Luke 15:29 BSB — MannaFest

Luke 15:29

But he answered his father, ‘Look, all these years I have served you and never disobeyed a commandment of yours. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

But he answered and said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, and I never transgressed a commandment of thine; and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:

KJV

And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:

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Commentary

0 voices

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

A kid - A young goat. This was of less value than the calf; and he complains that while his father had never given “him” a thing of so little value as “a kid,” he had now given his other son the “fatted calf.” Make merry with - Entertain them give them a feast. This complaint was unreasonable, for his father had divided his property, and he “might” have had his portion, and his father had uniformly treated him with kindness. But it serves to illustrate the conduct of the scribes and Pharisees, and the folly of their complaint.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

A sinner is not only dead in law, as he is under a sentence of death, but dead in state too, dead in trespasses and sins, destitute of spiritual life; no union with Christ, no spiritual senses exercised, no living to God, and therefore dead.

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

They are sometimes ranked with harlots ( Matt. xxi. 32 ); here and elsewhere with sinners, such as were openly vicious, that traded with harlots, known rakes. Some think that the sinners here meant were heathen, and that Christ was now on the other side Jordan, or in Galilee of the Gentiles.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

J.C. Ryle

1816–1900

Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1858)

These verses form the conclusion of the parable of the prodigal son. They are far less well known than the verses which go before them. But they were spoken by the same lips which described the younger son's return to his father's house. Like everything which those lips spoke — they will be found deeply profitable. We are taught, firstly, in this passage — how unkind and mean-spirited are the feelings of self-righteous men towards sinners. This is a lesson which our Lord conveys to us by describing the conduct of the "elder brother" of the prodigal son.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

28 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
Ὁ	Ho	<the>	G3588 →
δὲ	de	And	G1161 →
ἀποκριθεὶς	apokritheis	answering	G611 →
εἶπεν	eipen	he said	G2036 →
τῷ	tō	to the	G3588 →
πατρὶ	patri	[the] father	G3962 →
αὐτοῦ·	autou	of him;	G846 →
ἰδοὺ	idou	Behold	G2400 →
τοσαῦτα	tosauta	so many	G5118 →
ἔτη	etē	years	G2094 →
δουλεύω	douleuō	I serve	G1398 →
σοι	soi	you	G4771 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
οὐδέποτε	oudepote	never	G3763 →
ἐντολήν	entolēn	a commandment	G1785 →
σου	sou	of you	G4771 →
παρῆλθον,	parēlthon	I disobeyed,	G3928 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
ἐμοὶ	emoi	to me myself	G1473 →
οὐδέποτε	oudepote	never	G3763 →
ἔδωκας	edōkas	did you give	G1325 →
ἔριφον	eriphon	a young goat	G2056 →
ἵνα	ina	that	G2443 →
μετὰ	meta	with	G3326 →
τῶν	tōn	the	G3588 →
φίλων	philōn	friends	G5384 →
μου	mou	of mine	G3165 →
εὐφρανθῶ.	euphranthō	I may make merry.	G2165 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Luke 15:7
In the same way, I tell you that there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who do not need to repent.
leads to
- Luke 15:10
  In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”
- Luke 5:32
  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
- Luke 15:32
  But it was fitting to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
- Matthew 18:13
  And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices more over that one sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.
- Proverbs 30:12
  There is a generation of those who are pure in their own eyes and yet unwashed of their filth.
Through
Malachi 3:14
You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What have we gained by keeping His requirements and walking mournfully before the LORD of Hosts?
leads to
- Isaiah 58:3
  “Why have we fasted, and You have not seen? Why have we humbled ourselves, and You have not noticed?” “Behold, on the day of your fast, you do as you please, and you oppress…
- Psalms 73:8–13
  They mock and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression.
Through
Isaiah 65:5
They say, ‘Keep to yourself; do not come near me, for I am holier than you!’ Such people are smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all day long.
leads to
- Luke 18:9–12
  To some who trusted in their own righteousness and viewed others with contempt, He also told this parable: