After the analogies of the lost sheep and lost coin, Jesus continues the analogy of the prodigal son.
Luke 15:28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.
Luke 15:28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him.
He was irritated, however, and didn't want to go inside. So that father of his coming outside called him near.
All of the words here are ones that Jesus commonly used, which is uncommon for this story. The rarest word, translated as "was angry" and "became angry" means "was made angry" or, better, "was irritated." The phrase translated as "would not" and "refused" means "didn't want”. The "go in" and "came out" are the same root word with different prefixes meaning "in" and "out," which neatly contrasts the attitude of the two men. The son inwardly focused, the father outwardly.
We can focus on our feeling or those of others.
And(WW) he was angry, and would(CW) not [go in(WF)]: therefore(OS) came(WF) his (MWthe) father out, and(IW) intreated(WW) him.
- WW --Wrong Word -- The word translated as "and" should be something more like "but”.
- CW --Confusing Word -- This "would" is not a helping verb indicating the future tense.
- WF -- Wrong Form - This is not an active verb but an infinitive, "to enter”.
- OS -- Outdated Source -- The Greek word translated as "therefore" existed in the KJV Greek source but not the source we use today.
- WF -- Wrong Form - This is not an active verb but a participle, a verbal adjective, "coming”.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "father" is not shown in the English translation.
- IW - Inserted Word-- The "and" doesn't exist in the source.
- WW --Wrong Word -- The word translated as "intreated" should be something more like "summoned”.
(MWbut) [The older brother became(IP4)] angry and refused(CW) to go in. So his (MWthe) father went(WF) out and(IW) pleaded(WW) with him.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "but" is not shown in the English translation.
- IP - Inserted Phrase-- The "the older brother became" doesn't exist in the source. This is counted as 4 translation issues, not 1.
- CW --Confusing Word -- This "refused" is two Greek words.
- WF -- Wrong Form - This is not an active verb but a participle, a verbal adjective, "going”.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the/this" before "father" is not shown in the English translation.
- IW - Inserted Word-- The "and" doesn't exist in the source.
- WW --Wrong Word -- The word translated as "pleaded" should be something more like "summoned”.
And -- (WW) The Greek word translated as "and" means "but”, "yet”, "however” and "on the other hand". It joins phrases in an adversarial way. Since it always falls in the second position, translating it as "however" often captures its feeling better. This word doesn't mean "and”.
he -- This is from the third-person, singular form of the verb.
was -- This helping verb "was" indicates that the verb is passive. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.
angry, -- Angry" is from a Greek verb that means "to be made angry”, "to be provoked to anger" and "to be irritated”.
and -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and”, but it also is used to add emphasis.
would -- (CW) The Greek word translated as "will" expresses consent and even delight in doing something. It is not the same as the helper verb "will" in English. It means "to consent" and "to be resolved to a purpose”. As a participle, it can mean "willingly" and "gladly”.
not -- The Greek word translated as "not" is the Greek negative used to deny objective facts, not opinions. It means "no”, "not” or "no truly”. It makes a negative statement of fact. When a negative precedes the verb, it affects the whole clause. When it precedes other words, its force is limited to those words.
go in: -- (WF) "Go in" is a word that means "enter”, "go or come into", of an accuse "come into court", and has the double meaning of "coming into one's mind”. This is not an active verb but an infinitive.
therefore -- (OS) There is nothing in the Greek that can be translated as this in the source we use today but it does exist in the source that the KJV translators used. The word here in today's source is the Greek word translated as "but" which means "but", "yet”, "however" and "on the other hand”. It joins phrases in an adversarial way. Since it always falls in the second position, translating it as "however" often captures its feeling better.
came -- (WF) The word translated as "came" means literally "to go or come out", but it has a secondary meaning of "making something come true”. In some verses, its sense is "started out" from the primary meaning of its root. This is not an active verb but a participle, a verbal adjective, "coming”.
his -- The word translated as "his" is the Greek word correctly translated as third-person "his/him" in English. The word appears after the noun so the sense is "of his”.
missing "the/this" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article," the”, which usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this”, "that”, "these” and "those"). See this article for more.
father -- "Father" is the Greek noun that means "father" or any male ancestor so "forefathers”. It is the word that Christ uses to address his own Father.
