Another of the disciples (Good News Translation “Another man, who was a disciple”): some Greek manuscripts have “of the disciples of his,” while others omit the possessive, since the definite article the carries the same impact. In many languages the possessive pronoun will be required, as in “Another of his disciples.” Barclay has a rendering similar to Good News Bible‘s: “Another man, one of his disciples.”

Lord: the same problem exists here as in Matthew 8.6. Most translations seem to prefer “sir.”

Let me first go and bury my father: in Judaism the obligation to bury the dead, especially one’s parents, has always held a high priority. The High Priest (Lev 21.11-12) and Nazirites (Num 6.6-7) were exempt from this regulation, but only because they were uniquely dedicated to God. Jesus is here indicating that the command to follow him has precedence over all other obligations, even the most binding family responsibilities.

The word first is an indication that probably Jesus had just then suggested to the man that he follow him. Some translators may feel that their languages require them to make this explicit by saying “Sir, before I follow you, first let me bury my father.”

In many languages, when one speaks of burying him, one also has to mention that the father died, as in “Let me first go and bury my father, who has died” or “My father has died. Let me first go and bury him.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .