Wasteth definition
Wasteth means to “lay waste”, to be a wastrel, that is to demolish in a spendthrift way the estate, the resources of his father. The prodigal son is an instance of this, “Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me...and not many days after the younger son...wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all...he began to be in want (Luke 15. 12-14). To chase away may involve physical banishing from his presence but essentially means the undermining of all the values his mother had taught him over many years.