Luke 15:12 (ASV)

Passage

and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of [thy] substance that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.

Nearby Context

Luke 15:10 Even so, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

Luke 15:11 And he said, A certain man had two sons:

Luke 15:12 and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of [thy] substance that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.

Luke 15:13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together and took his journey into a far country; and there he wasted his substance with riotous living.

Luke 15:14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that country; and he began to be in want.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "younger", "said", "father", "give", "portion", "substance", and "falleth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "younger" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "And he said A certain man had..." into verse 13's "And not many days after the younger...", so "younger" and "said" belong inside that flow. In Luke context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "younger" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.