Ecclesiastes 5:8

Government Corruption

5:8 If you see the extortion ¹  of the poor,

or the perversion ²  of justice and fairness in the government, ³ 

do not be astonished by the matter.

For the high official is watched by a higher official, ⁴ 

and there are higher ones over them! ⁵ 

Matthew 23:8-9

23:8 But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher and you are all brothers. 23:9 And call no one your ‘father’ on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.

Matthew 24:48-51

24:48 But if ⁶  that evil slave should say to himself, ⁷  ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 24:49 and he begins to beat his fellow slaves and to eat and drink with drunkards, 24:50 then the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not foresee, 24:51 and will cut him in two, ⁸  and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Luke 16:1-13

The Parable of the Clever Steward

16:1 Jesus ⁹  also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who was informed of accusations ¹⁰  that his manager ¹¹  was wasting ¹²  his assets. 16:2 So ¹³  he called the manager ¹⁴  in and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? ¹⁵  Turn in the account of your administration, ¹⁶  because you can no longer be my manager.’ 16:3 Then ¹⁷  the manager said to himself, ‘What should I do, since my master is taking my position ¹⁸  away from me? I’m not strong enough to dig, ¹⁹  and I’m too ashamed ²⁰  to beg. 16:4 I know ²¹  what to do so that when I am put out of management, people will welcome me into their homes.’ ²²  16:5 So ²³  he contacted ²⁴  his master’s debtors one by one. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 16:6 The man ²⁵  replied, ‘A hundred measures ²⁶  of olive oil.’ The manager ²⁷  said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write fifty.’ ²⁸  16:7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ The second man ²⁹  replied, ‘A hundred measures ³⁰  of wheat.’ The manager ³¹  said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ ³²  16:8 The ³³  master commended the dishonest ³⁴  manager because he acted shrewdly. ³⁵  For the people ³⁶  of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their contemporaries ³⁷  than the people ³⁸  of light. 16:9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by how you use worldly wealth, ³⁹  so that when it runs out you will be welcomed ⁴⁰  into the eternal homes. ⁴¹ 

16:10 “The one who is faithful in a very little ⁴²  is also faithful in much, and the one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 16:11 If then you haven’t been trustworthy ⁴³  in handling worldly wealth, ⁴⁴  who will entrust you with the true riches? ⁴⁵  16:12 And if you haven’t been trustworthy ⁴⁶  with someone else’s property, ⁴⁷  who will give you your own ⁴⁸ ? 16:13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate ⁴⁹  the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise ⁵⁰  the other. You cannot serve God and money.” ⁵¹ 

Luke 19:15

19:15 When ⁵²  he returned after receiving the kingdom, he summoned ⁵³  these slaves to whom he had given the money. He wanted ⁵⁴  to know how much they had earned ⁵⁵  by trading.

Ephesians 6:8-20

6:8 because you know that each person, whether slave or free, if he does something good, this ⁵⁶  will be rewarded by the Lord.

6:9 Masters, ⁵⁷  treat your slaves ⁵⁸  the same way, ⁵⁹  giving up the use of threats, ⁶⁰  because you know that both you and they have the same master in heaven, ⁶¹  and there is no favoritism with him.

Exhortations for Spiritual Warfare

6:10 Finally, be strengthened in the Lord and in the strength of his power. 6:11 Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the schemes ⁶²  of the devil. 6:12 For our struggle ⁶³  is not against flesh and blood, ⁶⁴  but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, ⁶⁵  against the spiritual forces ⁶⁶  of evil in the heavens. ⁶⁷  6:13 For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground ⁶⁸  on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand. 6:14 Stand firm therefore, by fastening ⁶⁹  the belt of truth around your waist, ⁷⁰  by putting on the breastplate of righteousness, 6:15 by fitting your ⁷¹  feet with the preparation that comes from the good news ⁷²  of peace, ⁷³  6:16 and in all of this, ⁷⁴  by taking up the shield ⁷⁵  of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation ⁷⁶  and the sword ⁷⁷  of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 6:18 With every prayer and petition, pray ⁷⁸  at all times in the Spirit, and to this end ⁷⁹  be alert, with all perseverance and requests for all the saints. 6:19 Pray ⁸⁰  for me also, that I may be given the message when I begin to speak ⁸¹  – that I may confidently make known ⁸²  the mystery of the gospel, 6:20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may be able to speak boldly as I ought to speak.

