Paragraph 15:17–20a

15:17a

Finally This verse is a turning point in the story. In Greek, the verse begins with a conjunction that some English versions translate here as “But.” It introduces the important things that happened after the young man came to his senses. The Berean Standard Bible represents it with the expression Finally. Other ways to introduce this verse are:

At last
-or-
Then

he came to his senses: The idiomatic Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as he came to his senses indicates that the younger son finally began to think clearly and sensibly about himself and his situation. If you have an idiom in your language that expresses this meaning, you may use it here. Other ways to translate this expression are:

he realized what he was doing (New Century Version)
-or-
he realized how foolish he had been (Translator’s Reference Translation)

15:17b

and said: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as and said can also refer to thoughts that are not spoken out loud. Other ways to translate the word here are:

he said to himself (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
he thought (New Century Version)

‘How many of my father’s hired servants have plenty of food?: This clause is an explanation. It emphasizes that the many men whom his father paid to work for him had plenty of food to eat. It is not meant as a question, and it does not imply that some of his father’s workers did not have enough food. Other ways to translate this expression are:

All my father’s hired workers have more than they can eat (Good News Translation)
-or-
My father’s workers have plenty to eat (Contemporary English Version)

my father’s hired servants: The Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as my father’s hired servants refers here to the men whom his father hired to work on his farm. These men were probably paid each day. A different word is used to refer to the slaves in 15:22a.

If your language has an expression that refers specifically to people who work on a daily wage basis, you may use it here. Otherwise, a more general term is fine.

15:17c

But here I am, starving to death!: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But here introduces a surprising contrast to the previous statement. The younger son was comparing himself to his father’s workmen and thinking about how they had enough food, whereas he was extremely hungry. Other ways to express this contrast are:

while I’m starving to death here (God’s Word)
-or-

but here I am dying from hunger (NET Bible)

here: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as here refers to the place where the young man was staying.

I am, starving to death!: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as starving to death means “dying from hunger.”

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