Luke 15:8

Luke 15:8, in plain English

Jesus tells another story: a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. She lights a lamp, sweeps the whole house, and searches everywhere until she finds it.

Why it's here

These coins may have been part of her dowry — deeply personal and irreplaceable. The search isn't casual; it's desperate and thorough.

Who's speaking

Jesus tells a story with a woman as the hero, making sure everyone in the crowd can see themselves in His teaching.

Where it sits in the story

Imagine losing something precious in your house. You'd turn everything upside down to find it. That's how God searches for every lost soul.

The scholarly reading

The second parable features a woman with ten drachmas (drachmás deka) who loses one. A drachma was roughly a day's wage, making the loss significant. She lights a lamp and sweeps diligently (saroi) until she finds it.

Language and setting

This parable may reflect a woman's dowry or savings — the ten coins possibly forming a headdress of coins (semedi) worn as a cherished possession. The domestic setting makes God's search intimate and thorough.

Voice

Jesus tells a second parable with a female protagonist, ensuring His message resonates across gender lines in His audience.

Significance

A woman loses one of ten silver coins and tears her house apart looking for it — lighting a lamp, sweeping every corner until she finds it.

6comes home, and calls together his friends and neighbors to tell them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep!’

7I tell you that in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who do not need to repent.

8Or what woman who has ten silver coins and loses one of them does not light a lamp, sweep her house, and search carefully until she finds it?

9And when she finds it, she calls together her friends and neighbors to say, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost coin.’

10In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”

Read all of Luke 15 — Three things go missing — a sheep, a coin, a son. The father's response in the last story is the heart of the gospel in a single embrace.