Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY

Luke 9:59

New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures
- 59 Then he said to another: “Be my follower.” The man said: “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.”+

Luke 9:59

The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures
- 59 Εἶπεν He said δὲ but πρὸς toward ἕτερον different ᾿Ακολούθει Be following μοι. to me. ὁ The (one) δὲ but εἶπεν said ᾿Επίτρεψόν Permit μοι to me πρῶτον first ἀπελθόντι having gone off θάψαι to bury τὸν the πατέρα father μου. of me.

Luke 9:59

New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures—With References
- 59 Then he said to another: “Be my follower.” The man said: “Permit me first to leave and bury my father.”+

Luke 9:59

The Bible in Living English
- 59 And he said to another “Follow me”; but he said “Permit me first to go and bury my father.”

Luke 9:59

American Standard Version
- 59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

Luke 9:59

The Emphasized Bible
- 59 And he said unto another—Be following me! But he said—Suffer me first to depart and bury my father.

Luke 9:59

King James Version
- 59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

Luke Study Notes—Chapter 9

New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition)
- 9:59
  
  Lord: Some manuscripts do not include this word, but it has support in a number of early authoritative manuscripts.
  
  bury my father: The wording likely does not mean that the man had just lost his father in death and was asking only to make funeral arrangements. Had this been the case, it is unlikely that he would have been there talking to Jesus. In the ancient Middle East, a death in the family would be followed very quickly by a funeral, generally on the same day. So the man’s father may have been ailing or elderly, not dead. And Jesus would not have told the man to abandon a sick and needy parent, so there must have been other family members who could care for such vital needs. (Mr 7:9-13) The man was saying, in effect, ‘I will follow you, but not as long as my father still lives. Wait until my father dies and I have buried him.’ In Jesus’ view, however, the man was missing an opportunity to put the interests of the Kingdom of God first in his life.—Lu 9:60, 62.