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And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.
Luke 15:31 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB “He said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.
  • BSB ‘Son, you are always with me,’ the father said, ‘and all that is mine is yours.
  • 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 7:27–28But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.
  • Rom 9:4Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
  • Rom 11:1I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
  • Matt 20:13–16But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?
  • Rom 11:35Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
  • Luke 19:22–23And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (7)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Luke videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Luke 15:31YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on LukeMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 15:31 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.