Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.

But he said unto him, Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but go thou and publish abroad the kingdom of God.

But Jesus said to him, Suffer the dead to bury their own dead, but do thou go and announce the kingdom of God.

and Jesus said to him, 'Suffer the dead to bury their own dead, and thou, having gone away, publish the reign of God.'

"Leave the dead," Jesus rejoined, "to bury their own dead; but you must go and announce far and wide the coming of the Kingdom of God."

But he said to him, Let the dead take care of their dead; it is for you to go and give news of the kingdom of God.

But Jesus said, "Leave the dead to bury their dead; but go yourself and carry far and wide the news of the kingdom of God."

But go thou and proclaim the kingdom of God. Matthew has only the words, Follow me: but Luke states more fully the reason why he was called, which was, that he might be a minister and preacher of the Gospel. Had he remained in a private station, there would have been no absolute necessity for leaving his father, provided he did not forsake the Gospel on his father's account. [1] But the preaching of the Gospel does not allow him to remain at home, and therefore Christ properly takes him away from his father. While the amazing goodness of Christ appears in bestowing so honorable an office on a man who was still so weak, it deserves our notice, that the fault which still cleaved to him is corrected, and is not overlooked and encouraged.

Footnotes

1 - "Pour faire son devoir envers son pere;" -- "to do his duty to his father."

Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury (o) their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
(o) Who, even though they live in this frail life of man, yet are strangers from the true life, which is everlasting and heavenly.

Jesus said unto him, let the dead bury the dead,.... See Gill on Matthew 8:22.
but go thou and preach the kingdom of God; that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, the Gospel dispensation is now ushering in, and the kingdom of the Messiah is setting up; go and publish the things concerning the kingdom of grace, which lies not in outward rites and ceremonies, but in righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost; and declare the things relating to the kingdom of glory, and eternal life and happiness; assert, that unless a man is born again, and has a better righteousness than his own, he is neither fit for, nor has he a right unto everlasting bliss.