Luke 15:30 (ASV)

Passage

but when this thy son came, who hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou killedst for him the fatted calf.

Nearby Context

Luke 15:28 But he was angry, and would not go in: and his father came out, and entreated him.

Luke 15:29 But he answered and said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, and I never transgressed a commandment of thine; and [yet] thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:

Luke 15:30 but when this thy son came, who hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou killedst for him the fatted calf.

Luke 15:31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that is mine is thine.

Luke 15:32 But it was meet to make merry and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive [again]; and [was] lost, and is found.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "came", "hath", "devoured", "living", "harlots", "thou", "killedst", and "fatted". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "came" and "hath", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 29's "But he answered and said to his..." into verse 31's "And he said unto him Son thou...", so "came" and "hath" 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 "came" and "hath" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.