# Luke 15.4

<!-- type: passage | created: 2026-06-01 | updated: 2026-06-01 -->

**Book:** [Luke](/codex/luke-the-evangelist/) · NASB95

## Immediate context (±2 verses)

**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> 2. And both the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. 3. And he spake unto them this parable, <span class="rl-speech">saying,</span>
>
> **4. <span class="rl-speech">What man of you, having a hundred sheep, and having lost one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?</span>**
>
> 5. <span class="rl-speech">And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.</span> 6. <span class="rl-speech">And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and his neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.</span> (Luke 15:2-6, ASV)

**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> 2. The Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, “This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them.” 3. He told them this parable.
>
> **4. “Which of you men, if you had one hundred sheep, and lost one of them, wouldn’t leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one that was lost, until he found it?**
>
> 5. When he has found it, he carries it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6. When he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ (Luke 15:2-6, WEB)

**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> 2. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. 3. And he spake this parable unto them, <span class="rl-speech">saying,</span>
>
> **4. <span class="rl-speech">What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?</span>**
>
> 5. <span class="rl-speech">And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.</span> 6. <span class="rl-speech">And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.</span> (Luke 15:2-6, KJV)

**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> 2. and the Pharisees and the scribes were murmuring, saying, This one doth receive sinners, and doth eat with them.' 3. And he spake unto them this simile, <span class="rl-speech">saying,</span>
>
> **4. <span class="rl-speech">'What man of you having a hundred sheep, and having lost one out of them, doth not leave behind the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go on after the lost one, till he may find it?</span>**
>
> 5. <span class="rl-speech">and having found, he doth lay [it] on his shoulders rejoicing,</span> 6. <span class="rl-speech">and having come to the house, he doth call together the friends and the neighbours, saying to them, Rejoice with me, because I found my sheep, the lost one.</span> (Luke 15:2-6, YLT)

## Setting

- **Speaker:** _TBD_
- **Audience:** _TBD_
- **Location:** _TBD_
- **Time period:** _TBD_

## Theological reading

_Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added._

## Key words

_Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap._

- _TBD_
- _TBD_
- _TBD_
- _TBD_

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## Quoted in

**Arguments and defeaters:**

- [Conditional Immortality from Text-First Method](/codex/conditional-immortality-from-text-first-method/)

**Concepts:**

- [Jesus Said](/codex/jesus-said/), via [Luke 15](/codex/luke-15/)
- [Verses on Gods Goodness and Human Worth](/codex/verses-on-gods-goodness-and-human-worth/), via [Luke 15.4-7](/codex/luke-15-4-7/)

**Lexicon:**

- [G0622 - apollymi](/codex/g0622-apollymi/)

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_Scripture quotations taken from the **New American Standard Bible®** (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by **The Lockman Foundation**. Used by permission. All rights reserved. [www.lockman.org](https://www.lockman.org)_

## Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

- **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.