^9:59Jesus¹⁹⁰ said to another, “Follow me.” But he replied,¹⁹¹ “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” ^9:60But Jesus¹⁹² said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead,¹⁹³ but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”¹⁹⁴

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Footnotes

190 Grk “And he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
191 Grk “said.”
192 Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
193 There are several options for the meaning of Jesus’ reply Leave the dead to bury their own dead: (1) Recent research suggests that burial customs in the vicinity of Jerusalem from about 20 b.c. to a.d. 70 involved a reinterment of the bones a year after the initial burial, once the flesh had rotted away. At that point the son would have placed his father’s bones in a special box known as an ossuary to be set into the wall of the tomb. Thus Jesus could well be rebuking the man for wanting to wait around for as much as a year before making a commitment to follow him. In 1st century Jewish culture, to have followed Jesus rather than burying one’s father would have seriously dishonored one’s father (cf. Tobit 4:3–4). (2) The remark is an idiom (possibly a proverbial saying) that means, “The matter in question is not the real issue,” in which case Jesus was making a wordplay on the wording of the man’s (literal) request (see L&N 33.137). (3) This remark could be a figurative reference to various kinds of people, meaning, “Let the spiritually dead bury the dead.” (4) It could also be literal and designed to shock the hearer by the surprise of the contrast. Whichever option is preferred, it is clear that the most important priority is to preach the gospel (proclaim the kingdom of God).
194 The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20–21.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

He said to another man, “Follow me.”

But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Then he said to another, “Follow me.”

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

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

NLTNew Living Translation

He said to another person, “Come, follow me.”

The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.”

But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And he said to another, “Follow me!” But he said, “Lord, first allow me to go and bury my father.” But he said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead! But you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

KJV 1900King James Version

And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.

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