New King James Version
1 Kings 19:20
20And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah, and said, “Please let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?”
1 Kings 19:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And 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?
- New International Version (NIV)Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. “Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,” he said, “and then I will come with you.” “Go back,” Elijah replied. “What have I done to you?”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, "Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you." And he said to him, "Go back again, for what have I done to you?"
- New Living Translation (NLT)Elisha left the oxen standing there, ran after Elijah, and said to him, “First let me go and kiss my father and mother good-bye, and then I will go with you!” Elijah replied, “Go on back, but think about what I have done to you.”
Context of 1 Kings 19:20
18Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.” 19So he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he was with the twelfth. Then Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle on him. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah, and said, “Please let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” 21So Elisha turned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen and slaughtered them and boiled their flesh, using the oxen’s equipment, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah, and became his servant.
Read all of 1 Kings 191 Kings 19:20 word by word
וַיַּעֲזֹ֣ב אֶת־הַבָּקָ֗ר וַיָּ֙רָץ֙ אַחֲרֵ֣י אֵֽלִיָּ֔הוּ וַיֹּ֗אמֶר אֶשְּׁקָה־נָּא֙ לְאָבִ֣י וּלְאִמִּ֔י וְאֵלְכָ֖ה אַחֲרֶ֑יךָ וַיֹּ֤אמֶר לוֹ֙ לֵ֣ךְ שׁ֔וּב כִּ֥י מֶה־עָשִׂ֖יתִי לָֽךְ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And he leftעָזַב‛âzab · to leave: forsakeH5800
- the oxenבָּקָרbâqâr · cattleH1241
- and ranרוּץrûts · to run: runH7323
- afterאַחַר'achar · afterH310
- Elijahאֵלִיָּה'êlîyâh 'êlîyâhû · ElijahH452
- and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Let me, I pray thee, kissנָשַׁקnâshaq · to kissH5401
- my fatherאָב'âb · fatherH1
- and my motherאֵם'êm · motherH517
- I will followיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
- againשׁוּבshûb · to return: againH7725
- for what have I doneעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
People and places in 1 Kings 19:20
Cross-references for 1 Kings 19:20
- Matthew 4:20They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
- Matthew 9:9As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.
- Matthew 19:27Then Peter answered and said to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?”
- Matthew 8:21Then another of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
- Luke 9:61And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.”
- Acts 20:37Then they all wept freely, and fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him,
Commentaries on 1 Kings 19:20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Let me - kiss my father and my mother - Elisha fully understood that he was called by this ceremony to the prophetic office: and it is evident that he conferred not with flesh and blood, but resolved, immediately resolved, to obey; only he wished to bid farewell to his relatives. See below. What have I done to thee? - Thy call is not from me, but from God: to him, not to me, art thou accountable for thy use or abuse of it.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father - Not an unnatural request before following his new spiritual father. Elijah sees in his address a divided heart, and will not give the permission or accept the service thus tendered. Hence, his cold reply. See Luke 9:61-62. Go back again - i. e., “Go, return to thy plowing why shouldest thou quit it? Why take leave of thy friends and come with me? What have I done to thee to require such a sacrifice? for as a…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 19-21Verses 19-21 Elijah found Elisha by Divine direction, not in the schools of the prophets, but in the field; not reading, or praying, or sacrificing, but ploughing. Idleness is no man's honour, nor is husbandry any man's disgrace. An honest calling in the world, does not put us out of the way of our heavenly calling, any more than it did Elisha. His heart was touched by the Holy Spirit, and he was ready to leave all to attend Elijah. It is in a day of…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 19-21The anointing of Elisha concludes the Lord’s instructions to Elijah. Elisha performed the other two anointings that God had originally assigned to Elijah (1 Kings 19:15–16), as recorded in (2 Kings 8:7–15; 9:1–10).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. what have I done to thee?--that is, Go, but keep in mind the solemn ceremony I have just performed on thee. It is not I, but God, who calls thee. Do not allow any earthly affection to detain you from obeying His call.Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Kings 19:20
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Kings 19
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries