Luke 15:29

but he answered ¹  his father, ‘Look! These many years I have worked like a slave ²  for you, and I never disobeyed your commands. Yet ³  you never gave me even a goat ⁴  so that I could celebrate with my friends!

1Sa 15:13,14; Isa 58:2,3; Isa 65:5; Zec 7:3; Mal 1:12,13; Mal 3:14; Mt 20:12; Lu 15:7; Lu 17:10; Lu 18:9,11,12,20,21; Lu 19:21; Ro 3:20,27; Ro 7:9; Ro 10:3; Php 3:4-6; 1Jo 1:8-10; Re 2:17; Re 3:17

¹ tn Grk “but answering, he said.” This is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “but he answered.”

² tn Or simply, “have served,” but in the emotional context of the older son’s outburst the translation given is closer to the point.

³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to bring out the contrast indicated by the context.

⁴ sn You never gave me even a goat. The older son’s complaint was that the generous treatment of the younger son was not fair: “I can’t get even a little celebration with a basic food staple like a goat!”