1 Kings 19:20

So Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Please let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, and then I will follow you.” “Go on back,” Elijah replied, “for what have I done to you?”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Elisha speaks to Elijah moments after Elijah throws his cloak over him while plowing. Elisha requests permission to kiss his parents goodbye before following, and Elijah commands him to return.

The words — The text emphasizes וַ/יַּעֲזֹ֣ב (va/i.ya.'a.Zo), “and he left,” and אֶשְּׁקָה (’e.she.kah), “I want to kiss,” recording Elisha’s immediate departure from his work and his specific request for a final familial farewell.

The thread — This plea to delay discipleship for family duties runs parallel to the requests in Matthew 8:21 and Luke 9:61, while the physical farewell mirrors the embraces noted in Acts 20:37.

Why it lands — The text forces a direct choice between remaining in one’s current livelihood and answering a prophetic summons, leaving the decision entirely to Elijah’s authority rather than Elisha’s circumstances.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וַיַּעֲזֹ֣בva/i.ya.'a.Zoand/ he left אֶת־'et-<obj.>הַבָּקָ֗רha./ba.Karthe/ ox[en]וַיָּ֙רָץ֙va/i.Ya.rotzand/ he ran אַחֲרֵ֣י'a.cha.Reiafter אֵֽלִיָּ֔הוּ'e.li.Ya.huElijah וַיֹּ֗אמֶרva/i.Yo.merand/ he said אֶשְּׁקָה־'e.she.kah-I want to kiss נָּא֙na'please לְאָבִ֣יle./'a.V/i<to>/ father/ my וּלְאִמִּ֔יu./le./'i.M/iand/ <to>/ mother/ my וְאֵלְכָ֖הve./'e.le.Khahand/ I will go אַחֲרֶ֑יךָ'a.cha.Rei./khaafter/ you וַיֹּ֤אמֶרva/i.Yo.merand/ he saidלוֹ֙l/oto/ himלֵ֣ךְlekhgo שׁ֔וּבShuvturn back כִּ֥יkifor מֶה־meh-what?עָשִׂ֖יתִי'a.Si.tihave I doneלָֽךְ׃La/khto/ you

King James Version

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?

Cross-references

Matthew 8:21 Another of His disciples requested, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
Luke 9:61 Still another said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first let me bid farewell to my family.”
Acts 20:37 They all wept openly as they embraced Paul and kissed him.
Matthew 4:20 And at once they left their nets and followed Him.
Matthew 4:22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.
Matthew 9:9 As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth. “Follow Me,” He told him, and Matthew got up and followed Him.
Matthew 19:27 “Look,” Peter replied, “we have left everything to follow You. What then will there be for us?”

People named

Elijah