Luke 12:33

12:33 Sell your possessions ¹  and give to the poor. ²  Provide yourselves purses that do not wear out – a treasure in heaven ³  that never decreases, ⁴  where no thief approaches and no moth ⁵  destroys.

Luke 16:1

The Parable of the Clever Steward

16:1 Jesus ⁶  also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who was informed of accusations ⁷  that his manager ⁸  was wasting ⁹  his assets.

[12:33]  ¹ sn The call to sell your possessions is a call to a lack of attachment to the earth and a generosity as a result.

[12:33]  ² tn Grk “give alms,” but this term is not in common use today.

[12:33]  ³ tn Grk “in the heavens.”

[12:33]  ⁴ tn Or “an unfailing treasure in heaven,” or “an inexhaustible treasure in heaven.”

[12:33]  ⁵ tn The term σής (shs) refers to moths in general. It is specifically the larvae of moths that destroy clothing by eating holes in it (L&N 4.49; BDAG 922 s.v.). See Jas 5:2, which mentions “moth-eaten” clothing.

[16:1]  ⁶ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:1]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ sn His manager was the steward in charge of managing the house. He could have been a slave trained for the role.

[16:1]  ⁹ tn Or “squandering.” This verb is graphic; it means to scatter (L&N 57.151).