Luke 16:3-4

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.’

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

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

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.

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

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.

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