Section 15:11–32

Jesus told about a father welcoming his sinful son home

In this parable Jesus told about a young man who left his father’s home and wasted the money that his father had given him. Then Jesus told how the young man returned to his father, and how his father welcomed him home. The young man had an older brother who was not happy at all when his father welcomed his younger brother. This story illustrates what God is like. He is ready to forgive anyone who truly turns from his sins and begins to obey him. It also warns people not to be like the older son, who did not want to forgive his brother.

Some other headings for this section are:

The Lost Son (Good News Translation)
-or-
The Son Who Left Home (New Century Version)
-or-
A son who wasted his share of the inheritance
-or-
A father was happy when his son returned home

Before you decide on a heading for this section, think about a natural way in your language to describe a child who deliberately left home and foolishly wasted his money. In some languages a word such as “lost” can only be used to describe someone who doesn’t know where he is. If that is true in your language, you will want to use a more appropriate expression for this context.

Paragraph 15:11–16

15:11

Then Jesus said: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Then Jesus said is literally “and/then he said.” It introduces the next parable that Jesus told the people. Other ways to introduce this parable are:

Jesus also told them another story. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: (New Living Translation (2004))

There was a man who had two sons: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as There was a man who had two sons begins the story by introducing all three of the main characters. The Berean Standard Bible has translated it in a way that is natural in English. Use an introductory phrase that is natural in your language for beginning a story. The events of the story did not actually happen, but they illustrate something that is true about God.

who had two sons: In some languages there may not be one word like “son.” Another way to translate the clause is:

who had two male offspring

Consider how your language describes this relationship.

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