Luke 9:57–62
Three meetings with Jesus on the road; two ask to do something else first
Study it word by word57And as they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
58And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
59And he said to another, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.”
60But he said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
61And another also said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first allow me to say goodbye to those at my home.”
62But Jesus said, “No one who puts his hand to a plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
In its context
55But turning, he rebuked them.
56And they went to another village.
…
Its words in the original
- πορευομένωνporeuomenōn· go
Go, set out; also live, walk in a way of life.
- ὁδῷhodōi· way, road
Way, road; journey; also way of life.
- εἶπένeipen· say
Say, speak; in the passive, "be called".
- ἈκολουθήσωAkolouthēsō· follow
Follow, go after someone; follow him as a disciple.
- ὅπουhopou· where
Where, wherever.
- ἀπέρχῃaperchēi· go away
Go away, leave.
- ἸησοῦςIēsous· Jesus
Jesus, the Greek form of the Hebrew Yehoshua (Joshua), which means "YHWH saves". It is the name the angel told Joseph to give him (Matthew 1:21).
- ἀλώπεκεςalōpekes· fox
Fox.
- φωλεοὺςphōleous· den, hole
Den, hole, lair.
- ἔχουσινechousin· have
Have, possess, hold.
- πετεινὰpeteina· bird
Bird.
- οὐρανοῦouranou· heaven, sky
Heaven: the sky and, above all, the place of God. "The heavens" is sometimes a respectful way of saying "God".
- κατασκηνώσειςkataskēnōseis· nest, dwelling
Nest, a place where a bird settles and lives.
- υἱὸςhuios· son, Son
Son. Also descendant: "son of David" means one of King David's family, and is a title of the promised Messiah.
- ἀνθρώπουanthrōpou· human being, man
Human being, person, man (without distinguishing male or female).
- ποῦpou· where?
Where?
- κεφαλὴνkephalēn· head
Head.
- κλίνῃklinēi· bow, lay down
Bow, lean, lay down (the head).
- ἕτερονheteron· other, another
Other, another, different.
- ΚύριεKyrie· Lord, lord
Lord, master, owner. Said of God, the Lord; in Old Testament quotations it stands for the name YHWH.
- ἐπίτρεψόνepitrepson· permit
Permit, allow.
- πρῶτονprōton· first
First, foremost.
- θάψαιthapsai· bury
Bury.
- πατέραpatera· father, Father
Father; also ancestor.
- ἌφεςAphes· let go, forgive
Leave, let go, allow; said of sins and debts, forgive.
- νεκροὺςnekrous· dead
Dead.
- διάγγελλεdiangelle· proclaim everywhere
Proclaim everywhere, announce far and wide.
- βασιλείανbasileian· kingdom
Kingdom: the reign of a king and the place where he reigns. "The kingdom of heaven" is the reign of God.
- θεοῦtheou· God, god
God. In the plural or in another sense, "gods".
- ἀποτάξασθαιapotaxasthai· say goodbye
Take leave of, say goodbye; also give up.
- οἶκόνoikon· house
House; also household, family.
- ἐπιβαλὼνepibalōn· lay on, put on
Throw on, lay on.
- χεῖραcheira· hand
Hand.
- ἄροτρονarotron· plow
Plow.
- βλέπωνblepōn· see, look
See, look; watch out.
- ὀπίσωopisō· behind, after
Behind; after.
- εὔθετόςeuthetos· fit, suitable
Fit, suitable, useful.
- ἐστινestin· be
Be, exist.