2.2 KiB
General Information
Jesus continues the story.
servants, ‘Go quickly and bring the best clothes and put them on my son! Put a ring on his finger and put sandals on his feet. Then kill the best calf so we can have a feast and celebrate, because my son was dead, but now he is alive! He was lost, but now we have found him!’
This is a quotation within a quotation. The entire quotation can be restated so that this portion is an indirect quotation: “servants to go quickly and bring the best clothes and put them on his son, and to put a ring on his finger and put sandals on his feet! He also told him to kill the best calf so they could have a feast and celebrate, because his son was dead, but now he is alive! He was lost, but now he had found him!” (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-quotesinquotes)
Put a ring on his finger
A ring was a sign of authority that men wore on one of their fingers. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/translate-symaction)
put sandals on his feet
Wealthy people of that time wore sandals. However, in many cultures the modern equivalent would be ‘shoes.’ (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit)
the best calf
This could also be translated as: “the fattest calf.” This was the calf that had been fattened so that, when cooked, it would taste the best.
my son was dead, but now he is alive!
This metaphor speaks of the son being gone as if he were lost. This could mean ‘This is like my son was dead and is alive again!’ or ‘I grieved as if my son had died, but now I rejoice because it is as if he has come back to life!’ The father is using this expression to show how happy he is that his son has come home. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-exclamations, rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor)
He was lost, but now we have found him!
This metaphor speaks of the son being gone as if he were lost. This could mean ‘This is like my son was lost and I have found him again!’ or ‘I grieved as if my son were lost, but now I rejoice because it is as if I have found him again!’ The father is using this expression to show how happy he is that his son has come home. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-exclamations, rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor)