Luke 15:29-31

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Luke 15:29 tn Grk “but answering, he said.” This is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “but he answered.”
2. Luke 15:29 tn Or simply, “have served,” but in the emotional context of the older son’s outburst the translation given is closer to the point.
3. Luke 15:29 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to bring out the contrast indicated by the context.
4. Luke 15:29 sn You never gave me even a goat. The older son’s complaint was that the generous treatment of the younger son was not fair: “I can’t get even a little celebration with a basic food staple like a goat!”
5. Luke 15:30 sn Note the younger son is not “my brother” but this son of yours (an expression with a distinctly pejorative nuance).
6. Luke 15:30 sn This is another graphic description. The younger son’s consumption had been like a glutton. He had both figuratively and literally devoured the assets which were given to him.
7. Luke 15:30 sn The charge concerning the prostitutes is unproven, but essentially the older brother accuses the father of committing an injustice by rewarding his younger son’s unrighteous behavior.
8. Luke 15:30 sn See note on the phrase “fattened calf” in v. 23.
9. Luke 15:31 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events in the parable.
10. Luke 15:31 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the father) has been specified in the translation for clarity.