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!
Parallel translations
- WEB 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!
- KJV 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!
- NKJV “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!
- NASB 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!
- NLT “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!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
'He came to himself'; the son reasons that even his father's hired servants fare better than he does. Awakening begins.
Overview
This phrase marks the dawn of repentance, a return to sanity after the madness of sin. He remembers the father's generosity and his own desperate state. True repentance involves both honest self-assessment and remembering the goodness of the Father to whom we may return through Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Ezek 18:28Because he considered and turned from all the transgressions he had committed, he will surely live; he will not die.
- Eph 2:4–5But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
- Luke 15:18–19I will get up and go back to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
- Eph 5:14So it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
- Acts 16:29–30Calling for lights, the jailer rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.
- Titus 3:4–6But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared,
- Acts 26:11–19I frequently had them punished in the synagogues, and I tried to make them blaspheme. In my raging fury against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.
- Acts 2:37When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and asked Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
- Luke 8:35So the people went out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found the man whom the demons had left, sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.
- Jer 31:19After I returned, I repented; and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh in grief. I was ashamed and humiliated because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’
- Ps 73:20Like one waking from a dream, so You, O Lord, awaken and despise their form.
- Jas 1:16–18Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.
- Lam 1:7In the days of her affliction and wandering Jerusalem remembers all the treasures that were hers in days of old. When her people fell into enemy hands she received no help. Her enemies looked upon her, laughing at her downfall.
- Eccl 9:3This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun: There is one fate for everyone. Furthermore, the hearts of men are full of evil and madness while they are alive, and afterward they join the dead.
- Luke 16:23In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 15:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.