Luke 15:11-13

The Parable of the Compassionate Father

15:11 Then ¹  Jesus ²  said, “A man had two sons. 15:12 The ³  younger of them said to his ⁴  father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate ⁵  that will belong ⁶  to me.’ So ⁷  he divided his ⁸  assets between them. ⁹  15:13 After ¹⁰  a few days, ¹¹  the younger son gathered together all he had and left on a journey to a distant country, and there he squandered ¹²  his wealth ¹³  with a wild lifestyle.

Luke 15:28-30

15:28 But the older son ¹⁴  became angry ¹⁵  and refused ¹⁶  to go in. His father came out and appealed to him, 15:29 but he answered ¹⁷  his father, ‘Look! These many years I have worked like a slave ¹⁸  for you, and I never disobeyed your commands. Yet ¹⁹  you never gave me even a goat ²⁰  so that I could celebrate with my friends! 15:30 But when this son of yours ²¹  came back, who has devoured ²²  your assets with prostitutes, ²³  you killed the fattened calf ²⁴  for him!’

[15:11]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[15:11]  ² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:12]  ³ tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[15:12]  ⁴ tn Grk “the”; in context the article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[15:12]  ⁵ 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.”

[15:12]  ⁶ tn L&N 57.3, “to belong to or come to belong to, with the possible implication of by right or by inheritance.”

[15:12]  ⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the father’s response to the younger son’s request.

[15:12]  ⁸ tn Grk “the”; in context the article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[15:12]  ⁹ 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).

[15:13]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “And after.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[15:13]  ¹¹ tn Grk “after not many days.”

[15:13]  ¹² tn Or “wasted.” This verb is graphic; it means to scatter (L&N 57.151).

[15:13]  ¹³ tn Or “estate” (the same word has been translated “estate” in v. 12).

[15:28]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the older son, v. 25) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:28]  ¹⁵ tn The aorist verb ὠργίσθη (wrgisqh) has been translated as an ingressive aorist, reflecting entry into a state or condition.

[15:28]  ¹⁶ sn Ironically the attitude of the older son has left him outside and without joy.

[15:29]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “but answering, he said.” This is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “but he answered.”

[15:29]  ¹⁸ tn Or simply, “have served,” but in the emotional context of the older son’s outburst the translation given is closer to the point.

[15:29]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to bring out the contrast indicated by the context.

[15:29]  ²⁰ 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!”

[15:30]  ²¹ sn Note the younger son is not “my brother” but this son of yours (an expression with a distinctly pejorative nuance).

[15:30]  ²² 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.

[15:30]  ²³ 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.

[15:30]  ²⁴ sn See note on the phrase “fattened calf” in v. 23.