Luke 19:10-16

Context
19:10 For the Son of Man came¹ to seek and to save the lost.”

The Parable of the Ten Minas

19:11 While the people were listening to these things, Jesus² proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem,³ and because they thought⁴ that the kingdom of God⁵ was going to⁶ appear immediately. 19:12 Therefore he said, “A nobleman⁷ went to a distant country to receive⁸ for himself a kingdom and then return.⁹ 19:13 And he summoned ten of his slaves,¹⁰ gave them ten minas,¹¹ and said to them, ‘Do business with these until I come back.’ 19:14 But his citizens¹² hated¹³ him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man¹⁴ to be king¹⁵ over us!’ 19:15 When¹⁶ he returned after receiving the kingdom, he summoned¹⁷ these slaves to whom he had given the money. He wanted¹⁸ to know how much they had earned¹⁹ by trading. 19:16 So²⁰ the first one came before him and said, ‘Sir,²¹ your mina²² has made ten minas more.’

[19:10] ¹sn The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost is Jesus’ mission succinctly defined. See Luke 15:1-32.

[19:11] ²tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:11] ³map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[19:11] ⁴tn The present active infinitive δοκεῖν (dokein) has been translated as causal.

[19:11] ⁵sn Luke means here the appearance of the full kingdom of God in power with the Son of Man as judge as Luke 17:22-37 describes.

[19:11] ⁶tn Or perhaps, “the kingdom of God must appear immediately (see L&N 71.36).

[19:12] ³tn Grk “a man of noble birth” or “a man of noble status” (L&N 87.27).

[19:12] ⁴sn Note that the receiving of the kingdom takes place in the far country. This suggests that those in the far country recognize and acknowledge the king when his own citizens did not want him as king (v. 14; cf. John 1:11-12).

[19:12] ⁵sn The background to this story about the nobleman who went…to receive for himself a kingdom had some parallels in the area’s recent history: Archelaus was appointed ethnarch of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea in 4 b.c., but the people did not like him. Herod the Great also made a similar journey to Rome where he was crowned King of Judea in 40 b.c., although he was not able to claim his kingdom until 37 b.c.

[19:13] ⁴tn See the note on the word “slave” in 7:2.

[19:13] ⁵sn That is, one for each. A mina was a Greek monetary unit worth one hundred denarii or about four months’ wages for an average worker based on a six-day work week.

[19:14] ⁵tn Or “subjects.” Technically these people were not his subjects yet, but would be upon his return. They were citizens of his country who opposed his appointment as their king; later the newly-appointed king will refer to them as his “enemies” (v. 27).

[19:14] ⁶tn The imperfect is intense in this context, suggesting an ongoing attitude.

[19:14] ⁷tn Grk “this one” (somewhat derogatory in this context).

[19:14] ⁸tn Or “to rule.”

[19:15] ⁶tn Grk “And it happened that when.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[19:15] ⁷tn Grk “he said for these slaves to be called to him.” The passive construction has been translated as an active one and simplified to “he summoned.”

[19:15] ⁸tn Grk “in order that he might know” (a continuation of the preceding sentence). Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronoun “he” as subject and the verb “wanted” to convey the idea of purpose.

[19:15] ⁹sn The Greek verb earned refers to profit from engaging in commerce and trade (L&N 57.195). This is an examination of stewardship.

[19:16] ⁷tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the royal summons.

[19:16] ⁸tn Or “Lord”; or “Master.” (and so throughout this paragraph).

[19:16] ⁹tn See the note on the word “minas” in v. 13.