And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
Parallel translations
- WEB The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
- KJV And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
- BSB The son declared, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
- NASB And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
- NLT His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’
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
The son confesses his sin and unworthiness, but the father interrupts the prepared speech with grace.
Overview
He speaks his rehearsed confession of sin against heaven and his father. Notably, he does not get to ask for servant status; the father's grace cuts off his self-demotion. God receives the penitent not as a slave but restores him as a beloved child.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Ps 51:4Against you, and you only, I have sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight; that you may be proved right when you speak, and justified when you judge.
- Luke 15:18–19I will get up and go to my father, and will tell him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight.
- 1 Cor 8:12Thus, sinning against the brothers, and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.
- Jer 3:13Only acknowledge your iniquity, that you have transgressed against Yahweh your God, and have scattered your ways to the strangers under every green tree, and you have not obeyed my voice,’ says Yahweh.”
- Rom 2:4Or do you despise the riches of his goodness, forbearance, and patience, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
- Ps 143:2Don’t enter into judgment with your servant, for in your sight no man living is righteous.
- Ezek 16:63that you may remember, and be confounded, and never open your mouth any more, because of your shame, when I have forgiven you all that you have done,” says the Lord Yahweh.’”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 15:21 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.