Luke 15:1-23

¹And all the tax-gatherers and the sinners were coming near to him to hear him;

²and the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, This man receives sinners and eats with them.

³And he spoke to them this parable, saying,

⁴What man of you having a hundred sheep, and having lost one of them, does not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness and go after that which is lost, until he find it?

⁵and having found it, he lays it upon his own shoulders, rejoicing;

⁶and being come to the house, calls together the friends and the neighbours, saying to them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep.

⁷I say unto you, that thus there shall be joy in heaven for one repenting sinner, more than for ninety and nine righteous who have no need of repentance.

⁸Or, what woman having ten drachmas, if she lose one drachma, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek carefully till she find it?

⁹and having found it she calls together the friends and neighbours, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the drachma which I had lost.

¹⁰Thus, I say unto you, there is joy before the angels of God for one repenting sinner.

¹¹And he said, A certain man had two sons;

¹²and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give to me the share of the property that falls to me. And he divided to them what he was possessed of.

¹³And after not many days the younger son gathering all together went away into a country a long way off, and there dissipated his property, living in debauchery.

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

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

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

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

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

¹⁹I am no longer worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

²⁰And he rose up and went to his own father. But while he was yet a long way off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and ran, and fell upon his neck, and covered him with kisses.

²¹And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee; I am no longer worthy to be called thy son.

²²But the father said to his bondmen, Bring out the best robe and clothe him in it, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet;

²³and bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and make merry: