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Contemporary English Version

Luke 15:17

Finally, he came to his senses and said, "My father's workers have plenty to eat, and here I am, starving to death!

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Afflictions and Adversities;   Employee;   God Continued...;   Jesus, the Christ;   Jesus Continued;   Joy;   Penitent;   Prodigal Son;   Readings, Select;   Repentance;   Salvation;   Servant;   Sin;   Young Men;   Thompson Chain Reference - Bible Stories for Children;   Children;   Home;   Insanity;   Pleasant Sunday Afternoons;   Prodigal Son;   Religion;   Sanity, Spiritual;   Sin;   Son;   Stories for Children;   The Topic Concordance - Losing and Things Lost;   Salvation;   Seeking;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Afflictions Made Beneficial;   Parables;   Repentance;   Servants;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Parable;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Grace;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Christ, Christology;   Gospel;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Hospitality;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Harmony of the Gospels;   Imagery;   Jesus, Life and Ministry of;   Luke, Gospel of;   Parables;   Prodigal Son;   Repentance;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Confession;   Conversion;   Love, Lover, Lovely, Beloved;   Parable;   Repentance;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Abounding;   Brotherhood (2);   Children of God;   Confession (of Sin);   Father, Fatherhood;   Gospel (2);   Hunger;   Individual;   Justice (2);   Love (2);   Luke, Gospel According to;   Man (2);   Parable;   Redemption (2);   Religious Experience;   Repentance (2);   Righteous, Righteousness;   Slave, Slavery (2);   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Hireling, Hired Servant;   Servant;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Chief parables and miracles in the bible;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Hunger;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Jesus of Nazareth;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Forgiveness;  

Devotionals:

- Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life - Devotion for November 6;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
When he came to his senses,
King James Version (1611)
And when he came to himselfe, he said, How many hired seruants of my fathers haue bread inough and to spare, and I perish with hunger?
King James Version
And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
English Standard Version
"But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger!
New American Standard Bible
"But when he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired laborers have more than enough bread, but I am dying here from hunger!
New Century Version
When he realized what he was doing, he thought, ‘All of my father's servants have plenty of food. But I am here, almost dying with hunger.
Amplified Bible
"But when he [finally] came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have more than enough food, while I am dying here of hunger!
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"But when he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!
Legacy Standard Bible
But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!
Berean Standard Bible
Finally he came to his senses and said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have plenty of food? But here I am, starving to death!
Complete Jewish Bible
"At last he came to his senses and said, ‘Any number of my father's hired workers have food to spare; and here I am, starving to death!
Darby Translation
And coming to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have abundance of bread, and *I* perish here by famine.
Easy-to-Read Version
"The son realized that he had been very foolish. He thought, ‘All my father's hired workers have plenty of food. But here I am, almost dead because I have nothing to eat.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Then he came to him selfe, & said, Howe many hired seruaunts at my fathers haue bread ynough, and I die for hunger?
George Lamsa Translation
And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired workers are now in my father''s house, who have plenty of bread, and I am here perishing with hunger!
Good News Translation
At last he came to his senses and said, ‘All my father's hired workers have more than they can eat, and here I am about to starve!
Lexham English Bible
"But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired workers have an abundance of food, and I am dying here from hunger!
Literal Translation
But coming to himself he said, How many servants of my father have plenty of loaves, and I am perishing with famine.
American Standard Version
But when he came to himself he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish here with hunger!
Bible in Basic English
But when he came to his senses, he said, What numbers of my father's servants have bread enough, and more, while I am near to death here through need of food!
Hebrew Names Version
But when he came to himself he said, 'How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough to spare, and I'm dying with hunger!
International Standard Version
"Then he came to his senses and said, 'How many of my father's hired men have more food than they can eat, and here I am starving to death!
Etheridge Translation
And when he came to himself, he said, How many hirelings are there now in my father's house, who have abundance of bread, and I here with hunger am perishing !
Murdock Translation
And when he came to himself, he said: How many hired servants are now at my father's house, who have bread enough, and I am here perishing with hunger.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then he came to hym selfe, and sayde: Howe many hyred seruauntes at my fathers house haue bread inough, and I perishe with hunger?
English Revised Version
But when he came to himself he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish here with hunger!
World English Bible
But when he came to himself he said, 'How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough to spare, and I'm dying with hunger!
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And coming to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father have bread enough and to spare, and I am perishing with hunger?
Weymouth's New Testament
"But on coming to himself he said, "`How many of my father's hired men have more bread than they want, while I here am dying of hunger!
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And he turnede ayen to hym silf, and seide, Hou many hirid men in my fadir hous han plente of looues; and Y perische here thorouy hungir.
Update Bible Version
But when he came to himself he said, How many hired workers of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish here with hunger!
Webster's Bible Translation
And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father have bread enough and to spare, and I am perishing with hunger!
New English Translation
But when he came to his senses he said, ‘How many of my father's hired workers have food enough to spare, but here I am dying from hunger!
New King James Version
"But when he came to himself, he said, "How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
New Living Translation
"When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger!
New Life Bible
"He began to think about what he had done. He said to himself, ‘My father pays many men who work for him. They have all the food they want and more than enough. I am about dead because I am so hungry.
New Revised Standard
But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father's hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger!
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But coming, to himself, he said - How many hired servants of my father, have bread enough and to spare, whereas, I, with famine, here, am perishing!
Douay-Rheims Bible
And returning to himself, he said: How many hired servants in my father’s house abound with bread, and I here perish with hunger!
Revised Standard Version
But when he came to himself he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, but I perish here with hunger!
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Then he came to him selfe and sayde: how many hyred servauntes at my fathers have breed ynough and I dye for honger.
Young's Literal Translation
`And having come to himself, he said, How many hirelings of my father have a superabundance of bread, and I here with hunger am perishing!
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then came he to him self, and sayde: How many hyred seruauntes hath my father, which haue bred ynough, and I perish of honger?
Mace New Testament (1729)
at length coming to himself, how many, said he, does my father keep in pay, who have bread in abundance, whilst I am dying here with hunger?
THE MESSAGE
"That brought him to his senses. He said, ‘All those farmhands working for my father sit down to three meals a day, and here I am starving to death. I'm going back to my father. I'll say to him, Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; I don't deserve to be called your son. Take me on as a hired hand.' He got right up and went home to his father. "When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him. The son started his speech: ‘Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; I don't deserve to be called your son ever again.' "But the father wasn't listening. He was calling to the servants, ‘Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it. We're going to feast! We're going to have a wonderful time! My son is here—given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!' And they began to have a wonderful time. "All this time his older son was out in the field. When the day's work was done he came in. As he approached the house, he heard the music and dancing. Calling over one of the houseboys, he asked what was going on. He told him, ‘Your brother came home. Your father has ordered a feast—barbecued beef!—because he has him home safe and sound.' "The older brother stalked off in an angry sulk and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn't listen. The son said, ‘Look how many years I've stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends? Then this son of yours who has thrown away your money on whores shows up and you go all out with a feast!' "His father said, ‘Son, you don't understand. You're with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours—but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he's alive! He was lost, and he's found!'"
Simplified Cowboy Version
Finally, the young cowboy came to his senses, and he said to himself, 'All my dad's workers have more than they can even eat and here I am starving to death.

