16:1 Jesus 13 also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who was informed of accusations 14 that his manager 15 was wasting 16 his assets. 16:2 So 17 he called the manager 18 in and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? 19 Turn in the account of your administration, 20 because you can no longer be my manager.’
14:1 Now receive the one who is weak in the faith, and do not have disputes over differing opinions. 67
4:2 Be devoted to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving.
1 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
2 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
3 tn Grk Or “Lord; or “Master” (and so throughout this paragraph).
4 tn Grk “His master said to him.”
5 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
6 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
7 tn Grk “But answering, his master said to him.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.
8 tn For the translation “deposited my money with the bankers,” see L&N 57.216.
9 sn That is, “If you really feared me you should have done a minimum to get what I asked for.”
10 tn Grk “the ten talents.”
11 tn Grk “to everyone who has, he will be given more.”
12 sn The one who has nothing has even what he seems to have taken from him, ending up with no reward at all (see also Luke 8:18). The exact force of this is left ambiguous, but there is no comfort here for those who are pictured by the third slave as being totally unmoved by the master. Though not an outright enemy, there is no relationship to the master either.
13 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
14 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.”
15 sn His manager was the steward in charge of managing the house. He could have been a slave trained for the role.
16 tn Or “squandering.” This verb is graphic; it means to scatter (L&N 57.151).
17 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the reports the man received about his manager.
18 tn Grk “him”; the referent (the manager) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
19 sn Although phrased as a question, the charges were believed by the owner, as his dismissal of the manager implies.
20 tn Or “stewardship”; the Greek word οἰκονομία (oikonomia) is cognate with the noun for the manager (οἰκονόμος, oikonomo").
21 tn Grk “a man of noble birth” or “a man of noble status” (L&N 87.27).
22 sn Note that the receiving of the kingdom takes place in the far country. This suggests that those in the far country recognize and acknowledge the king when his own citizens did not want him as king (v. 14; cf. John 1:11-12).
23 sn The background to this story about the nobleman who went…to receive for himself a kingdom had some parallels in the area’s recent history: Archelaus was appointed ethnarch of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea in 4
24 tn See the note on the word “slave” in 7:2.
25 sn That is, one for each. A mina was a Greek monetary unit worth one hundred denarii or about four months’ wages for an average worker based on a six-day work week.
26 tn Or “subjects.” Technically these people were not his subjects yet, but would be upon his return. They were citizens of his country who opposed his appointment as their king; later the newly-appointed king will refer to them as his “enemies” (v. 27).
27 tn The imperfect is intense in this context, suggesting an ongoing attitude.
28 tn Grk “this one” (somewhat derogatory in this context).
29 tn Or “to rule.”
30 tn Grk “And it happened that when.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
31 tn Grk “he said for these slaves to be called to him.” The passive construction has been translated as an active one and simplified to “he summoned.”
32 tn Grk “in order that he might know” (a continuation of the preceding sentence). Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronoun “he” as subject and the verb “wanted” to convey the idea of purpose.
33 sn The Greek verb earned refers to profit from engaging in commerce and trade (L&N 57.195). This is an examination of stewardship.
34 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the royal summons.
35 tn Or “Lord”; or “Master.” (and so throughout this paragraph).
36 tn See the note on the word “minas” in v. 13.
37 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the nobleman of v. 12, now a king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
38 tn See Luke 16:10.
39 sn The faithful slave received expanded responsibility (authority over ten cities) as a result of his faithfulness; this in turn is an exhortation to faithfulness for the reader.
40 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
41 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the second slave’s report.
42 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the nobleman of v. 12, now a king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
43 sn Though ten were given minas, the story stops to focus on the one who did nothing with the opportunity given to him. Here is the parable’s warning about the one who does not trust the master. This figure is called “another,” marking him out as different than the first two.
44 tn The word “slave” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied for stylistic reasons.
45 tn Grk “behold.”
46 tn Or “that I stored away.” L&N 85.53 defines ἀπόκειμαι (apokeimai) here as “to put something away for safekeeping – ‘to store, to put away in a safe place.’”
47 tn The piece of cloth, called a σουδάριον (soudarion), could have been a towel, napkin, handkerchief, or face cloth (L&N 6.159).
48 tn Or “exacting,” “harsh,” “hard.”
49 tn Grk “man, taking out.” The Greek word can refer to withdrawing money from a bank (L&N 57.218), and in this context of financial accountability that is the most probable meaning. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronoun “you” as subject and translating the participle αἴρεις (airei") as a finite verb.
50 tn The Greek verb τίθημι (tiqhmi) can be used of depositing money with a banker to earn interest (L&N 57.217). In effect the slave charges that the master takes what he has not earned.
51 tn Grk “He”; the referent (the nobleman of v. 12, now a king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
52 tn Grk “out of your own mouth” (an idiom).
53 tn Note the contrast between this slave, described as “wicked,” and the slave in v. 17, described as “good.”
54 tn Or “exacting,” “harsh,” “hard.”
55 tn That is, “If you really feared me why did you not do a minimum to get what I asked for?”
56 tn Grk “on the table”; the idiom refers to a place where money is kept or managed, or credit is established, thus “bank” (L&N 57.215).
57 tn Grk “to those standing by,” but in this context involving an audience before the king to give an accounting, these would not be casual bystanders but courtiers or attendants.
58 tn Grk “the ten minas.”
59 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context. Those watching the evaluation are shocked, as the one with the most gets even more. The word “already” is supplied at the end of the statement to indicate this surprise and shock.
60 tc A few
61 tn Grk “to everyone who has, he will be given more.”
62 sn The one who has nothing has even what he seems to have taken away from him, ending up with no reward at all (see also Luke 8:18). The exact force of this is left ambiguous, but there is no comfort here for those who are pictured by the third slave as being totally unmoved by the master. Though not an outright enemy, there is no relationship to the master either. Three groups are represented in the parable: the faithful of various sorts (vv. 16, 18); the unfaithful who associate with Jesus but do not trust him (v. 21); and the enemies (v. 27).
63 tn Grk “to rule over them.”
64 tn This term, when used of people rather than animals, has some connotations of violence and mercilessness (L&N 20.72).
65 sn Slaughter them. To reject the king is to face certain judgment from him.
66 tc ‡ The words “to God” are absent from some
67 tn Grk “over opinions.” The qualifier “differing” has been supplied to clarify the meaning.
68 tn Grk “walk.” The verb περιπατέω (peripatew) is a common NT idiom for one’s lifestyle, behavior, or manner of conduct (L&N 41.11).
69 tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”
70 tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”
71 tn The expression “for the display of” is an attempt to convey in English the force of the Greek preposition εἰς (eis) in this context.