Revelation 17:14

17:14 They will make war with the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those accompanying ⁸³  the Lamb are the called, chosen, and faithful.”

Revelation 19:16

19:16 He has a name written on his clothing and on his thigh: “King of kings and Lord of lords.”

[5:8]  ¹ tn Alternately, “oppression.” The term עֹשֶׁק (’osheq) has a basic two-fold range of meaning: (1) “oppression; brutality” (e.g., Isa 54:14); and (2) “extortion” (e.g., Ps 62:11); see HALOT 897 s.v. עֹשֶׁק; BDB 799 s.v. עֹשֶׁק. The LXX understands the term as “oppression,” as the translation συκοφαντίαν (sukofantian, “oppression”) indicates. Likewise, HALOT 897 s.v. עֹשֶׁק 1 classifies this usage as “oppression” against the poor. However, the context of 5:8-9 [7-8 HT] focuses on corrupt government officials robbing people of the fruit of their labor through extortion and the perversion of justice.

[5:8]  ² tn Heb “robbery.” The noun גֵזֶל (gezel, “robbery”) refers to the wrestling away of righteousness or the perversion of justice (HALOT 186 s.v. גֵּזֶל). The related forms of the root גזל mean “to rob; to loot” (HALOT 186 s.v. גֵּזֶל). The term “robbery” is used as a figure for the perversion of justice (hypocatastasis): just as a thief robs his victims through physical violence, so corrupt government officials “rob” the poor through the perversion of justice.

[5:8]  ³ tn Heb “in the province.”

[5:8]  ⁴ tn The word “official” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[5:8]  ⁵ sn And there are higher ones over them! This may describe a corrupt system of government in which each level of hierarchy exploits its subordinates, all the way down to the peasants: “Set in authority over the people is an official who enriches himself at their expense; he is watched by a more authoritative governor who also has his share of the spoils; and above them are other officers of the State who likewise have to be satisfied”; see A. Cohen, The Five Megilloth (SoBB), 141.

[24:48]  ⁶ 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”).

[24:48]  ⁷ tn Grk “should say in his heart.”

[24:51]  ⁸ tn The verb διχοτομέω (dicotomew) means to cut an object into two parts (L&N 19.19). This is an extremely severe punishment compared to the other two later punishments. To translate it simply as “punish” is too mild. If taken literally this servant is dismembered, although it is possible to view the stated punishment as hyperbole (L&N 38.12).

[16:1]  ⁹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:1]  ¹⁰ 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.”

[16:1]  ¹¹ sn His manager was the steward in charge of managing the house. He could have been a slave trained for the role.

[16:1]  ¹² tn Or “squandering.” This verb is graphic; it means to scatter (L&N 57.151).

[16:2]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the reports the man received about his manager.

[16:2]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the manager) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:2]  ¹⁵ sn Although phrased as a question, the charges were believed by the owner, as his dismissal of the manager implies.

[16:2]  ¹⁶ tn Or “stewardship”; the Greek word οἰκονομία (oikonomia) is cognate with the noun for the manager (οἰκονόμος, oikonomo").

[16:3]  ¹⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events in the parable.

[16:3]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “the stewardship,” “the management.”

[16:3]  ¹⁹ 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.

[16:3]  ²⁰ tn Grk “I do not have strength to dig; I am ashamed to beg.”

[16:4]  ²¹ 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.

[16:4]  ²² sn Thinking ahead, the manager develops a plan to make people think kindly of him (welcome me into their homes).

[16:5]  ²³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the manager’s decision.

[16:5]  ²⁴ tn Grk “summoning.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:6]  ²⁵ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the first debtor) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:6]  ²⁶ sn A measure (sometimes translated “bath”) was just over 8 gallons (about 30 liters). This is a large debt – about 875 gallons (3000 liters) of olive oil, worth 1000 denarii, over three year’s pay for a daily worker.

[16:6]  ²⁷ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the manager) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[16:6]  ²⁸ sn The bill was halved (sit down quickly, and write fifty). What was the steward doing? This is debated. 1) Did he simply lower the price? 2) Did he remove interest from the debt? 3) Did he remove his own commission? It is hard to be sure. Either of the latter two options is more likely. The goal was clear: The manager would be seen in a favorable light for bringing a deflationary trend to prices.

