SEV Biblia, Chapter 15:17
Y volviendo en sí, dijo: ¡Cuntos jornaleros en casa de mi padre tienen abundancia de pan, y yo aquí perezco de hambre!
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Luke 15:17
Verse 17. When he came to himself] A state of sin is represented in the sacred writings as a course of folly and madness; and repentance is represented as a restoration to sound sense. See this fully explained on Matt. iii. 2. I perish with hunger!] Or, I perish HERE. wde, here, is added by BDL, Syriac, all the Arabic and Persic, Coptic, AEthiopic, Gothic, Saxon, Vulgate, all the Itala, and several of the fathers.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 17. And when he came to himself , etc.] An unregenerate man, whether while a voluptuous man, or a self-righteous man, is not himself; he is beside himself; and is no other than a madman. The man that pursues his worldly lusts and pleasures, promises himself liberty, while he is a slave; he ruins himself, his soul, body, and estate, and chooses to do it rather than part with his lusts; he takes delight in doing mischief himself, and in seeing it done by others; he proclaims his folly publicly, declares his sin, and glories in it; all which a man in his right mind would never do. The selfrighteous person trusts in his own heart, which is the greatest madness and folly in the world; he compasses himself about with sparks of his own kindling, and sacrifices to his own net; he dresses himself in his rags, and pleases and prides himself with them, when a robe of righteousness, and garments of salvation, are provided; which no man in his senses would ever do. But when the Spirit of God comes to work upon a sinner's heart in conversion, he brings him to himself; which a man may be said to be, when he is brought to true evangelical repentance for sin; and that is, when he has a true sense of it, as committed against God, and a godly sorrow for it, and makes an hearty and ingenuous acknowledgment of it, and forsakes it; and when he is brought to a sense of the insufficiency of his own righteousness, and is made willing to part with it, and desires to be found in Christ, and in his righteousness alone, which he is encouraged to lay hold on, and receive by faith, trust to, and rejoice in; when he has his spiritual senses exercised on Christ, and to discern between good and evil; and is brought to the feet of Jesus, as to submit to his righteousness, so to serve him; when he is all this, then, like the man in the Gospel, he is clothed, and in his right mind: he said, how many hired servants of my father's ; who, according to some, were the Scribes and Pharisees, men of a servile disposition, and of mercenary views; and were, by profession, the servants of God, and had plenty of bread, because they had all the external means and ordinances: but these are designed by the elder brother in the parable; and besides, this man had endeavoured to live as they did in this far country. It may be queried, whether the ministers of the Gospel are not intended, since these are the servants of the most high God; are labourers hired by him, and are worthy of their hire, and abound with Gospel provisions for the service of others. But to this it may be objected, the desire of this man to be made as one of them, ( Luke 15:19) which petition expresses his humility; whereas to be a servant, in this sense, is to have the highest place and office in his father's house. Rather therefore the meanest of the saints, and household of God, are here meant, who have the least degree of evangelical light, whose faith is weak, and their consolation small; and who, though they are sons, yet by reason of that legality and mercenariness that appear in their frames and services, differ little from servants: and yet these, in comparison of him, who was in a hungry and starving condition, have bread enough, and to spare ; as the doctrines, promises, and ordinances of the Gospel, the fulness of grace that is in Christ, and Christ himself the bread of life; which are more than enough for them, and sufficient for the whole family in heaven, and in earth; and even the meanest and weakest believer may be said to have enough and to spare, because he has an interest in all these; though by reason of the weakness of his faith, it is but now and then he has a full and comfortable meal; but this is infinitely better than to be starving, as this man was: and I perish with hunger . The Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions add, here; in this far country, in the citizen's fields, among his swine, and their husks: all mankind are in a lost and perishing condition; for having sinned against God, they have exposed themselves to the curses of the law, and are destitute of a justifying righteousness, and are in the way, to ruin and destruction; but all are not sensible of it, being ignorant of God, and his righteousness, of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and of the insufficiency of their own righteousness; but some are sensible of it, and in their own apprehensions are ready to perish: these see sin in its true light, without a view of pardon; an angry God without a smile; injured justice without a righteousness; and a broken law without a satisfaction for the violation of it; and such was this man's case. The Jewish writers say, a sinner is like to a son that runs away from his father, and turns his back upon him, who yet afterwards repents, and has a mind to return to his father's house: so it was now with the publicans and sinners, signified by this man.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 17-24 - Having viewed the prodigal in his abject state of misery, we are nex to consider his recovery from it. This begins by his coming to himself That is a turning point in the sinner's conversion. The Lord opens his eyes, and convinces him of sin; then he views himself and every object in a different light from what he did before. Thus the convinced sinne perceives that the meanest servant of God is happier than he is. To look unto God as a Father, and our Father, will be of great use in ou repentance and return to him. The prodigal arose, nor stopped till he reached his home. Thus the repenting sinner resolutely quits the bondage of Satan and his lusts, and returns to God by prayer notwithstanding fears and discouragements. The Lord meets him with unexpected tokens of his forgiving love. Again; the reception of the humbled sinner is like that of the prodigal. He is clothed in the rob of the Redeemer's righteousness, made partaker of the Spirit of adoption, prepared by peace of conscience and gospel grace to walk in the ways of holiness, and feasted with Divine consolations. Principle of grace and holiness are wrought in him, to do, as well as to will.
Greek Textus Receptus
εις 1519 PREP εαυτον 1438 F-3ASM δε 1161 CONJ ελθων 2064 5631 V-2AAP-NSM ειπεν 2036 5627 V-2AAI-3S ποσοι 4214 Q-NPM μισθιοι 3407 A-NPM του 3588 T-GSM πατρος 3962 N-GSM μου 3450 P-1GS περισσευουσιν 4052 5719 V-PAI-3P αρτων 740 N-GPM εγω 1473 P-1NS δε 1161 CONJ λιμω 3042 N-DSM απολλυμαι 622 5731 V-PMI-1S
Vincent's NT Word Studies
17. Came to himself. A striking expression, putting the state of rebellion against God as a kind of madness. It is a wonderful stroke of art, to represent the beginning of repentence as the return of a sound consciousness. Ackermann ("Christian Element in Plato") observes that Plato thinks of redemption as a coming to one's self; an apprehending of one's self as existent; as a severing of the inmost being from the surrounding element. Several passages of Plato are very suggestive on this point. "He who bids a man know himself, would have him know his soul" ("Alcibiades," i., 130). "'To see her (the soul) as she really is, not as we now behold her, marred by communion with the body and other miseries, you should look upon her with the eye of reason, in her original purity, and then her beauty would be discovered, and in her image justice would be more clearly seen, and injustice, and all the things which we have described. Thus far we have spoken the truth concerning her as she appears at present; but we must remember also that we have seen her only in a condition which may be compared to that of the sea-God Glaucus, whose original image can hardly be discerned, because his natural members are broken off and crushed, and in many ways damaged by the waves; and incrustations have grown over them of sea-weed and shells and stones, so that he is liker to some sea-monster than to his natural form. And the soul is in a similar condition, disfigured by ten thousand ills: but not there, Glaucon, not there must we look' "'Where, then?' "'At her love of wisdom. Let us see whom she affects, and what converse she seeks, in virtue of her near kindred with the immortal and eternal and divine; also, how different she would become, if wholly following this superior principle, and born by a divine impulse out of the ocean in which she now is, and disengaged from the stones and shells and things of earth and rock, which, in wild variety, grow around her, because she feeds upon earth, and is crusted over by the good things of this life as they are termed. Then would you see her as she is'" ("Republic," 611).Have bread enough and to spare (perisseuontai artwn). Lit., abound in loaves. Wyc., plenty of loaves.
Perish. Better, I am perishing. The best texts insert w=de, here, in contrast with the father's house, suggested by the father's servants.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
15:17 {But when he came to himself} (eis heauton de elqwn). As if he had been far from himself as he was from home. As a matter of fact he had been away, out of his head, and now began to see things as they really were. Plato is quoted by Ackerman (_Christian Element in Plato_) as thinking of redemption as coming to oneself. {Hired servants} (misqioi). A late word from misqos (hire). In the N.T. only in this chapter. The use of "many" here suggests a wealthy and luxurious home. {Have bread enough and to spare} (perisseuontai artwn). Old verb from perissos and that from peri (around). Present passive here, "are surrounded by loaves" like a flood. {I perish} (egw de limwi hwde apollumai). Every word here counts: While I on the other hand am here perishing with hunger. It is the linear present middle of apollumi. Note egw expressed and de of contrast.
