MAT 8:20 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object, red:negative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT And Jesus says to him, “The foxes have dens, and the birds of the sky, nests, but the Son of Man does not have a place where he might lay his head.”

UST Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes in the ground to live in, and birds have nests to live in, but I, the Son of Man, do not have a home to sleep in!”

BSB § Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”

BLB And Jesus says to him, "Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere He might lay the head."

AICNT And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have dens and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

OEB ‘Foxes have holes,’ answered Jesus, ‘and wild birds their nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’

WEBBE Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

WMBB Yeshua said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

NET Jesus said to him, “Foxes have dens, and the birds in the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

LSV and Jesus says to him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky places of rest, but the Son of Man has nowhere He may lay the head.”

FBV “Foxes have their dens, and wild birds have their nests, but the Son of man has nowhere he can lie down and rest,”[fn] Jesus told him.

8:20 Literally, “lay down his head.”

TCNT Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

T4T In order that the man might know what he could expect if he went with him, Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes in the ground in which to live, and birds have nests, but even though I am the one who came from heaven, I do not have a home where I can sleep [MTY].”

LEB And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

BBE And Jesus said to him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of heaven have a resting-place; but the Son of man has nowhere to put his head.

Moff No Moff MAT book available

Wymth "Foxes have holes," replied Jesus, "and birds have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

ASV And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

DRA And Jesus saith to him: The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests: but the son of man hath not where to lay his head.

YLT and Jesus saith to him, 'The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven places of rest, but the Son of Man hath not where he may lay the head.'

Drby And Jesus says to him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven roosting-places; but the Son of man has not where he may lay his head.

RV And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

Wbstr And Jesus saith to him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

KJB-1769 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
(And Jesus saith/says unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath/has not where to lay his head. )

KJB-1611 And Iesus saith vnto him, The Foxes haue holes, and the birds of the ayre haue nests: but the sonne of man hath not where to lay his head.
(And Yesus/Yeshua saith/says unto him, The Foxes haue holes, and the birds of the ayre have nests: but the son of man hath/has not where to lay his head.)

Bshps And Iesus sayth vnto hym. The foxes haue holes, and the birdes of the ayre haue nestes: but the sonne of man, hath not where to rest his head.
(And Yesus/Yeshua saith/says unto him. The foxes have holes, and the birdes of the ayre have nestes: but the son of man, hath/has not where to rest his head.)

Gnva But Iesus saide vnto him, The foxes haue holes, and the birdes of the heauen haue nestes, but the Sonne of man hath not whereon to rest his head.
(But Yesus/Yeshua said unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birdes of the heaven have nestes, but the Son of man hath/has not whereon to rest his head. )

Cvdl And Iesus sayde vnto him: the foxes haue holes, and the byrddes of the ayer hane nestes, but ye sonne of ma hath not wheron to rest his heede.
(And Yesus/Yeshua said unto him: the foxes have holes, and the byrddes of the ayer hane nestes, but ye/you_all son of man hath/has not wheron to rest his heede.)

TNT And Iesus sayd vnto him: the foxes have holes and the bryddes of the ayer have nestes but the sonne of the man hath not wheron to rest his heede.
(And Yesus/Yeshua said unto him: the foxes have holes and the bryddes of the ayer have nestes but the son of the man hath/has not wheron to rest his heede. )

Wycl And Jhesus seide to hym, Foxis han dennes, and briddis of heuene han nestis, but mannus sone hath not where `he schal reste his heed.
(And Yhesus said to him, Foxis have dennes, and birds of heaven have nestis, but man's son hath/has not where `he shall rest his heed.)

Luth JEsus sagte zu ihm: Die Füchse haben Gruben, und die Vögel unter dem Himmel haben Nester; aber des Menschen Sohn hat nicht, da er sein Haupt hinlege.
(Yesus said to him: The Füchse have Gruben, and the Vögel under to_him heaven have Nester; but the Menschen son has not, there he his head hinlege.)

ClVg Et dicit ei Jesus: Vulpes foveas habent, et volucres cæli nidos; Filius autem hominis non habet ubi caput reclinet.[fn]
(And dicit to_him Yesus: Vulpes foveas habent, and volucres cæli nidos; Son however of_man not/no habet where caput reclinet. )

8.20 Vulpes foveas habent. Quasi dicat: Quid me propter lucra sæculi, etc., usque ad divinitati Christi non est locus. Filius autem hominis non habet, etc. Cum homines vocent eum Filium Dei, ipse seipsum vocat Filium hominis, humilitatis causa.

8.20 Vulpes foveas habent. Quasi let_him_say: Quid me propter lucra sæculi, etc., until to divinitati of_Christ not/no it_is locus. Son however of_man not/no habet, etc. Since homines vocent him Son of_God, exactly_that/himself seipsum vocat Son of_man, humilitatis causa.

UGNT καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς, αἱ ἀλώπεκες φωλεοὺς ἔχουσιν καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατασκηνώσεις, ὁ δὲ Υἱὸς τοῦ Ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἔχει ποῦ τὴν κεφαλὴν κλίνῃ.
(kai legei autōi ho Yaʸsous, hai alōpekes fōleous eⱪousin kai ta peteina tou ouranou kataskaʸnōseis, ho de Huios tou Anthrōpou ouk eⱪei pou taʸn kefalaʸn klinaʸ.)

SBL-GNT καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Αἱ ἀλώπεκες φωλεοὺς ἔχουσιν καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατασκηνώσεις, ὁ δὲ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἔχει ποῦ τὴν κεφαλὴν κλίνῃ.
(kai legei autōi ho Yaʸsous; Hai alōpekes fōleous eⱪousin kai ta peteina tou ouranou kataskaʸnōseis, ho de huios tou anthrōpou ouk eⱪei pou taʸn kefalaʸn klinaʸ.)

TC-GNT [fn]Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς, Αἱ ἀλώπεκες φωλεοὺς ἔχουσι, καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατασκηνώσεις· ὁ δὲ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἔχει ποῦ τὴν κεφαλὴν [fn]κλίνῃ.
(Kai legei autōi ho Yaʸsous, Hai alōpekes fōleous eⱪousi, kai ta peteina tou ouranou kataskaʸnōseis; ho de huios tou anthrōpou ouk eⱪei pou taʸn kefalaʸn klinaʸ. )

8:20 και ¦ — PCK

8:20 κλινη ¦ κλεινη TH

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

TTN Tyndale Theme Notes:

The Son of Man

“Son of Man” was Jesus’ favorite way to refer to himself. The phrase is just as odd in Greek as in English: It translates the Hebrew phrase ben ’adam, an idiom that means “human being” or “person” (see, e.g., Ezek 2:1-8). One reason Jesus preferred this name was because it was not an inflammatory title such as “Christ” or “Messiah.” The expression is used in three ways in the Gospels:

(1) The background to Jesus’ use of the title is Dan 7:13-14, where an exalted messianic figure “like a son of man” (that is, having human form) comes with the clouds of heaven and is given great glory and power. Jesus understood himself as the one who would return to earth in the clouds of heaven (see Mark 8:38; 13:26; 14:62). Sometimes Jesus used “Son of Man” in this sense, to refer to his role as judge, deliverer, savior, and vindicator (Matt 10:23; 13:41; 16:27; 19:28; 24:27, 30, 37, 44; 25:31; 26:64).

(2) Often Jesus used “Son of Man” to describe himself as a suffering redeemer (12:40; 17:9, 12, 22; 20:18, 28; 26:2, 24, 45). This sense is rooted in Isa 52:13–53:12.

(3) At times, Jesus apparently used “Son of Man” to refer to himself as the representative of humans (Matt 8:20; 11:19; 12:8, 32; 13:37). The book of Ezekiel uses “son of man” in a similar sense (e.g., Ezek 2:1-8).

Jesus did not use “Son of Man” to distinguish his humanity from his deity (“Son of God”). By using this title, Jesus could define himself as Messiah on his own terms. He used “Son of Man” to describe his total identity and as a veiled suggestion that those who watched and heard him should pay attention to who he is.

