LUKE 15:25 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) “The man’s older son was out working in a field, and when he was heading home and got near the house, he could hear the sound of music and dancing

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT And his older son was in the field, and as he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing.

UST While all that was happening, the father’s older son was out working in the fields. After he finished working, he headed home. As he was getting close to the house, he heard people playing music and dancing.

BLB And his elder son was in the field, and while coming up, he drew near to the house; he heard music and dancing.

AICNT “Now his older son was in the field; and as he was coming, he approached the house, he heard music and dancing.

OEB Meanwhile the elder son was out in the fields; but, on coming home, when he got near the house, he heard music and dancing,

WEBBE “Now his elder son was in the field. As he came near to the house, he heard music and dancing.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET “Now his older son was in the field. As he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing.

LSV And his elder son was in a field, and as, coming, he drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing,

FBV Now the older son was working out in the fields. As he walked towards the house, he heard music and dancing.

TCNT “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.

T4T While all that was happening, the man’s older son was out working in the field. When he came near to the house, he heard people playing music and dancing.

LEB “Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and[fn] approached the house, he heard music and dancing.

15:25 *Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“came”) has been translated as a finite verb

BBE Now the older son was in the field: and when he came near the house, the sounds of music and dancing came to his ears.

Moff Now his elder son was out in the field, and as he came near the house he heard music and dancing;

Wymth "Now his elder son was out on the farm; and when he returned and came near home, he heard music and dancing.

ASV Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing.

DRA Now his elder son was in the field, and when he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing:

YLT 'And his elder son was in a field, and as, coming, he drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing,

Drby And his elder son was in the field; and as, coming [up], he drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing.

RV Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing.

SLT And his elder son was in the field: and coming, as he drew near the house, he heard a concert of music, and dances.

Wbstr Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing.

KJB-1769 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.
( Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing. )

KJB-1611 Now his elder sonne was in the field, and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musicke & dauncing,
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps The elder brother was in the fielde: and when he came and drewe nye to the house, he hearde minstrelsie & daunsing,
(The elder brother was in the field: and when he came and drew nigh/near to the house, he heard minstrelsie and dancing,)

Gnva Nowe the elder brother was in the fielde, and when he came and drewe neere to the house, he heard melodie, and dauncing,
(Now the elder brother was in the field, and when he came and drew near to the house, he heard melodie, and dancing, )

Cvdl But the elder sonne was in the felde. And whan he came, and drewe nye to the house, he herde ye mynstrelsye and daunsynge,
(But the elder son was in the field. And when he came, and drew nigh/near to the house, he herd/heard ye/you_all mynstrelsye and daunsing,)

TNT The elder brother was in the felde and when he cam and drewe nye to the housse he herde minstrelcy and daunsynge
(The elder brother was in the field and when he came and drew nigh/near to the house he herd/heard minstrelcy and daunsing )

Wycl But his eldere sone was in the feeld; and whanne he cam, and neiyede to the hous, he herde a symfonye and a croude.
(But his elder son was in the field; and when he came, and came_near to the house, he herd/heard a symfonye and a croude.)

Luth Aber der älteste Sohn war auf dem Felde, und als er nahe zum Hause kam, hörete er das Gesänge und den Reigen
(But the/of_the älteste son what/which on/in/to to_him field, and as he near for_the house came, heard he the Gesänge and the round_dance)

ClVg Erat autem filius ejus senior in agro: et cum veniret, et appropinquaret domui, audivit symphoniam et chorum:[fn]
(It_was however son his senior in/into/on field: and when/with would_come, and appropinquaret home, he_heard symphoniam and chorum: )

15.25 Erat autem filius, etc. Filius, id est populus Isræl, qui nec ad colenda idola elongaverat. Neque in domo erat, quia interiora legis non penetrabat: litterali sensu, contentus, terrena operans, terrena exspectans. Hic est qui agrum emit, et quinque juga boum, legis onere pressus, terrenis sensibus fruitur, et uxorem duxit in affectu carnis. Et cum veniret. Appropinquat filius domum cum aliquis in populo illo spiritualiter legem intelligens, labores servilis operis improbat, et Ecclesiæ libertatem considerat. Audit symphoniam et chorum, id est spiritu plenos vocibus consonis Evangelium prædicare. Vocat unum de servis, cum sumit ad legendum aliquem de prophetis. Et eum interrogat, dum in eo scrutatur quæ sint hæc festa Ecclesiæ in quibus se esse non videt.

15.25 It_was however son, etc. Son, that it_is the_people Israel, who/which but_not to colenda idols elongaverat. Neither in/into/on at_home was, because interior law not/no penetrabat: letterli sense, contentus, earthly operans, earthly waitns. Here/This it_is who/which field buys, and five yuga ox/bull, law onere pressus, earthly senses fruitur, and wife led in/into/on with_feeling of_flesh. And when/with would_come. Appropinquat son house/home when/with someone in/into/on to_the_people that/there spiritually the_law intelligent, with_hard_works servilis work improbat, and Assemblies/Churches freedom considers. Listent symphoniam and chorum, that it_is in_spirit full voicebus consonis the_Gospel to_preach. Callt one from/about slaves, when/with sumit to lawfullyndum someone from/about prophets. And him asks, while in/into/on by_him scrutatur which let_them_be these_things festa Assemblies/Churches in/into/on to_whom himself to_be not/no he_sees.

UGNT ἦν δὲ ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ ὁ πρεσβύτερος ἐν ἀγρῷ; καὶ ὡς ἐρχόμενος, ἤγγισεν τῇ οἰκίᾳ, ἤκουσεν συμφωνίας καὶ χορῶν.
(aʸn de ho huios autou ho presbuteros en agrōi; kai hōs erⱪomenos, aʸngisen taʸ oikia, aʸkousen sumfōnias kai ⱪorōn.)

