Luke 16:2

16:2 So ¹  he called the manager ²  in and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? ³  Turn in the account of your administration, ⁴  because you can no longer be my manager.’

Luke 16:10-12

16:10 “The one who is faithful in a very little ⁵  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 ⁶  in handling worldly wealth, ⁷  who will entrust you with the true riches? ⁸  16:12 And if you haven’t been trustworthy ⁹  with someone else’s property, ¹⁰  who will give you your own ¹¹ ?

Genesis 39:8-23

39:8 But he refused, saying ¹²  to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not give any thought ¹³  to his household with me here, ¹⁴  and everything that he owns he has put into my care. ¹⁵  39:9 There is no one greater in this household than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you because you are his wife. So how could I do ¹⁶  such a great evil and sin against God?” 39:10 Even though she continued to speak ¹⁷  to Joseph day after day, he did not respond ¹⁸  to her invitation to have sex with her. ¹⁹ 

39:11 One day ²⁰  he went into the house to do his work when none of the household servants ²¹  were there in the house. 39:12 She grabbed him by his outer garment, saying, “Have sex with me!” But he left his outer garment in her hand and ran ²²  outside. ²³  39:13 When she saw that he had left his outer garment in her hand and had run outside, 39:14 she called for her household servants and said to them, “See, my husband brought ²⁴  in a Hebrew man ²⁵  to us to humiliate us. ²⁶  He tried to have sex with me, ²⁷  but I screamed loudly. ²⁸  39:15 When he heard me raise ²⁹  my voice and scream, he left his outer garment beside me and ran outside.”

39:16 So she laid his outer garment beside her until his master came home. 39:17 This is what she said to him: ³⁰  “That Hebrew slave ³¹  you brought to us tried to humiliate me, ³²  39:18 but when I raised my voice and screamed, he left his outer garment and ran outside.”

39:19 When his master heard his wife say, ³³  “This is the way ³⁴  your slave treated me,” ³⁵  he became furious. ³⁶  39:20 Joseph’s master took him and threw him into the prison, ³⁷  the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. So he was there in the prison. ³⁸ 

39:21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him kindness. ³⁹  He granted him favor in the sight of the prison warden. ⁴⁰  39:22 The warden put all the prisoners under Joseph’s care. He was in charge of whatever they were doing. ⁴¹  39:23 The warden did not concern himself ⁴²  with anything that was in Joseph’s ⁴³  care because the Lord was with him and whatever he was doing the Lord was making successful.

Matthew 25:14-29

The Parable of the Talents

25:14 “For it is like a man going on a journey, who summoned his slaves ⁴⁴  and entrusted his property to them. 25:15 To ⁴⁵  one he gave five talents, ⁴⁶  to another two, and to another one, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 25:16 The one who had received five talents went off right away and put his money to work ⁴⁷  and gained five more. 25:17 In the same way, the one who had two gained two more. 25:18 But the one who had received one talent went out and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money in it. 25:19 After ⁴⁸  a long time, the master of those slaves came and settled his accounts with them. 25:20 The ⁴⁹  one who had received the five talents came and brought five more, saying, ‘Sir, ⁵⁰  you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’ 25:21 His master answered, ⁵¹  ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You have been faithful in a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 25:22 The ⁵²  one with the two talents also came and said, ‘Sir, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more.’ 25:23 His master answered, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You have been faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 25:24 Then the one who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Sir, I knew that you were a hard man, harvesting where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed, 25:25 so ⁵³  I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’ 25:26 But his master answered, ⁵⁴  ‘Evil and lazy slave! So you knew that I harvest where I didn’t sow and gather where I didn’t scatter? 25:27 Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, ⁵⁵  and on my return I would have received my money back with interest! ⁵⁶  25:28 Therefore take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten. ⁵⁷  25:29 For the one who has will be given more, ⁵⁸  and he will have more than enough. But the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. ⁵⁹ 

John 15:22

15:22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. ⁶⁰  But they no longer have any excuse for their sin.

John 15:1

The Vine and the Branches

15:1 “I am the true vine ⁶¹  and my Father is the gardener. ⁶² 

Colossians 1:17-18

1:17 He himself is before all things and all things are held together ⁶³  in him.

1:18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn ⁶⁴  from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. ⁶⁵ 

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁶⁶  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 1:11

1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of ⁶⁷  all patience and steadfastness, joyfully

Colossians 1:13

1:13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, ⁶⁸ 

Colossians 1:20

1:20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross – through him, ⁶⁹  whether things on earth or things in heaven.

Titus 1:3

1:3 But now in his own time ⁷⁰  he has made his message evident through the preaching I was entrusted with according to the command of God our Savior.

James 3:1

The Power of the Tongue

3:1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, ⁷¹  because you know that we will be judged more strictly. ⁷² 

[16:2]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the reports the man received about his manager.

