Matthew 8:20 (YLT)

Passage

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.'

Nearby Context

Matthew 8:18 And Jesus having seen great multitudes about him, did command to depart to the other side;

Matthew 8:19 and a certain scribe having come, said to him, `Teacher, I will follow thee wherever thou mayest go;'

Matthew 8:20 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.'

Matthew 8:21 And another of his disciples said to him, `Sir, permit me first to depart and to bury my father;'

Matthew 8:22 and Jesus said to him, `Follow me, and suffer the dead to bury their own dead.'

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "jesus", "saith", "foxes", "holes", "birds", "heaven", "places", and "rest". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "jesus" and "saith", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "and a certain scribe having come said..." into verse 21's "And another of his disciples said to...", so "jesus" and "saith" belong inside that flow. In Matthew context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "jesus" and "saith" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.