Luke 15:18 I will arise and go to my father,

KJV: 

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,

LISTENERS HEARD: 

Waking up, I will march myself into the presence of that father of mine and I will say to him, 'Father, I have failed in regard to the sky and facing you." 

GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page): 

LOST IN TRANSLATION: 

The use of "sinned" here is misleading, causing other words to be changed to conform toward it. The use of "heaven" here seems to indicate that Jesus may have used the terms to refer to "the universe" and its universal rules. 

"Shall rise " is a Greek verb that means "to make to stand up," "waking up,"  "to raise from the dead," "to rouse to action," and "to make people rise up." The form is an adjective not an active verb. 

There is no "and" here in the Greek. It was added bccause the previous verb was changed into an active form. 

The Greek verb translated as "go" is the most common verb translated as "go" in the NT. This word means "to lead over," "depart," "march," and "to carry over." This word, however, uniquely means both "to pursue a course" and "to depart from life." Since it is in a form that acts on itself, the sense is "march myself." 

The word translated as "to" means "towards," "in the presence of," "by reason of (for)," and "against." "In the presence of" works best because the rest of the sentence puts the speaker in front of his father. 

"My" is the first-person possessive singular pronoun. In Greek, you can use this word either to say "my father" or "that father of mine." The later is used here. 

"Father" is the common word that Jesus uses to address his own Father, though it can mean any male ancestor. 

The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").

"Will say" is from the Greek verb that means "to say" and "to speak" also.

The word translated as "unto him" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English.  The word means "the same" when used as an adjective.

"Father" is the Greek noun that means "father" or any male ancestor. 

"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 "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."  In the Luke 15:21 version, it is translated as "in...sight." 

The word translated as "thee" is the possessive form of the second-person pronoun. In the later version, it is translated as "thy." 

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV : 

ἀναστὰς (part sg aor act masc nom) "I will rise" is from anistemi, which means "to make stand up," "to raise up," "to raise from sleep," "to wake up," "to raise from the dead," "to rouse to action," "to put up for sale," "to make people rise," "to emigrate," "to transplant," and "to rise and leave the sanctuary."

πορεύσομαι (verb 1st sg fut ind mid) "Go" is poreuomai (poreuô) which means "make to go," "carry," "convey," "bring," "go," "march," and "proceed." It is almost always translated as "go" in the NT. -- -

πρὸς (prep) "To" is pros, which means "on the side of," "in the direction of," "from (place)," "towards" "before," "in the presence of," "in the eyes of," "in the name of," "by reason of," "before (supplication)," "proceeding from (for effects)," "dependent on," "derivable from," "agreeable,""becoming," "like," "at the point of," "in addition to," "against," and "before."

τὸν πατέρα (noun sg masc acc) "The Father" is pater, which means "father," "grandfather," "author," "parent," and "forefathers."

μου (pro sg masc gen) "My" is mou, which mean "my," or "mine." 

καὶ (conj/adv) "And" is kai, which is the conjunction joining phrases and clauses, "and," or "also." 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."

ἐρῶ (verb 1st sg fut ind act) "Will say" 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." 

αὐτῷ (adj sg masc dat)  "hUnto im" 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." -- 

Πάτερ, (noun sg masc voc) "Father" is pater, which means "father," "grandfather," "author," "parent," and "forefathers." --

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." -- 

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)." 

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."

καὶ (conj/adv) "And" is kai, which is the conjunction joining phrases and clauses, "and," or "also." 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." -

ἐνώπιόν [uncommon](prep) "Before" is from enopionwhich means " facing" and "to the front." 

σου, (adj sg masc gen) "Thee" is sou which means "of you" and "your."  --

The following is discussed in Matthew 15:18, though it appears in the Greek 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 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." -- The term translated as "call" is like our word "call" because it means both "to summon" and also "to name," but it does not as clearly mean "to address."

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) "Thee" is sou which means "of you" and "your."  -- The word translated as "thy" is the possessive form of the second person pronoun.

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Front Page Date: 

Jul 23 2018