Passage

Luke 15.20

Book: Luke · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

18. I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight: 19. I am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

20. And he arose, and came to his father. But while he was yet afar off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight: I am no more worthy to be called thy son. 22. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: (Luke 15:18-22, ASV)

WEB

18. I will get up and go to my father, and will tell him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight. 19. I am no more worthy to be called your son. Make me as one of your hired servants.”’

20. “He arose, and came to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22. “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe, and put it on him. Put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. (Luke 15:18-22, WEB)

KJV

18. I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, 19. And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

20. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. 22. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: (Luke 15:18-22, KJV)

YLT

18. having risen, I will go on unto my father, and will say to him, Father, I did sin, to the heaven, and before thee, 19. and no more am I worthy to be called thy son; make me as one of thy hirelings.

20. 'And having risen, he went unto his own father, and he being yet far distant, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and having ran he fell upon his neck and kissed him;

and the son said to him, Father, I did sin, to the heaven, and before thee, and no more am I worthy to be called thy son. 22. 'And the father said unto his servants, Bring forth the first robe, and clothe him, and give a ring for his hand, and sandals for the feet; (Luke 15:18-22, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: Jesus, telling a parable
Audience: Pharisees and scribes who murmured that he "receiveth sinners, and eateth with them" (15:2), with tax collectors and sinners also listening (15:1)
Location: On the long journey to Jerusalem that Luke begins at 9:51
Time period: C. AD 29-30, in the last months before the crucifixion

Theological reading

"And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him" (Luke 15:20, KJV).

The father was watching. He sees his son "a great way off," which implies he had been looking. The son has rehearsed a speech asking to be taken back as a hired servant (15:18-19). He never gets to finish it (15:21-22).

Compassion that moves. "Had compassion" is splanchnizomai (Strong's G4697), to be moved in the inward parts. Luke uses the same verb of the Samaritan who stopped for the wounded man (10:33) and of Jesus at the widow's son's funeral at Nain (7:13).

The father ran. Kenneth Bailey, drawing on long experience of Middle Eastern village life, argued that a dignified patriarch did not run in public, and that the father's run would have been shameful. In his reading the father takes the village's contempt on himself to reach his son before anyone else can. Whatever weight one gives that background, the text shows the father moving first, before any confession is made.

Aimed at the elder brother. The parable ends not with the younger son but with the older one outside, angry (15:25-32). That is the position of the Pharisees in 15:2. The New Age Spirituality vs the Christian God comparison cites the verse for the difference between a seeker finding the divine within and a Father running out to meet the seeker. See Grace vs Law.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

G3962 - pater, pater, Strong's G3962
G1492 - oida, oida, Strong's G1492
G4314 - pros, pros, Strong's G4314

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Lexicon:

G0622 - apollymi, via Luke 15.11-32

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.