Luke 15:16 (DBY)

Passage

And he longed to fill his belly with the husks which the swine were eating; and no one gave to him.

Nearby Context

Luke 15:14 But when he had spent all there arose a violent famine throughout that country, and he began to be in want.

Luke 15:15 And he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.

Luke 15:16 And he longed to fill his belly with the husks which the swine were eating; and no one gave to him.

Luke 15:17 And coming to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have abundance of bread, and *I* perish here by famine.

Luke 15:18 I will rise up and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "longed", "fill", "belly", "husks", "swine", "eating", and "gave". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "longed" and "fill", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "And he went and joined himself to..." into verse 17's "And coming to himself he said How...", so "longed" and "fill" 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 "longed" and "fill" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.