And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
Parallel translations
- WEB Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.”
- BSB Another of His disciples requested, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
- NKJV Then another of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
- NASB And another of the disciples said to Him, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.”
- NLT Another of his disciples said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Another disciple asks to first bury his father before following Jesus. The request seems reasonable but raises the question of what claims first place in a disciple's life.
Overview
Burial of one's father was a sacred duty in Jewish culture, so the request appears dutiful. The phrasing may mean waiting until an aging father eventually dies, implying indefinite delay. The verse sets up Jesus' striking demand that allegiance to him takes priority even over honored family obligations.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Luke 9:59–62And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
- Matt 19:29And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
- Lev 21:11–12Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother;
- Num 6:6–7All the days that he separateth himself unto the LORD he shall come at no dead body.
- 1 Kgs 19:20–21And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again: for what have I done to thee?
- Deut 33:9–10Who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children: for they have observed thy word, and kept thy covenant.
- Hag 1:2Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the LORD’s house should be built.
- 2 Cor 5:16Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 8:21 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.