Nehemiah 8:10

8:10 He said to them, “Go and eat delicacies and drink sweet drinks and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

Proverbs 18:9

18:9 The one who is slack in his work

is a brother to one who destroys.

Luke 15:13

15:13 After a few days, the younger son gathered together all he had and left on a journey to a distant country, and there he squandered his wealth with a wild lifestyle.

Luke 16:1

The Parable of the Clever Steward

16:1 Jesus 10  also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who was informed of accusations 11  that his manager 12  was wasting 13  his assets.


tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

tn Heb “Also, the one who.” Many commentators and a number of English versions omit the word “also.”

tn The form מִתְרַפֶּה (mitrappeh) is the Hitpael participle, “showing oneself slack.” The verb means “to sink; to relax,” and in the causative stem “to let drop” the hands. This is the lazy person who does not even try to work.

sn These two troubling types, the slacker and the destroyer, are closely related.

tn Heb “possessor of destruction.” This idiom means “destroyer” (so ASV); KJV “a great waster”; NRSV “a vandal.”

tn Grk “And after.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

tn Grk “after not many days.”

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

tn Or “estate” (the same word has been translated “estate” in v. 12).

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

11 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.”

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

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