[16:7]  ²⁹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the second debtor) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[16:7]  ³⁰ sn The hundred measures here was a hundreds cors. A cor was a Hebrew dry measure for grain, flour, etc., of between 10-12 bushels (about 390 liters). This was a huge amount of wheat, representing the yield of about 100 acres, a debt of between 2500-3000 denarii.

[16:7]  ³¹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the manager) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:7]  ³² sn The percentage of reduction may not be as great because of the change in material.

[16:8]  ³³ tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[16:8]  ³⁴ sn Is the manager dishonest because of what he just did? Or is it a reference to what he had done earlier, described in v. 1? This is a difficult question, but it seems unlikely that the master, having fired the man for prior dishonesty, would now commend those same actions. It would also be unusual for Jesus to make that point of the story the example. Thus it is more likely the reference to dishonesty goes back to the earliest events, while the commendation is for the cleverness of the former manager reflected in vv. 5-7.

[16:8]  ³⁵ sn Where this parable ends is debated: Does it conclude with v. 7, after v. 8a, after v. 8b, or after v. 9? Verse 8a looks as if it is still part of the story, with its clear reference to the manager, while 8b looks like Jesus’ application, since its remarks are more general. So it is most likely the parable stops after v. 8a.

[16:8]  ³⁶ tn Grk “sons” (an idiom).

[16:8]  ³⁷ tn Grk “with their own generation.”

[16:8]  ³⁸ tn Grk “sons.” Here the phrase “sons of light” is a reference to the righteous. The point is that those of the world often think ahead about consequences better than the righteous do.

[16:9]  ³⁹ tn Grk “unrighteous mammon.” Mammon is the Aramaic term for wealth or possessions. The point is not that money is inherently evil, but that it is often misused so that it is a means of evil; see 1 Tim 6:6-10, 17-19. The call is to be generous and kind in its use. Zacchaeus becomes the example of this in Luke’s Gospel (19:1-10).

[16:9]  ⁴⁰ sn The passive refers to the welcome of heaven.

[16:9]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “eternal tents” (as dwelling places).

[16:10]  ⁴² sn The point of the statement faithful in a very little is that character is shown in how little things are treated.

[16:11]  ⁴³ tn Or “faithful.”

[16:11]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “the unrighteous mammon.” See the note on the phrase “worldly wealth” in v. 9.

[16:11]  ⁴⁵ sn Entrust you with the true riches is a reference to future service for God. The idea is like 1 Cor 9:11, except there the imagery is reversed.

[16:12]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “faithful.”

[16:12]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “have not been faithful with what is another’s.”

[16:12]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “what is your own.”

[16:13]  ⁴⁹ sn The contrast between hate and love here is rhetorical. The point is that one will choose the favorite if a choice has to be made.

[16:13]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “and treat [the other] with contempt.”

[16:13]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “God and mammon.” This is the same word (μαμωνᾶς, mamwnas; often merely transliterated as “mammon”) translated “worldly wealth” in vv. 9, 11.

[19:15]  ⁵² 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.

[19:15]  ⁵³ 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.”

[19:15]  ⁵⁴ 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.

[19:15]  ⁵⁵ sn The Greek verb earned refers to profit from engaging in commerce and trade (L&N 57.195). This is an examination of stewardship.

[6:8]  ⁵⁶ sn The pronoun “this” (τοῦτο, touto) stands first in its clause for emphasis, and stresses the fact that God will reward those, who in seeking him, do good.

[6:9]  ⁵⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[6:9]  ⁵⁸ tn Though the Greek text only has αὐτούς (autous, “them”), the antecedent is the slaves of the masters. Therefore, it was translated this way to make it explicit in English.

[6:9]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “do the same things to them.”

[6:9]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “giving up the threat.”

[6:9]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “because of both they and you, the Lord is, in heaven…”

[6:11]  ⁶² tn Or “craftiness.” See BDAG 625 s.v. μεθοδεία.

[6:12]  ⁶³ tn BDAG 752 s.v. πάλη says, “struggle against…the opponent is introduced by πρός w. the acc.”

