Matthew 18:26-34

18:26 Then the slave threw himself to the ground ¹  before him, saying, ²  ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you everything.’ 18:27 The lord had compassion on that slave and released him, and forgave him the debt. 18:28 After ³  he went out, that same slave found one of his fellow slaves who owed him one hundred silver coins. ⁴  So ⁵  he grabbed him by the throat and started to choke him, ⁶  saying, ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ ⁷  18:29 Then his fellow slave threw himself down and begged him, ⁸  ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you.’ 18:30 But he refused. Instead, he went out and threw him in prison until he repaid the debt. 18:31 When ⁹  his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were very upset and went and told their lord everything that had taken place. 18:32 Then his lord called the first slave ¹⁰  and said to him, ‘Evil slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me! 18:33 Should you not have shown mercy to your fellow slave, just as I showed it to you?’ 18:34 And in anger his lord turned him over to the prison guards to torture him ¹¹  until he repaid all he owed.

[18:26]  ¹ tn Grk “falling therefore the slave bowed down to the ground.” The redundancy of this expression signals the desperation of the slave in begging for mercy.

[18:26]  ² tc The majority of mss (א L W 058 0281 Ë^1,13 33 Ï it sy^p,h co) begin the slave’s plea with “Lord” (κύριε, kurie), though a few important witnesses lack this vocative (B D Θ 700 pc lat sy^s,c Or Chr). Understanding the parable to refer to the Lord, scribes would be naturally prone to add the vocative here, especially as the slave’s plea is a plea for mercy. Thus, the shorter reading is more likely to be authentic.

[18:28]  ³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[18:28]  ⁴ tn Grk “one hundred denarii.” The denarius was a silver coin worth about a day’s wage for a laborer; this would be about three month’s pay.

[18:28]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so.” A new sentence was started at this point in the translation in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[18:28]  ⁶ tn Grk “and he grabbed him and started choking him.”

[18:28]  ⁷ tn The word “me” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[18:29]  ⁸ tn Grk “begged him, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[18:31]  ⁹ tn Grk “Therefore when.” Here οὖν (oun) has not been translated.

[18:32]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the first slave mentioned in v. 24) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:34]  ¹¹ tn Grk “handed him over to the torturers,” referring specifically to guards whose job was to torture prisoners who were being questioned. According to L&N 37.126, it is difficult to know for certain in this instance whether the term actually envisions torture as a part of the punishment or is simply a hyperbole. However, in light of the following verse and Jesus’ other warning statements in Matthew about “fiery hell,” “the outer darkness,” etc., it is best not to dismiss this as mere imagery.