Contextual Overview

11 Jesus also told them another story: Once a man had two sons. 12 The younger son said to his father, "Give me my share of the property." So the father divided his property between his two sons. 13 Not long after that, the younger son packed up everything he owned and left for a foreign country, where he wasted all his money in wild living. 14 He had spent everything, when a bad famine spread through that whole land. Soon he had nothing to eat. 15 He went to work for a man in that country, and the man sent him out to take care of his pigs. 16 He would have been glad to eat what the pigs were eating, but no one gave him a thing. 17 Finally, he came to his senses and said, "My father's workers have plenty to eat, and here I am, starving to death! 18 I will go to my father and say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against God in heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer good enough to be called your son. Treat me like one of your workers.'" 20 The younger son got up and started back to his father. But when he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt sorry for him. He ran to his son and hugged and kissed him.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

when: Luke 8:35, Luke 16:23, Psalms 73:20, Ecclesiastes 9:3, Jeremiah 31:19, Ezekiel 18:28, Acts 2:37, Acts 16:29, Acts 16:30, Acts 26:11-19, Ephesians 2:4, Ephesians 2:5, Ephesians 5:14, Titus 3:4-6, James 1:16-18

How: Luke 15:18, Luke 15:19, Lamentations 1:7

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 30:1 - thou shalt call 1 Kings 8:47 - Yet if they 2 Kings 7:4 - if they save us 2 Chronicles 6:37 - Yet if Job 36:9 - he Psalms 32:5 - I said Psalms 50:22 - consider Psalms 73:28 - But Psalms 119:59 - thought Proverbs 21:29 - he directeth Proverbs 27:7 - to Ecclesiastes 7:14 - but Isaiah 29:24 - also Isaiah 46:8 - bring Jeremiah 8:6 - saying Ezekiel 18:14 - considereth Hosea 2:7 - I will Haggai 1:5 - thus Haggai 2:18 - Consider Matthew 21:29 - he repented Mark 14:72 - Peter Acts 12:11 - was come Romans 2:4 - goodness Romans 6:21 - whereof Romans 10:3 - submitted 2 Corinthians 7:9 - I rejoice 2 Timothy 1:7 - a sound 2 Timothy 2:26 - recover

Cross-References

Genesis 15:2
But Abram answered, " Lord All-Powerful, you have given me everything I could ask for, except children. And when I die, Eliezer of Damascus will get all I own.
Genesis 15:3
You have not given me any children, and this servant of mine will inherit everything."
Genesis 15:18
At that time the Lord made an agreement with Abram and told him: I will give your descendants the land east of the Shihor River on the border of Egypt as far as the Euphrates River.
Genesis 15:19
They will possess the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,
Deuteronomy 4:20
But you are the Lord 's people, because he led you through fiery trials and rescued you from Egypt.
Judges 6:21
The angel was holding a walking stick, and he touched the meat and the bread with the end of the stick. Flames jumped from the rock and burned up the meat and the bread. When Gideon looked, the angel was gone.
Judges 13:20
The fire blazed up toward the sky, and the Lord 's angel went up toward heaven in the fire. Manoah and his wife bowed down low when they saw what happened.
2 Samuel 22:9
and breathed out smoke. Scorching heat and fiery flames spewed from your mouth.
1 Chronicles 21:26
David built an altar and offered sacrifices to please the Lord and sacrifices to ask his blessing. David prayed, and the Lord answered him by sending fire down on the altar.
Isaiah 62:1
Jerusalem, I will speak up for your good. I will never be silent till you are safe and secure, sparkling like a flame.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And when he came to himself,.... An unregenerate man, whether while a voluptuous man, or a self-righteous man, is not himself; he is beside himself; and is no other than a madman. The man that pursues his worldly lusts and pleasures, promises himself liberty, while he is a slave; he ruins himself, his soul, body, and estate, and chooses to do it rather than part with his lusts; he takes delight in doing mischief himself, and in seeing it done by others; he proclaims his folly publicly, declares his sin, and glories in it; all which a man in his right mind would never do. The self-righteous person trusts in his own heart, which is the greatest madness and folly in the world; he compasses himself about with sparks of his own kindling, and sacrifices to his own net; he dresses himself in his rags, and pleases and prides himself with them, when a robe of righteousness, and garments of salvation, are provided; which no man in his senses would ever do. But when the Spirit of God comes to work upon a sinner's heart in conversion, he brings him to himself; which a man may be said to be, when he is brought to true evangelical repentance for sin; and that is, when he has a true sense of it, as committed against God, and a godly sorrow for it, and makes an hearty and ingenuous acknowledgment of it, and forsakes it; and when he is brought to a sense of the insufficiency of his own righteousness, and is made willing to part with it, and desires to be found in Christ, and in his righteousness alone, which he is encouraged to lay hold on, and receive by faith, trust to, and rejoice in; when he has his spiritual senses exercised on Christ, and to discern between good and evil; and is brought to the feet of Jesus, as to submit to his righteousness, so to serve him; when he is all this, then, like the man in the Gospel, he is clothed, and in his right mind:

he said, how many hired servants of my father's; who, according to some, were the Scribes and Pharisees, men of a servile disposition, and of mercenary views; and were, by profession, the servants of God, and had plenty of bread, because they had all the external means and ordinances: but these are designed by the elder brother in the parable; and besides, this man had endeavoured to live as they did in this far country. It may be queried, whether the ministers of the Gospel are not intended, since these are the servants of the most high God; are labourers hired by him, and are worthy of their hire, and abound with Gospel provisions for the service of others. But to this it may be objected, the desire of this man to be made as one of them, Luke 15:19 which petition expresses his humility; whereas to be a servant, in this sense, is to have the highest place and office in his father's house. Rather therefore the meanest of the saints, and household of God, are here meant, who have the least degree of evangelical light, whose faith is weak, and their consolation small; and who, though they are sons, yet by reason of that legality and mercenariness that appear in their frames and services, differ little from servants: and yet these, in comparison of him, who was in a hungry and starving condition,

have bread enough, and to spare; as the doctrines, promises, and ordinances of the Gospel, the fulness of grace that is in Christ, and Christ himself the bread of life; which are more than enough for them, and sufficient for the whole family in heaven, and in earth; and even the meanest and weakest believer may be said to have enough and to spare, because he has an interest in all these; though by reason of the weakness of his faith, it is but now and then he has a full and comfortable meal; but this is infinitely better than to be starving, as this man was:

and I perish with hunger. The Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions add, "here"; in this far country, in the citizen's fields, among his swine, and their husks: all mankind are in a lost and perishing condition; for having sinned against God, they have exposed themselves to the curses of the law, and are destitute of a justifying righteousness, and are in the way, to ruin and destruction; but all are not sensible of it, being ignorant of God, and his righteousness, of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and of the insufficiency of their own righteousness; but some are sensible of it, and in their own apprehensions are ready to perish: these see sin in its true light, without a view of pardon; an angry God without a smile; injured justice without a righteousness; and a broken law without a satisfaction for the violation of it; and such was this man's case. The Jewish writers a say,

"a sinner is like to a son that runs away from his father, and turns his back upon him, who yet afterwards repents, and has a mind to return to his father's house:''

so it was now with the publicans and sinners, signified by this man.

a R. Chayim in Lib. Chayim, par. 4. c. 6. apud Maii Jud. Theolog. loc 15. p. 243.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

He came to himself - This is a very expressive phrase. It is commonly applied to one who has been “deranged,” and when he recovers we say he has “come to himself.” In this place it denotes that the folly of the young man was a kind of derangement - that he was insane. So it is of every sinner. Madness is in their hearts Ecclesiastes 9:3; they are estranged from God, and led, by the influence of evil passions, contrary to their better judgment and the decisions of a sound mind.

Hired servants - Those in a low condition of life - those who were not born to wealth, and who had no friends to provide for them.

I perish - I, who had property and a kind father, and who might have been provided for and happy.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Luke 15:17. When he came to himself — A state of sin is represented in the sacred writings as a course of folly and madness; and repentance is represented as a restoration to sound sense. See this fully explained on Matthew 3:2.

I perish with hunger! — Or, I perish HERE. ωδε, here, is added by BDL, Syriac, all the Arabic and Persic, Coptic, AEthiopic, Gothic, Saxon, Vulgate, all the Itala, and several of the fathers.


 
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