out, - This completes the meaning of the verb. It is from the prefix.
and -- (IW) There is no "and" here. It is added because the previous participle was changed from an adjective form to an active verb in translation.
intreated -- (WW) The Greek word that translated as "intreated”, literally means will be "to be called near". So it primarily means "to be summoned" since it is in the passive. It also means "to demand", ("called from") "to encourage”, ("called along") and "to excite" (called beyond"). This word is also translated as "to call”, "to beseech”, and "to pray"in the Matthew. In all of them, "call upon" works best in English both in the sense of "summoned" and "to ask”. This word doesn't mean "intreated”.
him. -- The word translated as "him" is the Greek adjective that acts like our third-person pronoun. The form is the third person, singular, masculine as a direct object of a verb or preposition.
missing "but" -- (MW) The untranslated word . "but" means "but”, "yet”, "however” and "on the other hand". It joins phrases in an adversarial way. Since it always falls in the second position, translating it as "however" often captures its feeling better. This word doesn't mean "and”.
“The older brother became -- (IP) There is nothing that can be translated as this phrase in the Greek source.
angry, -- Angry" is from a Greek verb that means "to be made angry", "to be provoked to anger” and "to be irritated”.
and -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and", but it also is used to add emphasis.
refused -- (CW) This is from two Greek words meaning "didn't want”. The Greek word "want" expresses consent and even delight in doing something. It is not the same as the helper verb "will" in English. It means "to consent" and "to be resolved to a purpose”. The Greek word "not" is the Greek negative used to deny objective facts, not opinions. It means "no", "not” or "no truly”. It makes a negative statement of fact. When a negative precedes the verb, it affects the whole clause. When it precedes other words, its force is limited to those words.
to -- This "to" is added to create the infinitive form of the following verb.
go in: -- "Go in" is a word that means "enter”, "go or come into", of an accuse "come into court”, and has the double meaning of "coming into one's mind". This is not an active verb but an infinitive.
So --The word here in today's source is the Greek word translated as "but" means "but", "yet”, "however” and "on the other hand". It is the particle that joins sentences in an adversarial way but can also be an explanation of an indirect cause ("so") and a condition ("if").
his -- The word translated as "his" is the Greek word correctly translated as third-person "his/him" in English. The word appears after the noun so the sense is "of his."
missing "the/this" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article," the", which usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this”, "that”, "these” and "those"). See this article for more.
father -- "Father" is the Greek noun that means "father" or any male ancestor so "forefathers”. It is the word that Christ uses to address his own Father.
went -- (WF) The word translated as "went" means literally "to go or come out”, but it has a secondary meaning of "making something come true." In some verses, its sense is "started out" from the primary meaning of its root. This is not an active verb but a participle, a verbal adjective, "coming”.
out, - This completes the meaning of the verb. It is from the prefix.
and -- (IW) These is no "and" here. It is added because the previous participle was changed from an adjective form to an active verb in translation.
pleaded -- (WW) The Greek word that translated as "pleaded”, literally it would be "to be called near”. So it primarily means "to be summoned" since it is in the passive. It also means "to demand," ("called from") "to encourage”, ("called along") and "to excite" (called beyond"). This word is also translated as "to call", "to beseech”, and "to pray" in the Matthew. In all of them, "call upon" works best in English both in the sense of "summoned" and "to ask”. This word doesn't mean "pleaded”.
him. -- The word translated as "him" is the Greek adjective that acts like our third-person pronoun. The form is the third person, singular, masculine as a direct object of a verb or preposition.
ὠργίσθη [6 verses](verb 3rd sg aor ind pass) "He was angry" is orgizo, which means "to be made angry”, "to be provoked to anger" and "to be irritated”.
δὲ [446 verses](conj) "But" is de which means "but”, "yet”, "however" and "on the other hand”. It is the particle that joins sentences in an adversarial way but can also be an explanation of an indirect cause ("so") and a condition ("if"). In an "if" (εἰ) clause or temporal "when" (ὅταν) clause the sense is "if/when... then". In a series begun by men, it means "on the other hand”. In a listing, the sense is "then" or "yet". After an interruption, "so then”. It can also be an explanation of cause ("so") and a condition ("if"). When used with a conditional starting a clause, the sense is "if/when...then". When used with a particle meaning "indeed" the sense is "on one hand...on the other hand”.In a listing, the sense is "then" or "yet”. After an interruption, "so then”.
καὶ [1089 verses](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".
οὐκ [269 verses](adv) "Not" is ou , the negative adverb for facts and statements, negating both single words and sentences. The negative, οὐ, denies, is absolute, and objective.
ἤθελεν [64 verses] (verb 3rd sg imperf ind act) "Would" is thelo, which as a verb means "to be willing (of consent rather than desire)”, "to wish”, "to ordain”, "to decree”, "to be resolved to a purpose", "to maintain”, "to hold”, "to delight in” and "will” (too express a future event with inanimate objects). It is a prolonged form (only found in NT) of a verb that means "to be resolved to a purpose" so, in a sense, "to decide” and "to desire”. As a participle, it means "being willing" or, adverbially, "willingly" and "gladly”, In the Hebrew, "will" or "desire" is chaphets, which means "to delight in”, "to take pleasure in" and "to be pleased with”.
εἰσελθεῖν [68 verses](verb aor inf act) "Go in" is eiserchomai which means both "to go into", "to come in”, "to enter”, "to enter an office”, "to enter a charge” (as in court) and "to come into one's mind”.
ὁ [821 verses](article sg masc nom) Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"). It usually precedes a noun or changes the word it precedes (adjective, infinitive, participle, etc.) to act like a noun. When not preceding a word that can become a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones”.
δὲ [446 verses](conj) "But" is de which means "but”, "yet”, "however” and "on the other hand”. It is the particle that joins sentences in an adversarial way but can also be an explanation of an indirect cause ("so") and a condition ("if"). In an "if" (εἰ) clause or temporal "when" (ὅταν) clause the sense is "if/when... then”.In a series begun by men, it means "on the other hand". In a listing, the sense is "then" or "yet”. After an interruption, "so then". It can also be an explanation of cause ("so") and a condition ("if"). When used with a conditional starting a clause, the sense is "if/when...then". When used with a particle meaning "indeed" the sense is "on one hand...on the other hand”. In a listing, the sense is "then" or "yet”. After an interruption, "so then”.
πατὴρ [191 verses](noun sg masc nom) "Father" is pater, which means "father", "grandfather”, "author”, "parent” and "forefathers”.
αὐτοῦ [142 verses](adv/adj sg masc gen) "His/" is autou, which means is the singular adjective used as the genitive pronoun, which is used as a possessive form or the object of prepositions and sometimes verbs as opposed to the body and "of one's own accord”. In its adverbial form, this means "just here" or "exactly there". This form is often used as the object of a preposition, “him”. This form of an object of a preposition means a movement away from something or a position away from something else. The time sense of a genitive object is that the event occurred within a specified time. Though the form is masculine, it refers to masculine words, not people. The masculine form is used to refer to people in general, not just men.
ἐξελθὼν [54 verses] (part sg aor act masc nom) "Came...out" is exerchomai, which means "to come or go out of ", "to march forth”, "go out on”, "to stand forth”, "to exceed all bounds”, "to come to an end”, "to go out of office” and [of dreams or prophecies] "to come true”.
παρεκάλει [6 verses] (3rd pl fut ind pass) "Intreated" is parakaleo which means "call in", "send for", "invite," "summon", "address", "demand", "exhort", "encouraged", "excite", "demand” and "beseech”. It means literally "call closer”. It is used frequently in the Septuagint but it is used to translate a variety of different Hebrew words and those Hebrew words are translated into a number of other Greek words. The prefix, para, means "beside", "from the side of", "from beside,", "from", "issuing from", "near", "by", "with", "along", "past", "beyond" and so on. The based word kaleo, means "call", "summon" and "invite".
αὐτὸν [124 verses](pron/adj sg masc acc) "Him" is auton, is the masculine, accusative case of the third-person, singular adjective that is used as a pronoun. Masculine pronouns can refer to things as well as people, so it can be “it." The word also means "the same” and "of one's own accord”. An accusative object of a preposition indicates movement towards something or a position reached as a result of that movement. Event may show the amount of time. However, masculine pronouns refer to masculine nouns, not just masculine people so this word can mean "it" as well as "he”. As a preposition's object indicates movement towards something or a position reached as a result of that movement events may show the amount of time.