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

[16:2]  ³ sn Although phrased as a question, the charges were believed by the owner, as his dismissal of the manager implies.

[16:2]  ⁴ tn Or “stewardship”; the Greek word οἰκονομία (oikonomia) is cognate with the noun for the manager (οἰκονόμος, oikonomo").

[16:10]  ⁵ sn The point of the statement faithful in a very little is that character is shown in how little things are treated.

[16:11]  ⁶ tn Or “faithful.”

[16:11]  ⁷ tn Grk “the unrighteous mammon.” See the note on the phrase “worldly wealth” in v. 9.

[16:11]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Or “faithful.”

[16:12]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “have not been faithful with what is another’s.”

[16:12]  ¹¹ tn Grk “what is your own.”

[39:8]  ¹² tn Heb “and he said.”

[39:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “know.”

[39:8]  ¹⁴ tn The word “here” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[39:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “hand.” This is a metonymy for being under the control or care of Joseph.

[39:9]  ¹⁶ tn The nuance of potential imperfect fits this context.

[39:10]  ¹⁷ tn The verse begins with the temporal indicator, followed by the infinitive construct with the preposition כְּ (kÿ). This clause could therefore be taken as temporal.

[39:10]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “listen to.”

[39:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “to lie beside her to be with her.” Here the expression “to lie beside” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[39:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and it was about this day.”

[39:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “the men of the house.”

[39:12]  ²² tn Heb “he fled and he went out.” The construction emphasizes the point that Joseph got out of there quickly.

[39:12]  ²³ sn For discussion of this episode, see A. M. Honeyman, “The Occasion of Joseph’s Temptation,” VT 2 (1952): 85-87.

[39:14]  ²⁴ tn The verb has no expressed subject, and so it could be treated as a passive (“a Hebrew man was brought in”; cf. NIV). But it is clear from the context that her husband brought Joseph into the household, so Potiphar is the apparent referent here. Thus the translation supplies “my husband” as the referent of the unspecified pronominal subject of the verb (cf. NEB, NRSV).

[39:14]  ²⁵ sn A Hebrew man. Potiphar’s wife raises the ethnic issue when talking to her servants about what their boss had done.

[39:14]  ²⁶ tn Heb “to make fun of us.” The verb translated “to humiliate us” here means to hold something up for ridicule, or to toy with something harmfully. Attempted rape would be such an activity, for it would hold the victim in contempt.

[39:14]  ²⁷ tn Heb “he came to me to lie with me.” Here the expression “lie with” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[39:14]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and I cried out with a loud voice.”

[39:15]  ²⁹ tn Heb “that I raised.”

[39:17]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and she spoke to him according to these words, saying.”

[39:17]  ³¹ sn That Hebrew slave. Now, when speaking to her husband, Potiphar’s wife refers to Joseph as a Hebrew slave, a very demeaning description.

[39:17]  ³² tn Heb “came to me to make fun of me.” The statement needs no explanation because of the connotations of “came to me” and “to make fun of me.” See the note on the expression “humiliate us” in v. 14.

[39:19]  ³³ tn Heb “and when his master heard the words of his wife which she spoke to him, saying.”

[39:19]  ³⁴ tn Heb “according to these words.”

[39:19]  ³⁵ tn Heb “did to me.”

[39:19]  ³⁶ tn Heb “his anger burned.”

[39:20]  ³⁷ tn Heb “the house of roundness,” suggesting that the prison might have been a fortress or citadel.

[39:20]  ³⁸ sn The story of Joseph is filled with cycles and repetition: He has two dreams (chap. 37), he interprets two dreams in prison (chap. 40) and the two dreams of Pharaoh (chap. 41), his brothers make two trips to see him (chaps. 42-43), and here, for the second time (see 37:24), he is imprisoned for no good reason, with only his coat being used as evidence. For further discussion see H. Jacobsen, “A Legal Note on Potiphar’s Wife,” HTR 69 (1976): 177.

[39:21]  ³⁹ tn Heb “and he extended to him loyal love.”

[39:21]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “the chief jailer” (also in the following verses).

[39:22]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “all which they were doing there, he was doing.” This probably means that Joseph was in charge of everything that went on in the prison.

[39:23]  ⁴² tn Heb “was not looking at anything.”

[39:23]  ⁴³ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[25:14]  ⁴⁴ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.

[25:15]  ⁴⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[25:15]  ⁴⁶ sn A talent was equal to 6000 denarii. See the note on this term in 18:24.

[25:16]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “traded with them.”

[25:19]  ⁴⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[25:20]  ⁴⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[25:20]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk Or “Lord; or “Master” (and so throughout this paragraph).

[25:21]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “His master said to him.”

