Luke 15:14

And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
And	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
when he	αὐτοῦ autou	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
had spent	δαπανήσαντος dapanēsantos	G1159	to expend · verb — aorist active participle, genitive singular masculine
all	πάντα panta	G3956	all · adjective — accusative plural neuter
there arose	ἐγένετο egeneto	G1096	to cause to be ("gen"-erate) · verb — second aorist middle deponent indicative, 3rd person singular
a mighty	ἰσχυρὰ ischura	G2478	forcible (literally or figuratively) · adjective — nominative singular feminine
famine	λιμὸς limos	G3042	a scarcity of food · noun — nominative singular feminine
in	κατὰ kata	G2596	(prepositionally) down (in place or time) · preposition
that	ἐκείνην, ekeinēn	G1565	that one (or (neuter) thing) · demonstrative pronoun — accusative singular feminine
land	χώραν chōran	G5561	room · noun — accusative singular feminine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
he	αὐτὸς autos	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — nominative singular masculine
began	ἄρχομαι árchomai	G756	to commence (in order of time)
to be in want	ὑστερεῖσθαι. hustereisthai	G5302	to be later · verb — present passive infinitive

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

2 Chronicles 33:11 Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him wi…
Ezekiel 16:27 Behold, therefore I have stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food, and delivered thee unto the will of them…
Hosea 2:9-14 Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will recover my wool and my flax…
Amos 8:9-12 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Luke 15:11–end

We have here the parable of the prodigal son, the scope of which is the same with those before, to show how pleasing to God the conversion of sinners is, of great sinners, and how ready he is to receive and entertain such, upon their repentance; but the circumstances of the parable do much more largely and fully set forth the riches of gospel grace than those did, and it has been, and will be while the world stands, of unspeakable use to poor sinners, both to direct and to encourage them in repenting and returning to God. Now, I. The parable represents God as a common Father to all mankind, to the whole family of Adam. We are all his offspring, have all one Father, and one God created us, Ma…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Luke 15:14

when he had spent all . . . a mighty famine--a mysterious providence holding back the famine till he was in circumstances to feel it in all its rigor. Thus, like Jonah, whom the storm did not overtake till on the mighty deep at the mercy of the waves, does the sinner feel as if "the stars in their courses were fighting against" him (Jdg 5:20). in want--the first stage of his bitter experience, and preparation for a change.

Adam Clarke on Luke 15:14

A mighty famine in that land - As he was of a profligate turn of mind himself, it is likely he sought out a place where riot and excess were the ruling characteristics of the inhabitants; and, as poverty is the sure consequence of prodigality, it is no wonder that famine preyed on the whole country.

John Gill on Luke 15:14

And when he had spent all,.... Sin strips a man of all that is good and valuable; of the image of God, of the knowledge of divine things, of natural holiness, of moral righteousness, and of strength to perform moral good; hence man is in a wretched and miserable condition, he is poor, and blind, and naked: and if man has spent all, and sin has stripped him of all, where is his free will? there is no good thing in man, but what comes from the grace of God; nor has he any thing to recommend him to God, or to offer to his creditor, to compound his debts with; nor can he prepare himself for conversion, or any good work: there arose a mighty famine in that land; sin brings men into a starving an…

The Church Fathers

As it follows, And when he had spent all, there arose a great famine in that land. The famine is the want of the word of truth. It follows, And he began to be in want. Fitly did he begin to be in want who abandoned the treasures of the wisdom and the knowledge of God, and the unfathomableness of the heavenly riches.
— Augustine of Hippo ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that country. All the things he wasted signify the adornments of nature which he consumed. The famine in the far country is the lack of the word of truth, in the forgetfulness of the Creator. Concerning which it is said in the prophets: Because the Lord will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord (Amos 8).
— Bede, On the Gospel of Luke

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Joy · In heaven — In heaven
Parables · Prodigal son — Prodigal son
Penitent · PROMISES TO — PROMISES TO
Prodigal Son · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Salvation · 4:2; — 4:2;
Young Men · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Luke 15:14

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Luke 15:11–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Luke 15:14

Adam Clarke on Luke 15:14

John Gill on Luke 15:14

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Luke 15:14

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Luke 15:11–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Luke 15:14

Adam Clarke on Luke 15:14

John Gill on Luke 15:14

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Luke 15:11-24

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Luke 15:13