SBL-GNT Ἦν δὲ ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ ὁ πρεσβύτερος ἐν ἀγρῷ· καὶ ὡς ἐρχόμενος ἤγγισεν τῇ οἰκίᾳ, ἤκουσεν συμφωνίας καὶ χορῶν,
(Aʸn de ho huios autou ho presbuteros en agrōi; kai hōs erⱪomenos aʸngisen taʸ oikia, aʸkousen sumfōnias kai ⱪorōn,)

RP-GNT Ἦν δὲ ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ ὁ πρεσβύτερος ἐν ἀγρῷ· καὶ ὡς ἐρχόμενος ἤγγισεν τῇ οἰκίᾳ, ἤκουσεν συμφωνίας καὶ χορῶν.
(Aʸn de ho huios autou ho presbuteros en agrōi; kai hōs erⱪomenos aʸngisen taʸ oikia, aʸkousen sumfōnias kai ⱪorōn.)

TC-GNT Ἦν δὲ ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ ὁ πρεσβύτερος ἐν ἀγρῷ· καὶ ὡς ἐρχόμενος ἤγγισε τῇ οἰκίᾳ, ἤκουσε συμφωνίας καὶ χορῶν.
(Aʸn de ho huios autou ho presbuteros en agrōi; kai hōs erⱪomenos aʸngise taʸ oikia, aʸkouse sumfōnias kai ⱪorōn. )

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 15:11–32: Jesus told about a father welcoming his sinful son home

In this parable Jesus told about a young man who left his father’s home and wasted the money that his father had given him. Then Jesus told how the young man returned to his father, and how his father welcomed him home. The young man had an older brother who was not happy at all when his father welcomed his younger brother. This story illustrates what God is like. He is ready to forgive anyone who truly turns from his sins and begins to obey him. It also warns people not to be like the older son, who did not want to forgive his brother.

Some other headings for this section are:

The Lost Son (GNT)

The Son Who Left Home (NCV)

A son who wasted his share of the inheritance

A father was happy when his son returned home

Before you decide on a heading for this section, think about a natural way in your language to describe a child who deliberately left home and foolishly wasted his money. In some languages a word such as “lost” can only be used to describe someone who doesn’t know where he is. If that is true in your language, you will want to use a more appropriate expression for this context.

15:25a

Meanwhile the older son was in the field,

¶ “As for the older son, he was in one of the fields at that time.
¶ “While this was happening, his older son was away working in a different part of the farm.

Meanwhile: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as Meanwhile here introduces something else that happened at the same time that the things in 15:20b–24 were happening. It also introduces the older son as an important person in the story. Before this, he was mentioned only indirectly in 15:11.

the older son was in the field: The phrase the older son refers to the older brother of the son who had come home. This older son was working in one of the fields that the family owned. He was away from the house.

Other ways to translate this part of the verse are:

Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. (NLT)

While this was happening, his older child was working in one of the fields.

15:25b

and as he approached the house,

When he was returning home and was near the house,
In the evening he started to go home. As he approached,

and as he approached the house: The older son finished his day’s work and began to return home for his evening meal. In some languages it may be necessary to supply a phrase explaining that the older son left the field and began to walk home. For example:

In the evening he left for home. When he got close…

15:25c

he heard music and dancing.

he heard the sound of people making music and dancing.
he heard strumming, drumming, and flute playing, and people dancing.

he heard music and dancing: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as he heard music and dancing means that the older son heard the sound of musical instruments being played and the beat of dancing feet. There were probably several people who played instruments and others who danced as a group. The dancers may have been acting out the story of the younger son’s experiences.

The text does not specify what kind of instruments people were playing or what kind of dancing they did. So, if possible, you should use general terms for these ideas, as the BSB has done. Another way to translate it is:

he heard people playing instruments and dancing

In some languages there are no general terms for either music or dancing. Instead, there are many specific terms for different instruments and other terms for different kinds of dances. If that is true in your language, try to use terms that refer to music/instruments that accompany a dance. Use a term for dancing that refers either to a dance in which a story is acted out or a dance in which people are celebrating a happy occasion. Avoid terms for ritual or religious dances or erotic dances.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-time-background

δὲ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἦν Δέ ὁ υἱός αὐτοῦ ὁ πρεσβύτερος ἐν ἀγρῷ καί ὡς ἐρχόμενος ἤγγισεν τῇ οἰκίᾳ ἤκουσεν συμφωνίας καί χορῶν)

Jesus uses the word And to introduce background information that will help readers understand what happens next. Alternate translation: [Now]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἦν & ἐν ἀγρῷ

was & in ˓the˒_field

The implication was that he was out in the field because he was working there. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could state that explicitly. Alternate translation: [was out working in the field]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ὡς ἐρχόμενος

while coming

Alternate translation: [as he came back home from the field]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

ἤκουσεν συμφωνίας καὶ χορῶν

˱he˲_heard ˱of˲_music (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἦν Δέ ὁ υἱός αὐτοῦ ὁ πρεσβύτερος ἐν ἀγρῷ καί ὡς ἐρχόμενος ἤγγισεν τῇ οἰκίᾳ ἤκουσεν συμφωνίας καί χορῶν)

The older son could not literally hear dancing, so Jesus is using the term heard in that case. Alternate translation: [he heard music and the sound of people dancing] or [he heard music and could tell that people were dancing]

Parallel LUKE 15:25

Section 15:11–32: Jesus told about a father welcoming his sinful son home

15:25a

15:25b

15:25c