:10-11; see also 3:28; 11:25), and they become members of the family of God (John 1:12). They are saved from judgment (Mark 8:35; 13:13) and obtain eternal life (Mark 9:43; 10:29-30; 1 Jn 5:11-12).

Passages for Further Study

Hos 6:3; Matt 10:37-39; 28:18-20; Mark 1:15-20; 2:14-15; 3:13-15; 5:18-20; 6:6-13, 30-32; 8:34-38; 9:38-50; 10:17-31; 11:22-25; 13:9-13; Luke 14:25-35; 24:47-49; John 8:12; 10:27; 12:26; Acts 1:8; 2:42-47; 4:16-20; 8:4; 9:19-30; 11:19-24; 13:1-3; Rom 1:1-16; 10:7-15; 1 Cor 9:16; Eph 5:1; Col 1:23; 2 Tim 4:2; 1 Pet 2:21

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 8:34–9:1: Jesus spoke about what a person must do to be his disciple

In the preceding section Jesus was speaking to his disciples. In this section Jesus called the crowd of people who were there to come and listen to him also. So in these verses Jesus was speaking to the crowd, as well as to his disciples. This meant that most of the people to whom Jesus spoke were not his followers. Many of them may have been part of the people whom Jesus described in 8:38b as “this adulterous and sinful generation.”

The requirements for being/becoming a disciple are given in 8:34.The phrases in 8:34b–d are arranged in the form of a chiasm: (A) wants to come after Me, (B) must deny himself, (B') take up his cross, (A') follow Me.The expressions in (A) and (A') both refer to following Jesus as a disciple, but they are not redundant. Actually obeying Jesus and following him as a disciple (A') involves more than simply wanting to become his disciple (A). Similarly, (B) and (B') both involve denying oneself, but picking up and carrying one’s cross (B') is a specific and extreme example of self-denial. The next verses (8:35–38) each explain why a person who wants to follow Christ must obey the commands given in 8:34. Each reason involves a choice between the present and the future. A person who chooses to avoid death and shame in the present life will be shamed in the future at the final judgment. He will forfeit true life with God. By contrast, a person who chooses to follow Christ may lose his present life but he will gain true life with God.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

Jesus told people how to be his true disciples

What It Means to Follow Jesus (GW)

Following Jesus (NET)

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 16:24–28 and Luke 9:23–27. See also Luke 14:27, 17:33; John 12:25.

8:34a

Then Jesus called the crowd to Him along with His disciples,

¶ Then Jesus called the crowd to come closer to his disciples,
¶ Then he invited the many people who were nearby to come and listen to him, along with his followers.

Then: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as Then and the RSV as “And” here introduces the next event in the story. After Jesus spoke to his disciples, he called the crowd to him. Connect 8:34a to 8:33 in a way that is natural in your language.

Jesus called the crowd to Him along with His disciples: Jesus called the crowd of people to come closer to him and join the disciples. He did this so that they could clearly hear what he wanted to tell them. Remember that Jesus’ disciples were already near him in 8:33.

the crowd: This is the first time that the crowd is mentioned in this section. Apparently there was a large group of people nearby who wanted to hear what Jesus said. Introduce the crowd in a natural way for your language.

His disciples: See how you translated disciples in 2:15b and 8:33a. See also disciple in the Glossary.

8:34b–38

In these verses Jesus talked about anyone and everyone who wanted to be his disciple. Indicate this in a natural way in your language. In some languages it may be more natural to use a different subject than the BSB does. Here are examples from 8:34b–c:

If people want to follow me, they must give up the things they want. (NCV)

If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. (CEV)

8:34b

and He told them, “If anyone wants to come after Me,

and he said, “If any of you^(plur) truly want/desire to be/become my disciples,
He said to them, “Anyone who wants to be/become my follower

If anyone wants to come after Me: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as If anyone wants to come after Me is literally “If anyone desires after me to follow.” It refers to anyone who wanted to follow Jesus as his disciple.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

If any want to become my followers (NRSV)

Anyone who desires/decides to be my disciple

Another form of the word “follow” is used in 8:34d.

wants: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as wants means “desires to,” “wishes to” or “wants to.” In this context, it may imply “truly wants to.”

8:34c–d

he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me: The Greek phrases that the BSB translates as must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me are three indirect commands. A person who desires to be one of Jesus’ disciples must do three things:

He must deny himself,
he must take up his cross, and
he must follow Jesus as a disciple.

Indicate in a natural way in your language that a person must do each of these actions in order to be a follower of Jesus.There are differences of interpretation here that are not reflected in English versions. For example: 1) The phrase “take up his cross and follow me” can mean “be ready to suffer and follow me to death.” Notice that this view does not interpret the last verb “follow” as an actual action but a readiness for that action. 2) The phrase “and follow me” is a reason for the suffering, e.g. TRT: “willing/ready to suffer and even die for following Me” (page 107)These two views contrast with the view taken in these notes that there are three requirements for discipleship: self-denial, willingness to die, and obedience or continued following (see also Luke 9:23).

8:34c

he must deny himself

you^(plur) must reject/refuse your own desires
must give up his own plans and interests.

he must deny himself: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates literally as deny himself means “reject oneself.” A disciple must do what his master wants him to do, whether or not it is what the disciple himself wants to do. Disciples of Jesus must give up the right to fulfill their own ambitions.

Here are some other ways to translate deny himself:

forget yourself (GNT)

put aside your selfish ambition (NLT96)

renounce self (REB)

refuse his own desires

8:34d

and take up his cross and follow Me.

and pick up your cross and follow me.
He must even be ready/willing to carry his cross and then follow me.
He must also be ready to die for me. Finally, he must actually follow me as my disciple.

take up his cross: The phrase take up his cross refers to the way that Roman soldiers executed criminals. They forced a condemned criminal to pick up a large wooden cross. He had to carry it to the place where he would be put to death. Then the soldiers nailed him on the cross to die.

When Jesus used this phrase, he knew that the Romans would soon force him to carry a literal cross. But in this context, he used the phrase figuratively. Jesus meant that anyone who wanted to become his disciple had to be willing to suffer and die in order to obey him.This is the predominant view among the commentators. However, in his comment on Luke 9:23, which has “take up his cross daily,” Marshall (page 373) advances another view, which makes a lot of sense in light of Paul’s concept of dying to self. He says that a person who picked up his cross was already condemned to die. He knew he was as good as dead. So what Jesus means is that a disciple must daily reckon himself to be dead and follow/obey his master’s desires, not his own.

Here are some other ways to translate the phrase take up his cross:

Translate the figure of speech literally and add a footnote that explains the meaning. Here is a sample footnote:
In the time of Jesus, a person who was condemned to be nailed to a cross was forced to carry the cross. He carried it to the place where he would be nailed to it. So what Jesus means here is that a person who wants to be his follower must be ready to suffer and die in order to follow Jesus.
Omit the figure of speech and translate the meaning directly. For example, the TRT says:
be willing/ready to suffer and even die If you follow this option, consider adding a footnote that gives Jesus’ literal words.

cross: A cross refers to two large wooden boards or beams that were attached to each other. Roman soldiers used crosses to kill criminals. They nailed or tied a criminal to these wooden beams, then set them upright. They did this in order to cause the criminal to die slowly and painfully.

The word cross comes from the fact that the beams were crossed and attached. This made the shape of a + or † (or sometimes a T).

In many languages there may be no word for cross. If that is true in your language, you may need to use a descriptive phrase. For example:

board/wood of death

crossed-beam(s) of death

a tree for killing people

a stake/plank to which they fasten/nail someone to kill him

follow Me: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as follow Me indicates that a person who wants to become a disciple must actually start following Jesus as a disciple. He must continually obey Jesus as his master.

Refer to the note on 8:34d. See also the note on “follow me” in 1:17a.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-condition-hypothetical

εἴ τις θέλει

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί προσκαλεσάμενος τόν ὄχλον σύν τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Εἰ τὶς θέλει ὀπίσω μού ἀκολουθεῖν ἀπαρνησάσθω ἑαυτόν καί ἀράτω τόν σταυρόν αὐτοῦ καί ἀκολουθείτω μοί)

Here Jesus uses the conditional form to refer to anyone who wants to follow after him. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use whatever form naturally introduces anyone who wants to follow Jesus. Alternate translation: [Anyone who wants] or [When someone wants]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

ὀπίσω μου ἀκολουθεῖν & ἀκολουθείτω μοι

after (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί προσκαλεσάμενος τόν ὄχλον σύν τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Εἰ τὶς θέλει ὀπίσω μού ἀκολουθεῖν ἀπαρνησάσθω ἑαυτόν καί ἀράτω τόν σταυρόν αὐτοῦ καί ἀκολουθείτω μοί)

Here, the phrases follow after me and follow me refer to traveling with Jesus and being his disciples. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable phrase or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [to be my disciples … be my disciple] or [to travel with me as my students … travel with me as my student]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / imperative3p

ἀπαρνησάσθω ἑαυτὸν, καὶ ἀράτω τὸν σταυρὸν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀκολουθείτω μοι

˱him˲_˓let˒_renounce (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί προσκαλεσάμενος τόν ὄχλον σύν τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Εἰ τὶς θέλει ὀπίσω μού ἀκολουθεῖν ἀπαρνησάσθω ἑαυτόν καί ἀράτω τόν σταυρόν αὐτοῦ καί ἀκολουθείτω μοί)

If your language does not use third-person imperatives in this way, you could state these in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: [he should deny himself and take up his cross and follow me]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations

ἀπαρνησάσθω ἑαυτὸν & αὐτοῦ

Although the terms him, himself, and his are masculine, Jesus is using the words in a generic sense that includes both men and women. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use phrases that make this clear. Alternate translation: [let that person deny himself or herself … his or her]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

ἀπαρνησάσθω ἑαυτὸν

Here, the phrase deny himself refers to a person choosing not to do what they would naturally do. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable phrase or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [let him exercise self-control] or [let him choose not to do what he naturally desires]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἀράτω τὸν σταυρὸν αὐτοῦ

˱him˲_˓let˒_take_up (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί προσκαλεσάμενος τόν ὄχλον σύν τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Εἰ τὶς θέλει ὀπίσω μού ἀκολουθεῖν ἀπαρνησάσθω ἑαυτόν καί ἀράτω τόν σταυρόν αὐτοῦ καί ἀκολουθείτω μοί)

Jesus assumes that the disciples will know that the Romans executed some criminals by nailing them to a wooden beam with crossbar that was set upright so that the criminals would slowly suffocate. Jesus also assumes that the disciples will know that the Romans made these criminals carry these wooden crosses through the streets to the place where they were going to be executed. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make some of this information more explicit. Alternate translation: [take up the wooden cross on which he will be executed]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor