Luke 16:1-4

The Parable of the Clever Steward

16:1 Jesus ¹  also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who was informed of accusations ²  that his manager ³  was wasting ⁴  his assets. 16:2 So ⁵  he called the manager ⁶  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 Then ⁹  the manager said to himself, ‘What should I do, since my master is taking my position ¹⁰  away from me? I’m not strong enough to dig, ¹¹  and I’m too ashamed ¹²  to beg. 16:4 I know ¹³  what to do so that when I am put out of management, people will welcome me into their homes.’ ¹⁴ 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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