Luke 15:16

Luke 15:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.
• New Living Translation (NLT)The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.

Context of Luke 15:16

14After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 17“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! 18I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

Luke 15:16 word by word

καὶ ἐπεθύμει χορτασθῆναι ἐκ τῶν κερατίων ὧν ἤσθιον οἱ χοῖροι, καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐδίδου αὐτῷ.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• he would fainἐπιθυμέωepithumeō · to long forG1937
• have filledγεμίζωgemizō · to fillG1072
• hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• bellyὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• bellyκοιλίαkoilia · belly/womb/stomachG2836
• withἀπόapo · away fromG575
• the husksκεράτιονkeration · huskG2769
• thatὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• the swineχοῖροςchoiros · pigG5519
• did eatἐσθίωesthiō · to eatG2068
• no manοὐδείςoudeis · noneG3762
• gaveδίδωμιdidōmi · to giveG1325

Cross-references for Luke 15:16

• Isaiah 44:20Such a person feeds on ashes; a deluded heart misleads him; he cannot save himself, or say, “Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”
• Isaiah 55:2Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.
• Lamentations 4:5Those who once ate delicacies are destitute in the streets. Those brought up in royal purple now lie on ash heaps.
• Hosea 12:1Ephraim feeds on the wind; he pursues the east wind all day and multiplies lies and violence. He makes a treaty with Assyria and sends olive oil to Egypt.
• Romans 6:19I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness.
• Psalms 73:22I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.
• Psalms 142:4Look and see, there is no one at my right hand; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life.
• Isaiah 57:3“But you—come here, you children of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!
• Jonah 2:2He said: “In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry.

Commentaries on Luke 15:16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16With the husks - . Bochart, I think, has proved that does not mean husks: to signify which the Greek botanical writers use the word ; several examples of which he gives from Theophrastus. He shows, also, that the original word means the fruit of the ceratonia or charub tree, which grows plentifully in Syria. This kind of pulse, Columella observes, was made use of to feed swine. See Bochart, Hieroz. lib. ii. cap. lvi. col. 707-10.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16He would fain - He would gladly. He desired to do it. The husks - The word “husks” with us denotes the outward covering of grain. In this there is little nourishment, and it is evident that this is not intended here; but the word used here denotes not only “husks,” but also leguminous plants, as beans, etc. It is also used to denote the fruit of a tree called the “carob or kharub-tree,” which is common in Ionia, Syria, and Rhodes. The tree is more bushy…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-16Verses 11-16 The parable of the prodigal son shows the nature of repentance, and the Lord's readiness to welcome and bless all who return to him. It fully sets forth the riches of gospel grace; and it has been, and will be, while the world stands, of unspeakable use to poor sinners, to direct and to encourage them in repenting and returning to God. It is bad, and the beginning of worse, when men look upon God's gifts as debts due to them. The great folly…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. 1616. would fain have filled--rather, "was fain to fill," ate greedily of the only food he could get. the husks--"the hulls of a leguminous plant which in the East is the food of cattle and swine, and often the nourishment of the poorest in times of distress" [Stier]. no man gave ... him--not this food, for that he had, but anything better (Jr 30:14). This was his lowest depth--perishing unpitied, alone in the world, and ready to disappear from it unmissed!…Read the comment

Topics related to Luke 15:16

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

In the dictionaries

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

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