1:3 An ox recognizes its owner,
a donkey recognizes where its owner puts its food; 4
but Israel does not recognize me, 5
my people do not understand.”
1:6 “A son naturally honors his father and a slave respects 6 his master. If I am your 7 father, where is my honor? If I am your master, where is my respect? The Lord who rules over all asks you this, you priests who make light of my name! But you reply, ‘How have we made light of your name?’
15:11 Then 9 Jesus 10 said, “A man had two sons. 15:12 The 11 younger of them said to his 12 father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate 13 that will belong 14 to me.’ So 15 he divided his 16 assets between them. 17 15:13 After 18 a few days, 19 the younger son gathered together all he had and left on a journey to a distant country, and there he squandered 20 his wealth 21 with a wild lifestyle.
1 tn Heb “The words of Jonadab son of Rechab which he commanded his descendants not to drink wine have been carried out.” (For the construction of the accusative of subject after a passive verb illustrated here see GKC 388 §121.b.) The sentence has been broken down and made more direct to better conform to contemporary English style.
2 tn The vav (ו) plus the independent pronoun before the verb is intended to mark a sharp contrast. It is difficult, if not impossible to mark this in English other than “But I.”
3 tn On this idiom (which occurs again in the following verse) see the translator’s note on 7:13 for this idiom and compare its use in 7:13, 25; 11:7; 25:3, 4; 26:5; 29:19; 32:33; 35:14, 15; 44:9.
4 tn Heb “and the donkey the feeding trough of its owner.” The verb in the first line does double duty in the parallelism.
5 tn Although both verbs have no object, the parallelism suggests that Israel fails to recognize the Lord as the one who provides for their needs. In both clauses, the placement of “Israel” and “my people” at the head of the clause focuses the reader’s attention on the rebellious nation (C. van der Merwe, J. Naudé, J. Kroeze, A Biblical Hebrew Reference Grammar, 346-47).
6 tn The verb “respects” is not in the Hebrew text but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. It is understood by ellipsis (see “honors” in the preceding line).
7 tn The pronoun “your” is supplied in the translation for clarification (also a second time before “master” later in this verse).
8 sn A yoke is a wooden bar or frame that joins two animals like oxen or horses so that they can pull a wagon, plow, etc. together. Here it is used figuratively of the restrictions that a teacher or rabbi would place on his followers.
9 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
10 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
12 tn Grk “the”; in context the article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).
13 tn L&N 57.19 notes that in nonbiblical contexts in which the word οὐσία (ousia) occurs, it refers to considerable possessions or wealth, thus “estate.”
14 tn L&N 57.3, “to belong to or come to belong to, with the possible implication of by right or by inheritance.”
15 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the father’s response to the younger son’s request.
16 tn Grk “the”; in context the article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).
17 sn He divided his assets between them. There was advice against doing this in the OT Apocrypha (Sir 33:20). The younger son would get half of what the older son received (Deut 21:17).
18 tn Grk “And after.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
19 tn Grk “after not many days.”
20 tn Or “wasted.” This verb is graphic; it means to scatter (L&N 57.151).
21 tn Or “estate” (the same word has been translated “estate” in v. 12).
22 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the older son, v. 25) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
23 tn The aorist verb ὠργίσθη (wrgisqh) has been translated as an ingressive aorist, reflecting entry into a state or condition.
24 sn Ironically the attitude of the older son has left him outside and without joy.
25 tn Grk “but answering, he said.” This is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “but he answered.”
26 tn Or simply, “have served,” but in the emotional context of the older son’s outburst the translation given is closer to the point.
27 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to bring out the contrast indicated by the context.
28 sn You never gave me even a goat. The older son’s complaint was that the generous treatment of the younger son was not fair: “I can’t get even a little celebration with a basic food staple like a goat!”
29 sn Note the younger son is not “my brother” but this son of yours (an expression with a distinctly pejorative nuance).
30 sn This is another graphic description. The younger son’s consumption had been like a glutton. He had both figuratively and literally devoured the assets which were given to him.
31 sn The charge concerning the prostitutes is unproven, but essentially the older brother accuses the father of committing an injustice by rewarding his younger son’s unrighteous behavior.
32 sn See note on the phrase “fattened calf” in v. 23.