Matthew 18:26-27

18:26 Then the slave threw himself to the ground ¹  before him, saying, ²  ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you everything.’ 18:27 The lord had compassion on that slave and released him, and forgave him the debt.

Matthew 22:3

22:3 He sent his slaves ³  to summon those who had been invited to the banquet, but they would not come.

Matthew 24:46

24:46 Blessed is that slave whom the master finds at work ⁴  when he comes.

Matthew 24:48

24:48 But if ⁵  that evil slave should say to himself, ⁶  ‘My master is staying away a long time,’

Matthew 25:14

The Parable of the Talents

25:14 “For it is like a man going on a journey, who summoned his slaves ⁷  and entrusted his property to them.

Matthew 25:19

25:19 After ⁸  a long time, the master of those slaves came and settled his accounts with them.

¹ tn Grk “falling therefore the slave bowed down to the ground.” The redundancy of this expression signals the desperation of the slave in begging for mercy.

² tc The majority of mss (א L W 058 0281 Ë^1,13 33 Ï it sy^p,h co) begin the slave’s plea with “Lord” (κύριε, kurie), though a few important witnesses lack this vocative (B D Θ 700 pc lat sy^s,c Or Chr). Understanding the parable to refer to the Lord, scribes would be naturally prone to add the vocative here, especially as the slave’s plea is a plea for mercy. Thus, the shorter reading is more likely to be authentic.

³ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.

⁵ tn That is, doing his job, doing what he is supposed to be doing.

⁷ tn In the Greek text this is a third class condition that for all practical purposes is a hypothetical condition (note the translation of the following verb “should say”).

⁸ tn Grk “should say in his heart.”

⁹ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.

¹¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.