Passages for Further Study

Ezek 2:1-8; 3:1, 4, 10, 17, 25; 4:1; Dan 7:13-14; 8:17; Matt 8:18-22; 9:6; 10:23; 11:19; 12:8, 32, 40; 13:37, 41; 16:13, 27-28; 17:9, 12, 22; 19:28; 20:18, 28; 24:27, 30, 37-39, 44; 25:31; 26:2, 24, 45, 64; Mark 2:10; John 1:51; 3:13-14; 5:27; 6:27, 53, 62; 8:28; 9:35; 12:23, 34; 13:31; Acts 7:56; Heb 2:6; Rev 1:13; 14:14

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: translate-tense

λέγει

/is/_saying

To call attention to a development in the story, Matthew uses the present tense in past narration. If it would not be natural to do that in your language, you could use the past tense in your translation. Alternate translation: “said”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / merism

αἱ ἀλώπεκες φωλεοὺς ἔχουσιν καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατασκηνώσεις

¬The foxes burrows /are/_having and ¬the birds ˱of˲_the sky nests

Here, Jesus is referring to all animals by naming an animal that lives on land and an animal that flies in the air. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “all animals have places to live”

Note 3 topic: translate-unknown

αἱ ἀλώπεκες φωλεοὺς ἔχουσιν

¬The foxes burrows /are/_having

The word foxes describes land animals that are similar to small dogs. The word dens refers to how these animals dig holes in the ground as shelters. If your readers would not be familiar with this animal and its habits, you could describe them in general terms. Alternate translation: “Little animals live in holes in the ground”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατασκηνώσεις

¬the birds ˱of˲_the sky nests

Jesus is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. You could supply these words from earlier in the sentence if it would be clearer in your language. Alternate translation: “the birds of the sky have nests”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ

¬the birds ˱of˲_the sky

Here, Jesus is using the possessive form to describe birds that fly in the sky. If this is not clear in your language, you could express the idea in another way. Alternate translation: “the birds in the sky” or “the birds flying in the sky”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicitinfo

τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ

¬the birds ˱of˲_the sky

The expression of the sky contains extra information that would be unnatural to express in some languages. If this is true of your language, you could shorten the expression. Alternate translation: “the birds”

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / 123person

ὁ δὲ Υἱὸς τοῦ Ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἔχει ποῦ τὴν κεφαλὴν κλίνῃ

¬the ¬the but /the/_Son ¬the ˱of˲_Man not /is/_having where his head ˱he˲_/may_be/_laying

Here Jesus speaks about himself in the third person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use the first person. Alternate translation: “but I, the Son of Man, do not have a place where I might lay my head”

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ὁ δὲ Υἱὸς τοῦ Ἀνθρώπου

¬the ¬the but /the/_Son ¬the ˱of˲_Man

Here Jesus for the first time in Matthew uses the title Son of Man to refer to himself. He is using the title to refer to himself, a human, and also to implicitly identify himself with the important and powerful figure named “the son of man” in the Old Testament book of Daniel (see Daniel 7:13–14). See the book introduction for more information about this title. Consider how you might best translate this title here and throughout the rest of Matthew. Alternate translation: “but the Human One” or “but the one called Son of Man”

Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

οὐκ ἔχει ποῦ τὴν κεφαλὴν κλίνῃ

not /is/_having where his head ˱he˲_/may_be/_laying

Jesus implies that if the scribe were to follow him, he too might not have a home. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make this idea more explicit. Alternate translation: “does not have a place where he might lay his head, so if you become his disciple, expect that you will not have such a place either”

Note 10 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

οὐκ ἔχει ποῦ τὴν κεφαλὴν κλίνῃ

not /is/_having where his head ˱he˲_/may_be/_laying

Here, the phrase a place where he might lay his head refers to a place to sleep. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a similar phrase or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “does not have a place where he might sleep” or “does not have a sleeping place”

Note 11 topic: figures-of-speech / hyperbole

οὐκ ἔχει ποῦ τὴν κεφαλὴν κλίνῃ

not /is/_having where his head ˱he˲_/may_be/_laying

Jesus actually did find places to sleep wherever he went to teach and heal, but he says that he has no such place at all to emphasize that he has no permanent home. Alternate translation: “does not have a permanent home”

Parallel MAT 8:20