[25:22]  ⁵² tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[25:25]  ⁵³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[25:26]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “But answering, his master said to him.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

[25:27]  ⁵⁵ tn For the translation “deposited my money with the bankers,” see L&N 57.216.

[25:27]  ⁵⁶ sn That is, “If you really feared me you should have done a minimum to get what I asked for.”

[25:28]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “the ten talents.”

[25:29]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “to everyone who has, he will be given more.”

[25:29]  ⁵⁹ sn The one who has nothing has even what he seems to have taken from him, ending up with no reward at all (see also Luke 8:18). The exact force of this is left ambiguous, but there is no comfort here for those who are pictured by the third slave as being totally unmoved by the master. Though not an outright enemy, there is no relationship to the master either.

[15:22]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “they would not have sin” (an idiom).

[15:1]  ⁶¹ sn I am the true vine. There are numerous OT passages which refer to Israel as a vine: Ps 80:8-16, Isa 5:1-7, Jer 2:21, Ezek 15:1-8, 17:5-10, 19:10-14, and Hos 10:1. The vine became symbolic of Israel, and even appeared on some coins issued by the Maccabees. The OT passages which use this symbol appear to regard Israel as faithless to Yahweh (typically rendered as “Lord” in the OT) and/or the object of severe punishment. Ezek 15:1-8 in particular talks about the worthlessness of wood from a vine (in relation to disobedient Judah). A branch cut from a vine is worthless except to be burned as fuel. This fits more with the statements about the disciples (John 15:6) than with Jesus’ description of himself as the vine. Ezek 17:5-10 contains vine imagery which refers to a king of the house of David, Zedekiah, who was set up as king in Judah by Nebuchadnezzar. Zedekiah allied himself to Egypt and broke his covenant with Nebuchadnezzar (and therefore also with God), which would ultimately result in his downfall (17:20-21). Ezek 17:22-24 then describes the planting of a cedar sprig which grows into a lofty tree, a figurative description of Messiah. But it is significant that Messiah himself is not described in Ezek 17 as a vine, but as a cedar tree. The vine imagery here applies to Zedekiah’s disobedience. Jesus’ description of himself as the true vine in John 15:1 ff. is to be seen against this background, but it differs significantly from the imagery surveyed above. It represents new imagery which differs significantly from OT concepts; it appears to be original with Jesus. The imagery of the vine underscores the importance of fruitfulness in the Christian life and the truth that this results not from human achievement, but from one’s position in Christ. Jesus is not just giving some comforting advice, but portraying to the disciples the difficult path of faithful service. To some degree the figure is similar to the head-body metaphor used by Paul, with Christ as head and believers as members of the body. Both metaphors bring out the vital and necessary connection which exists between Christ and believers.

[15:1]  ⁶² tn Or “the farmer.”

[1:17]  ⁶³ tn BDAG 973 s.v. συνίστημι B.3 suggests “continue, endure, exist, hold together” here.

[1:18]  ⁶⁴ tn See the note on the term “firstborn” in 1:15. Here the reference to Jesus as the “firstborn from among the dead” seems to be arguing for a chronological priority, i.e., Jesus was the first to rise from the dead.

[1:18]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “in order that he may become in all things, himself, first.”

[1:1]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:11]  ⁶⁷ tn The expression “for the display of” is an attempt to convey in English the force of the Greek preposition εἰς (eis) in this context.

[1:13]  ⁶⁸ tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).

[1:20]  ⁶⁹ tc The presence or absence of the second occurrence of the phrase δι᾿ αὐτοῦ (di’ autou, “through him”) is a difficult textual problem to solve. External evidence is fairly evenly divided. Many ancient and excellent witnesses lack the phrase (B D* F G I 0278 81 1175 1739 1881 2464 al latt sa), but equally important witnesses have it (Ì⁴⁶ א A C D¹ Ψ 048^vid 33 Ï). Both readings have strong Alexandrian support, which makes the problem difficult to decide on external evidence alone. Internal evidence points to the inclusion of the phrase as original. The word immediately preceding the phrase is the masculine pronoun αὐτοῦ (autou); thus the possibility of omission through homoioteleuton in various witnesses is likely. Scribes might have deleted the phrase because of perceived redundancy or awkwardness in the sense: The shorter reading is smoother and more elegant, so scribes would be prone to correct the text in that direction. As far as style is concerned, repetition of key words and phrases for emphasis is not foreign to the corpus Paulinum (see, e.g., Rom 8:23, Eph 1:13, 2 Cor 12:7). In short, it is easier to account for the shorter reading arising from the longer reading than vice versa, so the longer reading is more likely original.

[1:3]  ⁷⁰ tn The Greek text emphasizes the contrast between vv. 2b and 3a: God promised this long ago but now has revealed it in his own time.

[3:1]  ⁷¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[3:1]  ⁷² tn Grk “will receive a greater judgment.”