Luke 12:41-48

12:41 Then ¹  Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?” ²  12:42 The Lord replied, ³  “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, ⁴  whom the master puts in charge of his household servants, ⁵  to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? 12:43 Blessed is that slave ⁶  whom his master finds at work ⁷  when he returns. 12:44 I tell you the truth, ⁸  the master ⁹  will put him in charge of all his possessions. 12:45 But if ¹⁰  that ¹¹  slave should say to himself, ¹²  ‘My master is delayed ¹³  in returning,’ and he begins to beat ¹⁴  the other ¹⁵  slaves, both men and women, ¹⁶  and to eat, drink, and get drunk, 12:46 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, and will cut him in two, ¹⁷  and assign him a place with the unfaithful. ¹⁸  12:47 That ¹⁹  servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or do what his master asked ²⁰  will receive a severe beating. 12:48 But the one who did not know his master’s will ²¹  and did things worthy of punishment ²²  will receive a light beating. ²³  From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, ²⁴  and from the one who has been entrusted with much, ²⁵  even more will be asked. ²⁶ 

[12:41]  ¹ tn Grk “And Peter.” Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the connection to the preceding statement.

[12:41]  ² sn Is the parable only for disciples (us) or for all humanity (everyone)? Or does Peter mean for disciples (us) or for the crowd (everyone)? The fact that unfaithful slaves are mentioned in v. 46 looks to a warning that includes a broad audience, though it is quality of service that is addressed. This means the parable focuses on those who are associated with Jesus.

[12:42]  ³ tn Grk “And the Lord said.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[12:42]  ⁴ tn Or “administrator,” “steward” (L&N 37.39).

[12:42]  ⁵ tn This term, θεραπεία (qerapeia), describes the group of servants working in a particular household (L&N 46.6).

[12:43]  ⁶ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 7:2.

[12:43]  ⁷ tn That is, doing his job, doing what he is supposed to be doing.

[12:44]  ⁸ tn Grk “Truly (ἀληθῶς, alhqw"), I say to you.”

[12:44]  ⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the master) has been specified in the translation for clarity. See also Luke 19:11-27.

[12:45]  ¹⁰ 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”).

[12:45]  ¹¹ tn The term “that” (ἐκεῖνος, ekeino") is used as a catchword to list out, in the form of a number of hypothetical circumstances, what the possible responses of “that” servant could be. He could be faithful (vv. 43-44) or totally unfaithful (vv. 45-46). He does not complete his master’s will with knowledge (v. 47) or from ignorance (v 48). These differences are indicated by the different levels of punishment in vv. 46-48.

[12:45]  ¹² tn Grk “should say in his heart.”

[12:45]  ¹³ tn Or “is taking a long time.”

[12:45]  ¹⁴ sn The slave’s action in beginning to beat the other slaves was not only a failure to carry out what was commanded but involved doing the exact reverse.

[12:45]  ¹⁵ tn The word “other” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[12:45]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “the menservants and the maidservants.” The term here, used in both masculine and feminine grammatical forms, is παῖς (pais), which can refer to a slave, but also to a slave who is a personal servant, and thus regarded kindly (L&N 87.77).

[12:46]  ¹⁷ 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).

[12:46]  ¹⁸ tn Or “unbelieving.” Here the translation employs the slightly more ambiguous “unfaithful,” which creates a link with the point of the parable – faithfulness versus unfaithfulness in servants. The example of this verse must be taken together with the examples of vv. 47-48 as part of a scale of reactions with the most disobedient response coming here. The fact that this servant is placed in a distinct group, unlike the one in vv. 47-48, also suggests ultimate exclusion. This is the hypocrite of Matt 24:51.

[12:47]  ¹⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[12:47]  ²⁰ tn Grk “or do according to his will”; the referent (the master) has been specified in the translation for clarity. This example deals with the slave who knew what the command was and yet failed to complete it.

[12:48]  ²¹ tn Grk “did not know”; the phrase “his master’s will” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the contemporary English reader.

[12:48]  ²² tn Grk “blows.”

[12:48]  ²³ tn Grk “will receive few (blows).”

[12:48]  ²⁴ tn Grk “required from him”; but the words “from him” are redundant in English and have not been translated.

[12:48]  ²⁵ sn Entrusted with much. To be gifted with precious responsibility is something that requires faithfulness.

[12:48]  ²⁶ tn Grk “they will ask even more.”