^14:18But one after another they all⁵⁷ began to make excuses.⁵⁸ The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field,⁵⁹ and I must go out and see it. Please excuse me.’⁶⁰^14:19Another⁶¹ said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen,⁶² and I am going out⁶³ to examine them. Please excuse me.’ ^14:20Another⁶⁴ said, ‘I just got married, and I cannot come.’⁶⁵

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Footnotes

57 Or “all unanimously” ( ἀπό 6). “One after another” is suggested by L&N 61.2.
58 To make excuses and cancel at this point was an insult in the culture of the time. Regardless of customs concerning responses to invitations, refusal at this point was rude.
59 I have bought a field. An examination of newly bought land was a common practice. It was this person’s priority.
60 The expression Please excuse me is probably a polite way of refusing, given the dynamics of the situation, although it is important to note that an initial acceptance had probably been indicated and it was now a bit late for a refusal. The semantic equivalent of the phrase may well be “please accept my apologies.”
61 Grk “And another.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
62 Five yoke of oxen. This was a wealthy man, because the normal farmer had one or two yoke of oxen.
63 The translation “going out” for πορεύομαι (poreuomai) is used because “going” in this context could be understood to mean “I am about to” rather than the correct nuance, “I am on my way to.”
64 Grk “And another.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
65 I just got married, and I cannot come. There is no request to be excused here; just a refusal. Why this disqualifies attendance is not clear. The OT freed a newly married man from certain responsibilities such as serving in the army (Deut 20:7; 24:5), but that would hardly apply to a banquet. The invitation is not respected in any of the three cases.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’

“Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’

“Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“But without exception they all began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. I ask you to excuse me.’

“Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m going to try them out. I ask you to excuse me.’

“And another said, ‘I just got married, and therefore I’m unable to come.’

NLTNew Living Translation

But they all began making excuses. One said, ‘I have just bought a field and must inspect it. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I have just bought five pairs of oxen, and I want to try them out. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And they all alike began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, ‘I have purchased a field, and I must go out to look at it. I ask you, consider me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen, and I am going to examine them. I ask you, consider me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and for this reason I am not able to come.’

KJV 1900King James Version

And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.

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