Luke 16:1-13

Context

The Parable of the Clever Steward

16:1 Jesus¹ also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who was informed of accusations² that his manager³ was wasting⁴ his assets. 16:2 So⁵ he called the manager⁶ in and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you?⁷ Turn in the account of your administration,⁸ because you can no longer be my manager.’ 16:3 Then⁹ the manager said to himself, ‘What should I do, since my master is taking my position¹⁰ away from me? I’m not strong enough to dig,¹¹ and I’m too ashamed¹² to beg. 16:4 I know¹³ what to do so that when I am put out of management, people will welcome me into their homes.’¹⁴ 16:5 So¹⁵ he contacted¹⁶ his master’s debtors one by one. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 16:6 The man¹⁷ replied, ‘A hundred measures¹⁸ of olive oil.’ The manager¹⁹ said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write fifty.’²⁰ 16:7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ The second man²¹ replied, ‘A hundred measures²² of wheat.’ The manager²³ said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’²⁴ 16:8 The²⁵ master commended the dishonest²⁶ manager because he acted shrewdly.²⁷ For the people²⁸ of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their contemporaries²⁹ than the people³⁰ of light. 16:9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by how you use worldly wealth,³¹ so that when it runs out you will be welcomed³² into the eternal homes.³³

16:10 “The one who is faithful in a very little³⁴ 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 trustworthy³⁵ in handling worldly wealth,³⁶ who will entrust you with the true riches?³⁷ 16:12 And if you haven’t been trustworthy³⁸ with someone else’s property,³⁹ who will give you your own⁴⁰? 16:13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate⁴¹ the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise⁴² the other. You cannot serve God and money.”⁴³

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

[16:1] ²tn 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] ³sn His manager was the steward in charge of managing the house. He could have been a slave trained for the role.

[16:1] ⁴tn Or “squandering.” This verb is graphic; it means to scatter (L&N 57.151).

[16:2] ⁵tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the reports the man received about his manager.

[16:2] ⁶tn Grk “him”; the referent (the manager) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:2] ⁷sn Although phrased as a question, the charges were believed by the owner, as his dismissal of the manager implies.

[16:2] ⁸tn Or “stewardship”; the Greek word οἰκονομία (oikonomia) is cognate with the noun for the manager (οἰκονόμος, oikonomo").

[16:3] ⁹tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events in the parable.

[16:3] ¹⁰tn Grk “the stewardship,” “the management.”

[16:3] ¹¹tn 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] ¹²tn Grk “I do not have strength to dig; I am ashamed to beg.”

[16:4] ¹³tn 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] ¹⁴sn Thinking ahead, the manager develops a plan to make people think kindly of him (welcome me into their homes).

[16:5] ¹⁵tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the manager’s decision.

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

[16:6] ¹⁷tn Grk “He”; the referent (the first debtor) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:6] ¹⁸sn 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] ¹⁹tn 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] ²⁰sn 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] ²¹tn 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] ²²sn 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] ²³tn Grk “He”; the referent (the manager) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:7] ²⁴sn The percentage of reduction may not be as great because of the change in material.

[16:8] ²⁵tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[16:8] ²⁶sn 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] ²⁷sn 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] ²⁸tn Grk “sons” (an idiom).

[16:8] ²⁹tn Grk “with their own generation.”

[16:8] ³⁰tn 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] ³¹tn 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] ³²sn The passive refers to the welcome of heaven.

[16:9] ³³tn Grk “eternal tents” (as dwelling places).

[16:10] ³⁴sn The point of the statement faithful in a very little is that character is shown in how little things are treated.

[16:11] ³⁵tn Or “faithful.”

[16:11] ³⁶tn Grk “the unrighteous mammon.” See the note on the phrase “worldly wealth” in v. 9.

[16:11] ³⁷sn 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] ³⁸tn Or “faithful.”

[16:12] ³⁹tn Grk “have not been faithful with what is another’s.”

[16:12] ⁴⁰tn Grk “what is your own.”

[16:13] ⁴¹sn 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] ⁴²tn Or “and treat [the other] with contempt.”

[16:13] ⁴³tn Grk “God and mammon.” This is the same word (μαμωνᾶς, mamwnas; often merely transliterated as “mammon”) translated “worldly wealth” in vv. 9, 11.