‘Son, you are always with me,’ the father said, ‘and all that is mine is yours.
Parallel translations
- WEB “He said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.
- KJV And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.
- NKJV “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.
- NASB And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours.
- NLT “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours.
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 father gently reminds the elder son that he is always with him and shares in all he has.
Overview
The father affirms the elder's constant nearness and full inheritance, answering his complaint with tenderness. The privilege of abiding fellowship was always his. God's grace is not diminished by being extended to others; the faithful lose nothing when sinners are welcomed home.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Mark 7:27–28“First let the children have their fill,” He said. “For it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
- Rom 9:4the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory and the covenants; theirs the giving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises.
- Rom 11:1I ask then, did God reject His people? Certainly not! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.
- Matt 20:13–16But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Did you not agree with me on one denarius?
- Rom 11:35“Who has first given to God, that God should repay him?”
- Luke 19:22–23His master replied, ‘You wicked servant, I will judge you by your own words. So you knew that I am a harsh man, withdrawing what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow?
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 15:31 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.