Luke 15:23 Meaning and Explanation
“And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →The father orders the fatted calf killed: the whole household will eat and celebrate.
What Does Luke 15:23 Mean?
The gifts are crowned with a feast. The fatted calf was grain-fed in the stall and kept for the rarest of days — a wedding, a great guest. To kill it meant celebration for the whole household and beyond: meat enough for a village. "Let us eat, and be merry."
The chapter's pattern holds: every finding ends in feasting. The shepherd called his friends, the woman her neighbors; the father empties the stall and fills the house. Jesus is still answering the charge of verse 2 — "this man eateth with sinners" — by showing that a table is heaven's own response to a sinner come home. The feast is never for the deserving. It is for the found.
Luke 15:23 in the Original Language
siteutos (σιτευτός), 'fatted' -- grain-fed, fattened in the stall against a rare day of feasting.
Frequently Asked Questions About Luke 15:23
What does Luke 15:23 mean?
The father orders the fatted calf killed: the whole household will eat and celebrate.