Luke 15:18

I will get up and go back to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The younger son in the parable speaks to himself while starving in a foreign land, resolving to return to his earthly father. This declaration occurs immediately after he "came to his senses" about his destitution.

The words — ἀναστὰς (anastas) means "having risen up," marking the decisive shift from passive despair to active movement. πορεύσομαι (poreusomai) translates to "I will go," specifying the future action of returning to the father.

The thread — The pattern of deliberate return appears in Lamentations 3:40, which commands examining one's ways and turning back to the LORD, and is completed in the son's full confession in Luke 15:21. The explicit admission of sinning "against heaven and against you" aligns with the factual claim in 1 John 1:8 that denying sin is self-deception.

Why it lands — The text requires a direct, unvarnished acknowledgment of wrongdoing before any request for restoration is made. It forces the reader to replace self-justification with concrete confession and immediate action.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

ἀναστὰςanastasHaving risen up πορεύσομαιporeusomaiI will go πρὸςprosto τὸνtonthe πατέραpaterafather μουmouof mine καὶkaiand ἐρῶerōI will say αὐτῷ·autōto him;πάτερ,paterFather,ἥμαρτονhēmartonI have sinned εἰςeisagainst τὸνton<the>οὐρανὸνouranonheaven καὶkaiand ἐνώπιόνenōpionbefore σου·souyou;

King James Version

I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,

Cross-references

Lamentations 3:40 Let us examine and test our ways, and turn back to the LORD.
1 John 1:8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Luke 15:21 The son declared, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
Psalms 51:3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
Jeremiah 50:4 “In those days and at that time, declares the LORD, the children of Israel and the children of Judah will come together, weeping as they come, and will seek the LORD their God.
Luke 18:13 But the tax collector stood at a distance, unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven. Instead, he beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’
Matthew 6:14 For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
Psalms 32:3 When I kept silent, my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long.
Hosea 2:6 Therefore, behold, I will hedge up her path with thorns; I will enclose her with a wall, so she cannot find her way.
Psalms 25:11 For the sake of Your name, O LORD, forgive my iniquity, for it is great.