Luke 15:29

But he answered his father, ‘Look, all these years I have served you and never disobeyed a commandment of yours. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — The older son addresses his father in direct response to the father’s plea to enter the house after the son refused to join the celebration. He speaks at the moment of confrontation over the feast prepared for his younger brother’s return.

The words — ἀποκριθεὶς (apokritheis) translates as “answering,” denoting a direct verbal reply to the father’s appeal. ἰδοὺ (idou) means “behold” or “look,” functioning to stress the son’s assertion of years of faithful service and his claim of neglect.

The thread — The son’s complaint about the futility of obedience runs parallel to Malachi 3:14, while the father’s pursuit of the unwilling son anticipates the heavenly joy over repentance in Luke 15:7.

Why it lands — The text states that the son equates his worth with years of unbroken obedience and demands a reward for his service. It requires the reader to confront whether their devotion operates on a transactional basis or responds to unconditional grace.

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

King James Version

And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:

Cross-references

Zechariah 7:3 by asking the priests of the house of the LORD of Hosts, as well as the prophets, “Should I weep and fast in the fifth month, as I have done these many years?”
Malachi 3:14 You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What have we gained by keeping His requirements and walking mournfully before the LORD of Hosts?
Luke 15:7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who do not need to repent.
Luke 18:11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—swindlers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.
1 Samuel 15:13 When Samuel reached him, Saul said to him, “May the LORD bless you. I have carried out the LORD’s instructions.”
Isaiah 65:5 They say, ‘Keep to yourself; do not come near me, for I am holier than you!’ Such people are smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all day long.
Malachi 1:12 “But you profane it when you say, ‘The table of the Lord is defiled, and as for its fruit, its food is contemptible.’
Matthew 20:12 ‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’
Luke 17:10 So you also, when you have done everything commanded of you, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”
Luke 18:9 To some who trusted in their own righteousness and viewed others with contempt, He also told this parable: