the Seventh Week after Easter
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New American Standard Bible
Luke 15:17
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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!
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!
Finally, he came to his senses and said, "My father's workers have plenty to eat, and here I am, starving to death!
"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!
And coming to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have abundance of bread, and *I* perish here by famine.
"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.
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!
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!
Then he came to him selfe, & said, Howe many hired seruaunts at my fathers haue bread ynough, and I die for hunger?
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!
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!
"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!
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 !
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.
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!
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!
"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!
But coming to himself he said, How many servants of my father have plenty of loaves, and I am perishing with famine.
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.
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!
"When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!
"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!
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!
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?
"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!
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.
"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.
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!
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!
"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!
Then he came to hym selfe, and sayde: Howe many hyred seruauntes at my fathers house haue bread inough, and I perishe with hunger?
"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!
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!
When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired hands have more than enough food, and here I am dying of hunger!
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?
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!
And returning to himself, he said: How many hired servants in my father’s house abound with bread, and I here perish with hunger!
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!
Then he came to him selfe and sayde: how many hyred servauntes at my fathers have breed ynough and I dye for honger.
`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!
Then came he to him self, and sayde: How many hyred seruauntes hath my father, which haue bred ynough, and I perish of honger?
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?
"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!'"
"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!
"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!
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.
"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!
Contextual Overview
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
But Abram said, "Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?"
Abram also said, "Since You have given me no son, one who has been born in my house is my heir."
On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:
the land of the Kenite, the Kenizzite, the Kadmonite,
"But the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, from Egypt, to be a people of His own possession, as today.
Then the angel of the LORD put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and fire came up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight.
For it came about when the flame went up from the altar toward heaven, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground.
"Smoke went up out of His nostrils, And fire from His mouth was devouring; Coals were kindled by it.
Then David built an altar there to the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And he called to the LORD, and He answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering.
For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, And for Jerusalem's sake I will not keep quiet, Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, And her salvation like a torch that is burning.
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 âderanged,â and when he recovers we say he has âcome to himself.â 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. Ïδε, here, is added by BDL, Syriac, all the Arabic and Persic, Coptic, AEthiopic, Gothic, Saxon, Vulgate, all the Itala, and several of the fathers.
