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.

[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).