Luke 15:19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
No longer am I worthy to be called a son of yours, make me just like one of those hired servants of yours.
This is a case where the Greek verses are divided differently than the English. The first part of this KJV is from the previous Greek verse. Both are shown in the vocabulary section. We will discuss the Greek from the previous verse first.
There is no "and" in the Greek.
The verb "am" here is the common form of "to be" in Greek. It means to have a certain characteristic or remain in a certain condition. It also equates terms or assigns characteristics.
"No more" is from an adverb that means "no more", "no longer", "no further" and generally, "not now."
The adjective translated here as "worthy" means "counterbalancing." It is the idea of weighing the same as something of equal value. From this comes the idea of "being worthy" or "due," not from inherent worth but because you give value for equal value.
The verb translated as "to be called" is like our word "call" because it means both "to summon" and also "to name". It is the source of our word "call". It is in the form of a passive infinitive, "to be called".
The word translated as "thy" is the possessive form of the second person pronoun.
The word translated as "son" more generally means "child" or "children". It can refer to all offspring in later generations, just like "father" refers to all previous generations. Jesus also used it metaphorically to describe those who follow a way of thought or set of beliefs that descend from an individual. More about it in this article.
This verses Greek begins here.
The Greek word translated as "make" has the primary meaning of "making" or producing" something or "causing" or "rendering" as service. It describes a productive action. It is often translated as "do" in the Gospels, but this is a good example of why "do" doesn't work.
"Me" is the regular first-person pronoun in Greek.
The word translated as "as" has a very broad meaning, translating as "how", "when", "where", "just as", "like," and related words.
The Greek adjective translated as "one " means "one" (as opposed to other numbers), "single," and "one and the same."As in English, it can be used as a pronoun, meaning a single person.
The word translated as "thy" is the possessive form of the second person pronoun.
"Hired servants" is an uncommon noun used only in this story. It means "salaried", "hired", "hired laborer", "servant", and "mercenary". In Luke 15:17, it was translated as "hired servants". This distinguishes it from a different word commonly translated as "servant", which actually means "bondsman" or "slave".
The initial part of this KJV appears in the previous verse in the Greek. We duplicate it here:
οὐκέτι (adv) "Henceforth" is ouketi, which means "no more", "no longer", "no further" and generally, "not now."
εἰμὶ (verb 1st sg pres ind act) "Am" is eimi, which means "to be", "to exist", "to be the case," of circumstance and events "to happen", and "is possible." (The future form is esomai. The 3rd person present indicative is "esti.")
ἄξιος (adj sg masc nom) "Worthy" is axios, which means "counterbalancing", "weighing as much", "of like value", "worth as much as", "worthy", "goodly", "deserved", "due", "worthy", "estimable", "worthy of", "deserving", "fit", "due," and "as deserved."
κληθῆναι (verb aor inf pass) "To be called" is kaleo, which means "call", "summon", "invite", "invoke", "call by name," and "demand."
υἱός (noun sg masc nom) "Son" is huios, which means a "son," and more generally, a "child." It is used generally to refer to any male descendant.
σου: (adj sg masc gen) "Thy" is sou which means "of you" and "your." --
This verse's Greek begins here:
ποίησόν (verb 2nd sg aor imperat act) "Make" is poieo, which means "to make", "to produce", "to create", "to bring into existence", "to bring about", "to cause", "to render", "to consider", "to prepare", "to make ready," and "to do."
με (noun sg masc acc) "Me" is eme, which means "I", "me", and "my".
ὡς (adv/conj) "As" is hos, an adverb which means to "thus", "as", "how", "when", "where", "like", "just as", "so far as", "as much as can be", "that", "in order that", "nearly (with numbers)," and "know that."
ἕνα (noun sg masc acc) "One" is heis, which means "one" (as opposed to other numbers), "single," and "one and the same." This adjective is irregular, having a number of forms depending on sex, number, and case: heis, henos, heni, hen, hena, mia, mias, miai, mian; hen, henos, hen.
τῶν μισθίων [uncommon](adj pl masc gen) "Hired servants" is misthios, which means "salaried", "hired", "hired laborer", "servant", and "mercenary".
σου. (adj sg masc gen) "Thy" is sou which means "of you" and "your."
Luke 15:18 I will arise and go to my father,
Luke 15:21 And the son said unto him, Father,