Luke 15:21 And the son said unto him, Father,

KJV

Luke 15:21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.

LISTENERS HEARD

He said, however, the son to him, 'Father, I have failed in regard to the sky and facing you. No longer am I worthy to be called a son of yours,  make me just like one of those hired servants of yours."

LOST IN TRANSLATION

This verse echoes  Luke 15:18 and Luke 15:19, using the same exact language adding only the narrative introduction. This is lost in translation because the English is a little different, divided between the verses, and the final phrase Luke 15:19, of doesn't appear in this verse. The effect of the repetition in the exact same words would primarily be humorous.  The first part is from Luke 15:18.

"Father" is the Greek noun that means "father" or any male ancestor.  It is in the form of address. 

"I have sinned" is from the verb which means "to miss the mark", "to fail in one's purpose", "to err", "to be mistaken," and "to neglect." Here, the sense is "to fail" or "to neglect"

The word translated as "against" means "into" a place, "towards" as a direction, "in regards to" a subject, and "up to" limits in time and measure. Here, the sense is clearly "in regards to". It is changed to "against" to make the idea of "sin" work. 

The word translated as "heaven" means sky, the climate, and the universe. Here, it is singular with an article, so "the sky" or "the universe". It also meant the home of the gods in a physical sense: the sun, moon, and planets were named for the gods. More about the word in this article. To fail in regard to the universe implies a sense of universal rules.

The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and". 

 The Greek term translated as "in...sight" is not used outside of Luke except once in John. It appears here for the first time in Jesus's words here. It means "in front of".  In the earlier version, this was translated as "before". 

The word translated as "thee" is the possessive form of the second-person pronoun.

The second part is from Luke 15:19 but here it is truncated. Only some Greek manuscripts show the complete text. 

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."  --

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." 

 

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV

εἶπεν (verb 3rd sg aor ind act) "I have called" is eipon, which means "to speak", "to say", "to recite", "to address", "to mention", "to name", "to proclaim", "to plead", "to promise," and "to offer." -- "Said" is from the Greek verb that means "to say" and "to speak" also.

δὲ (conj/adv) "But" is de which means "but" and "on the other hand." It is the particle that joins sentences in an adversarial way but can also be a weak connective ("and") and explanation of cause ("so") and a condition ("if"). -- The Greek word translated as "but" means "but", "however", and "on the other hand". Since it always falls in the second position, translating it as "however" often captures its feeling better. 

υἱὸς (noun sg masc nom) "The Son" is huios, which means a "son," and more generally, a "child." It is used generally to refer to any male descendant.

αὐτῷ (adj sg masc dat)  "Unto him" is autos, which means "the same," and the reflexive pronouns, "myself", "yourself", "himself", "herself", "itself," or the oblique case of the pronouns, "him", "her," and "it." It also means "one's true self," that is, "the soul" as opposed to the body and "of one's own accord." In the adverbial form, it  means "just here" or "exactly there." -- The word translated as "him" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English.  The word means "the same" when used as an adjective. In the adverbial form, it  means "just here" or "exactly there." 

Πάτερ, (noun sg masc voc) "The Father" is pater, which means "father", "grandfather", "author", "parent," and "forefathers." -- "Father" is the Greek noun that means "father" or any male ancestor so "forefathers". It is the word that Christ uses to address his own Father. 

ἥμαρτον (verb 1st sg aor ind act) "I have sinned" is from hamartanô, which means "to miss the mark", "to fail in one's purpose", "to err", "to be mistaken," and "to neglect." -- "Trespass" is from the verb which means "to miss the mark", "to fail in one's purpose", "to err", "to be mistaken," and "to neglect."

εἰς (prep) "Against" is eis, which means "into (of place)," "up to (of time)", "until (of time)", "as much as (of measure or limit)", "as far as (of measure or limit)", "towards (to express relation)", "in regard to (to express relation)", "of an end or limit," and "for (of purpose or object)." -- The word translated as "unto" means "into" a place, "towards" as a direction, "in regards to" a subject, and "up to" limits in time and measure.

τὸν οὐρανὸν (noun sg masc acc) "Heaven" is the Greek ouranos, which means "heaven as in the vault of the sky", "heaven as the seat of the gods", "the sky", "the universe," and "the climate." -- The word translated as "heaven" means sky, the climate, and the universe. It also meant the home of the gods in a physical sense: the sun, moon, and planets were named for the gods. More about the word in this article.

καὶ (conj/adv) "And" is kai, which is the conjunction joining phrases and clauses, "and," or "but." After words implying sameness, "as" (the same opinion as you). Used in series, joins positive with negative "Not only...but also." Also used to give emphasis, "even", "also," and "just." -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and", but it also is used to add emphasis ("also"). In a series, it is best translated as "not only...but also." After words implying sameness "as".

ἐνώπιόν (prep) "In...sight" is from enopionwhich means " facing" and "to the front".  -- The Greek term translated as "before" is not used outside of Luke except once in John. It appears here for the first time in Jesus's words here. It means "in front of". 

σου, (adj sg masc gen) "Thy" is sou which means "of you" and "your."  -- The word translated as "thy" is the possessive form of the second person pronoun.

οὐκέτι (adv) "No longer" is ouketi, which means "no more", "no longer", "no further" and generally, "not now."  -- "Henceforth" is an adverb that means "no more", "no longer", "no further" and generally, "not now."

εἰμὶ (verb 3rd 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.") -- The verb "is" 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. -- When the verb "to be" appears early in the sentence before the subject, the sense is more like "it is" or, in the plural, "there are." 

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." -- The word 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. 

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."

[: ποίησόν (verb 2nd sg aor imperat act) Untranslated 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." -- The Greek word translated as "to do" has the primary meaning of "making" or producing" something or "causing" or "rendering" as service. It describes a productive action.  It is not as broad a word as the English "do", which covers all actions, productive or not. 

με (noun sg masc acc) "Me" is me, which means "I", "me", and "my". -- "Me" is the regular first-person pronoun in Greek.

ὡς (adv/conj) "How" 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." -- The word translated as "as" has a very broad meaning, translating as "how", "when", "where", "just as", "like," and related words.

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." 

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