[6:12]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “blood and flesh.”

[6:12]  ⁶⁵ tn BDAG 561 s.v. κοσμοκράτωρ suggests “the rulers of this sinful world” as a gloss.

[6:12]  ⁶⁶ tn BDAG 837 s.v. πνευματικός 3 suggests “the spirit-forces of evil” in Ephesians 6:12.

[6:12]  ⁶⁷ sn The phrase spiritual forces of evil in the heavens serves to emphasize the nature of the forces which oppose believers as well as to indicate the locality from which they originate.

[6:13]  ⁶⁸ tn The term ἀνθίστημι (anqisthmi) carries the idea of resisting or opposing something or someone (BDAG 80 s.v.). In Eph 6:13, when used in combination with στῆναι (sthnai; cf. also στῆτε [sthte] in v. 14) and in a context of battle imagery, it seems to have the idea of resisting, standing firm, and being able to stand your ground.

[6:14]  ⁶⁹ sn The four participles fastening… putting on…fitting…taking up… indicate the means by which believers can take their stand against the devil and his schemes. The imperative take in v. 17 communicates another means by which to accomplish the standing, i.e., by the word of God.

[6:14]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “girding your waist with truth.” In this entire section the author is painting a metaphor for his readers based on the attire of a Roman soldier prepared for battle and its similarity to the Christian prepared to do battle against spiritually evil forces. Behind the expression “with truth” is probably the genitive idea “belt of truth.” Since this is an appositional genitive (i.e., belt which is truth), the author simply left unsaid the idea of the belt and mentioned only his real focus, namely, the truth. (The analogy would have been completely understandable to his 1st century readers.) The idea of the belt is supplied in the translation to clarify the sense in English.

[6:15]  ⁷¹ tn The definite article τοῖς (tois) was taken as a possessive pronoun, i.e., “your,” since it refers to a part of the physical body.

[6:15]  ⁷² tn Grk “gospel.” However, this is not a technical term here.

[6:15]  ⁷³ tn Grk “in preparation of the gospel of peace.” The genitive τοῦ εὐαγγελίου (tou euangeliou) was taken as a genitive of source, i.e., “that comes from….”

[6:16]  ⁷⁴ tn Grk “in everything.”

[6:16]  ⁷⁵ sn The Greek word translated shield (θυρεός, qureos) refers to the Roman soldier’s large rectangular wooden shield, called in Latin scutum, about 4 ft (1.2 m) high, covered with leather on the outside. Before a battle in which flaming arrows might be shot at them, the soldiers wet the leather covering with water to extinguish the arrows. The Roman legionaries could close ranks with these shields, the first row holding theirs edge to edge in front, and the rows behind holding the shields above their heads. In this formation they were practically invulnerable to arrows, rocks, and even spears.

[6:17]  ⁷⁶ sn An allusion to Isa 59:17.

[6:17]  ⁷⁷ sn The Greek term translated sword (μάχαιρα, macaira) refers to the Roman gladius, a short sword about 2 ft (60 cm) long, used for close hand-to-hand combat. This is the only clearly offensive weapon in the list of armor mentioned by the author (he does not, for example, mention the lance [Latin pilum]).

[6:18]  ⁷⁸ tn Both “pray” and “be alert” are participles in the Greek text (“praying…being alert”). Both are probably instrumental, loosely connected with all of the preceding instructions. As such, they are not additional commands to do but instead are the means through which the prior instructions are accomplished.

[6:18]  ⁷⁹ tn Grk “and toward it.”

[6:19]  ⁸⁰ tn To avoid a lengthy, convoluted sentence in English, the Greek sentence was broken up at this point and the verb “pray” was inserted in the English translation to pick up the participle προσευχόμενοι (proseuxomenoi, “praying”) in v. 18.

[6:19]  ⁸¹ tn Grk “that a word may be given to me in the opening of my mouth.” Here “word” (λόγος, logo") is used in the sense of “message.”

[6:19]  ⁸² tn The infinitive γνωρίσαι (gnwrisai, “to make known”) is functioning epexegetically to further explain what the author means by the preceding phrase “that I may be given the message when I begin to speak.”

[17:14]  ⁸³ tn See BDAG 636 s.v. μετά A.2.a.α.