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!
• 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!
• New Living Translation (NLT)“When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger!

Context of Luke 15:17

15So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. “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. 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’

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 the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.
• Luke 16:23In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.
• Psalms 73:20They are like a dream when one awakes; when you arise, Lord, you will despise them as fantasies.
• Ecclesiastes 9:3This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead.
• Jeremiah 31:19After I strayed, I repented; after I came to understand, I beat my breast. I was ashamed and humiliated because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’
• Ezekiel 18:28Because they consider all the offenses they have committed and turn away from them, that person will surely live; they will not die.
• Acts 2:37When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
• Acts 16:29The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.
• Acts 16:30He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
• Acts 26:11Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. I was so obsessed with persecuting them that I even hunted them down in foreign cities.
• Ephesians 2:4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
• Ephesians 5:14This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
• James 1:16Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.
• Luke 15:18I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
• Lamentations 1:7In the days of her affliction and wandering Jerusalem remembers all the treasures that were hers in days of old. When her people fell into enemy hands, there was no one to help her. Her enemies looked at her and laughed at her destruction.

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