Spoken to:
Addressed to a man who wants to bury his father.
KJV:
Luke 9:59 Follow me.
NIV :
Luke 9:59 Follow me.
LISTENERS HEARD:
Follow me.
MY TAKE:
We should follow him.
GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page):
GREEK ORDER:
LOST IN TRANSLATION:
There are six other times Jesus says these exact Greek words in the synoptic gospels often as part of a larger statement.
# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES:
# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES:
EACH WORD of KJV :
Follow - The term "follow" means "to follow," or "go with," in a physical sense, but it is also a metaphor meaning "to be guided by" or "to follow the meaning of." The term also specifically means "to follow the thread" of a discourse.
me. - The "me" is in the form of an indirect object, so it is not the object of "follow," which would be in a different form. The sense is that the person following does not act directly on the person they follow, but rather indirectly. The form has a number of uses in Greek. Most commonly it is an indirect object ("follow this road [the object] to Rome [the indirect object].
EACH WORD of NIV :
Follow - The term "follow" means "to follow," or "go with," in a physical sense, but it is also a metaphor meaning "to be guided by" or "to follow the meaning of." The term also specifically means "to follow the thread" of a discourse.
me. - The "me" is in the form of an indirect object, so it is not the object of "follow," which would be in a different form. The sense is that the person following does not act directly on the person they follow, but rather indirectly. The form has a number of uses in Greek. Most commonly it is an indirect object ("follow this road [the object] to Rome [the indirect object].
COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV :
ἀκολουθεῖ [22 verses](verb 3rd sg pres ind act) "Follow" is akoloutheo, which means "to follow," and "to go with." It also means "to be guided by" and means following a leader as a student. Follow is from akoloutheô, which is from a root meaning "first road" (alpha keleuthos ).
μοί, [96 verses](pron 1st sg masc/fem dat) "Me" is moi (emoi) , which can be the object of some prepositions and as the object of a verb means "to me" "for me," and "by me." An indirect object of a preposition, itn implies no movement, but in a fixed position.