Luke 16:3-4

16:3 Then ¹  the manager said to himself, ‘What should I do, since my master is taking my position ²  away from me? I’m not strong enough to dig, ³  and I’m too ashamed ⁴  to beg. 16:4 I know ⁵  what to do so that when I am put out of management, people will welcome me into their homes.’ ⁶ 

[16:3]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events in the parable.

[16:3]  ² tn Grk “the stewardship,” “the management.”

[16:3]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Grk “I do not have strength to dig; I am ashamed to beg.”

[16:4]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ sn Thinking ahead, the manager develops a plan to make people think kindly of him (welcome me into their homes).