Luke 15:17

Luke 15:17 in other versions

• King James Version (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!
• New International Version (NIV)“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!
• English Standard Version (ESV)"But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger!
• New King James Version (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!

Context of Luke 15:17

15So he went and forced himself on one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16He would have gladly eaten the [carob] pods that the pigs were eating [but they could not satisfy his hunger], and no one was giving anything to him. But when he [finally] came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough food, while I am dying here of hunger! 18I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; [just] treat me like one of your hired men.” ’

Luke 15:17 word by word

εἰς ἑαυτὸν δὲ ἐλθὼν ἔφη· πόσοι μίσθιοι τοῦ πατρός μου περισσεύονται ἄρτων, ἐγὼ δὲ λιμῷ ὧδε ἀπόλλυμαι.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andδέde · thenG1161
• when he cameἔρχομαιerchomai · to come/goG2064
• toεἰςeis · towardG1519
• himselfἑαυτοῦheautou · themselfG1438
• he saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• How manyπόσοςposos · how much/many?G4214
• hired servantsμίσθιοςmisthios · hired workerG3407
• of myἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• father’sὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• father’sπατήρpatēr · fatherG3962
• have breadἄρτοςartos · breadG740
• enough and to spareπερισσεύωperisseuō · to exceedG4052
• perishἀπολλύωapollumi · to destroyG622
• with hungerλιμόςlimos · hungerG3042

Cross-references for Luke 15:17

• Luke 8:35And people came out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind (mentally healthy); and they were frightened.
• Luke 16:23In Hades (the realm of the dead), being in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom (paradise).
• Psalms 73:20Like a dream [which seems real] until one awakens, O Lord, when stirred, [You observe the wicked], You will despise their image.
• Ecclesiastes 9:3This evil is in all that is done under the sun, that one fate comes to all. Also, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and afterwards they go to the dead.
• Jeremiah 31:19After I turned away [from You], I repented; After I was instructed, I struck my thigh [in remorse]; I was ashamed and even humiliated Because I carried the disgrace of my youth [as a nation].’
• Ezekiel 18:28Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions which he had committed, he shall certainly live; he shall not die.
• Acts 2:37Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart [with remorse and anxiety], and they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what are we to do?”
• Acts 16:29Then the jailer called for torches and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas,
• Acts 16:30and after he brought them out [of the inner prison], he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
• Acts 26:11And I often punished them [making them suffer] in all the synagogues and tried to force them to blaspheme; and in my extreme rage at them, I kept hunting them even to foreign cities [harassing and persecuting them].
• Ephesians 2:4But God, being [so very] rich in mercy, because of His great and wonderful love with which He loved us,
• Ephesians 5:14For this reason He says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine [as dawn] upon you and give you light.”
• James 1:16Do not be misled, my beloved brothers and sisters.
• Luke 15:18I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight.
• Lamentations 1:7In the days of her affliction and homelessness Jerusalem remembers all her precious things That she had from the days of old, When her people fell into the hand of the adversary, And no one helped her, The enemy saw her, They mocked at her downfall.

Commentaries on Luke 15:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17When he came to himself - A state of sin is represented in the sacred writings as a course of folly and madness; and repentance is represented as a restoration to sound sense. See this fully explained on Matthew 3:2; (note). I perish with hunger! - Or, I perish Here. ̔, here, is added by BDL, Syriac, all the Arabic and Persic, Coptic, Ethiopic, Gothic, Saxon, Vulgate, all the Itala, and several of the fathers.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17He came to himself - This is a very expressive phrase. It is commonly applied to one who has been “deranged,” and when he recovers we say he has “come to himself.” In this place it denotes that the folly of the young man was a kind of derangement - that he was insane. So it is of every sinner. Madness is in their hearts Ecclesiastes 9:3; they are estranged from God, and led, by the influence of evil passions, contrary to their better judgment and the…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 17-24Verses 17-24 Having viewed the prodigal in his abject state of misery, we are next to consider his recovery from it. This begins by his coming to himself. That is a turning point in the sinner's conversion. The Lord opens his eyes, and convinces him of sin; then he views himself and every object, in a different light from what he did before. Thus the convinced sinner perceives that the meanest servant of God is happier than he is. To look unto God as a…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11-32Like the previous two parables (15:3–7, 8–10), the parable of the lost son demonstrates God’s love for the lost and the joy God experiences when they return. It also reflects the ministry of Jesus. The father represents God, the younger son represents the tax collectors and sinners Jesus welcomed, and the older son represents the religious leaders.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. came to himself--Before, he had been "beside himself" (Ec 9:3), in what sense will presently appear. How many hired, &c.--What a testimony to the nature of the home he had left! But did he not know all this ere he departed and every day of his voluntary exile? He did, and he did not. His heart being wholly estranged from home and steeped in selfish gratification, his father's house never came within the range of his vision, or but as another name for…Read the comment

Topics related to Luke 15:17

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Employee
• God Continued...
• Jesus Continued
• Jesus, the Christ
• Joy
• Penitent
• Prodigal Son
• Readings, Select
• Repentance
• Salvation
• Servant
• Sin
• Young Men

In the dictionaries

• Alive
• Compassion
• Devour
• Divide
• Fain
• Heaven
• Living
• Meet
• Mighty
• Seek

Commentaries on Luke 15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings