Text -- Luke 16:1-5 (NET)

The Parable of the Clever Steward

16:1 Jesus also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who was informed of accusations that his manager was wasting his assets. 16:2 So he called the manager in and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Turn in the account of your administration, because you can no longer be my manager.’ 16:3 Then the manager said to himself, ‘What should I do, since my master is taking my position away from me? I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m too ashamed to beg. 16:4 I know what to do so that when I am put out of management, people will welcome me into their homes.’ 16:5 So he contacted his master’s debtors one by one. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Luk 16:1

¹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn These are not formal legal charges, but reports from friends, acquaintances, etc.; Grk “A certain man was rich who had a manager, and this one was reported to him as wasting his property.”

³ sn His manager was the steward in charge of managing the house. He could have been a slave trained for the role.

⁴ tn Or “squandering.” This verb is graphic; it means to scatter (L&N 57.151).

NET Notes: Luk 16:2

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the reports the man received about his manager.

² tn Grk “him”; the referent (the manager) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ sn Although phrased as a question, the charges were believed by the owner, as his dismissal of the manager implies.

⁴ tn Or “stewardship”; the Greek word οἰκονομία (oikonomia) is cognate with the noun for the manager (οἰκονόμος, oikonomo").

NET Notes: Luk 16:3

¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events in the parable.

² tn Grk “the stewardship,” “the management.”

³ tn Here “dig” could refer (1) to excavation (“dig ditches,” L&N 19.55) or (2) to agricultural labor (“work the soil,” L&N 43.3). In either case this was labor performed by the uneducated, so it would be an insult as a job for a manager.

⁴ tn Grk “I do not have strength to dig; I am ashamed to beg.”

sn To beg would represent a real lowering of status for the manager, because many of those whom he had formerly collected debts from, he would now be forced to beg from.

NET Notes: Luk 16:4

¹ tn This is a dramatic use of the aorist and the verse is left unconnected to the previous verse by asyndeton, giving the impression of a sudden realization.

² sn Thinking ahead, the manager develops a plan to make people think kindly of him (welcome me into their homes).

NET Notes: Luk 16:5

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the manager’s decision.

² tn Grk “summoning.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.