Following Jesus

57 As they were traveling on the road someone said to him,(A) “I will follow you wherever you go.”

58 Jesus told him, “Foxes have dens, and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” 59 Then he said to another, “Follow me.”

“Lord,” he said, “first let me go bury my father.”

60 But he told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and spread the news of the kingdom of God.”(B)

61 Another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me go and say good-bye to those at my house.”(C)

62 But Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

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Would-be Followers

57 And as[a] they were traveling on the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go!” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his[b] head.” 59 And he said to another, “Follow me!” But he said, “Lord, first allow me to go and[c] bury my father.” 60 But he said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead! But you go and[d] proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 And another person also said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first allow me to say farewell to those in my house.” 62 But Jesus said,[e] “No one who puts his[f] hand on the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God!”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 9:57 Here “as” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“were going”)
  2. Luke 9:58 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
  3. Luke 9:59 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“go”) has been translated as an infinitive
  4. Luke 9:60 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“go”) has been translated as a finite verb
  5. Luke 9:62 Some manuscripts have “said to him”
  6. Luke 9:62 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun