Luke 15:18
I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
Study Note
Study Note
The prodigal's resolve 'I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee' marks the narrative turning point of the parable — the moment self-knowledge produces a movement of return. The phrase 'sinned against heaven' reflects both Jewish circumlocution for 'against God' (heaven as a divine name-substitute) and an acknowledgment that vertical sin precedes and undergirds horizontal relational breakdown. His prepared speech (15:18-19) rehearses genuine contrition but stops short of the father's extravagant restoration: he plans to ask for servant status, not sonship. The parable is frequently read in light of 2 Samuel 14's language of restoration and Jeremiah 31:18-20's image of 'Ephraim bemoaning himself,' suggesting that Luke appropriates deep intertextual resonances.
Other Translations
I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight:
having risen, I will go on unto my father, and will say to him, Father, I did sin--to the heaven, and before thee,
I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, Father, I have done wrong, against heaven and in your eyes:
Cross References
Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O Lord, art …
They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the …
In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children …
Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember …
They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the …
For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us …
But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage …
If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord.