parable of the prodigal son (image)

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complete verse (Luke 15:14)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 15:14:

  • Noongar: “He used all the money. Then no rain fell on the land and the land grew no food. He had nothing, without money and without food. ” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “When his money was all gone, there was famine in that town, to the point that his life was pitiful.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “When he had spent all, that country suddenly had a great famine. Then he was in great need.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And then his money ran out. And there happened a very bitter famine in that land, and as for him, he had no way to get what he needed.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “When his money was used-up, an extreme famine arrived in the country where he was, and he was left-with-nothing (lit. shaved).” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Just as he had used it up in wasting it, a severe famine came to that place. Well, what else but he was scrounging around (lit. reaching through holes in the floor) in his poverty/severe-hardship.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Scriptures Plain & Simple (Luke 15:11-32)

Barclay Newman, a translator on the teams for both the Good News Bible and the Contemporary English Version, translated passages of the New Testament into English and published them in 2014, “in a publication brief enough to be non-threatening, yet long enough to be taken seriously, and interesting enough to appeal to believers and un-believers alike.” The following is the translation of Luke 15:11-32:

Finally, Jesus told them this story:

       A man’s younger son once said,
              “Dad, give me my share of the family fortune!”
       So his father divided everything
              between him and his older brother.

       Soon the younger son packed up everything
       and left for a foreign country,
              where he wasted every cent of his inheritance.

       Then a terrible famine struck the land,
              leaving him famished and without food.

       So hungry was the young man that he took a job
              feeding bean pods to nasty pigs,
       and he would have eaten some of the pods himself,
              if only the owner had turned his back.

       At last, in desperation, he said to himself,
       “My dad’s workers have more than enough to eat,
              while I sit here with these pigs, starving to death.
       Best thing I can do is to go home and make up with my dad.
       I’ll say, “Dad, I’ve been a really lousy son,
              worthless and useless to both you and God.
       Fact is, I don’t deserve to be called your son —
              just treat me like one of your servants.”

       Before he even reached the road to the farmhouse,
       his father saw him and felt so sorry that he ran over
              and greeted the young man with hugs and kisses.

       “Dad, I’ve been a really lousy son,” said the boy.
       “I’m worthless and useless to both you and God.
              Fact is, I don’t deserve to be called your son.”

       But his father instructed the servants,
              “Hurry! Bring him the best clothes.
              Put a gold ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
              And prepare our choice beef, so we can celebrate!
       My son was dead, and now he’s alive!
              My son was lost, and now he’s found.”

       Then the festivities began.
       Meanwhile, the older brother was coming in from the fields,
       when he heard the sound of music and dancing.
              “What’s going on?” he asked one of the servants.

       “Your younger brother has come home,” answered the servant,
       “and your father ordered us
              to prepare the choice beef for a feast.”
       This made the older brother so angry
              that he refused to go anywhere near the house.

       His father went out and begged him to join the celebration,
       but his son answered, “All my life I’ve obeyed you,
              and I’ve worked like a slave.
       Yet you’ve never even given me a small goat,
              so I could throw a party for my friends.
       This other son of yours blew all his money on hookers,
              and now that he’s back home,
       you’ve ordered our choice beef
              to be killed for a feast in his honor.”

       “My dear son,” replied his father, “You’re always here,
              and everything I have is yours as well.
       But don’t you think we should celebrate?
       Your brother was dead, and now he’s alive.
              He was lost, and now he’s found.”

Translation commentary on Luke 15:14

Exegesis:

dapanēsantos de autou panta ‘but when he had spent it all.’ panta points back to ousian in v. 13.

dapanaō ‘to spend,’ a neutral term (cf. dapanē in 14.28).

egeneto limos ischura kata tēn chōran ekeinēn ‘there arose a severe famine throughout that country.’

ischuros lit. ‘strong,’ here figuratively, ‘severe.’

kai autos ērxato hustereisthai ‘and he began to be in want.’ autos is not emphatic but resumes the subject of dieskorpisen (v. 13). For archomai with infinitive cf. on 4.21.

hustereomai (also 22.35) ‘to be in want,’ ‘to be needy,’ with following genitive, ‘to lack,’ ‘to be in need of.’

Translation:

When he had spent everything, or, ‘all that he possessed.’ To spend, or, ‘to use-up/finish’ (Bahasa Indonesia, similarly Sranan Tongo, lit. ‘to eat’).

A great famine arose, cf. “there came a great famine” in 4.25.

And he began to be in want, i.e. to lack the things that he needed to live, especially food, cf. ‘then he had nothing’ (Ekari), “and he faced starvation” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation).

Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 15:14

15:14a

After he had spent all he had: The clause After he had spent all he had means that the young man had used up all his money. Other ways to translate this are:

In this way he spent all his money
-or-
He had nothing left when… (God’s Word)

15:14b

a severe famine swept through that country: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as a severe famine swept through that country is literally “there-came a severe famine.” Languages have different ways to describe the start or spread of a famine. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

a time came when there was no food anywhere in the country (New Century Version)
-or-
a bad famine spread through that whole land (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
that country experienced a severe famine (New Jerusalem Bible)

a severe famine: The phrase a severe famine refers to a time when there was little food available for humans or animals to eat.

15:14c

and he began to be in need: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as he began to be in need indicates that the younger son no longer had any money. He could not buy food, so he began to go hungry. Other ways to translate this clause are:

Soon he had nothing to eat. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
He had nothing to live on. (God’s Word)
-or-
he began to starve (New Living Translation (2004))

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