Matthew 18:28-34

18:28 After ¹  he went out, that same slave found one of his fellow slaves who owed him one hundred silver coins. ²  So ³  he grabbed him by the throat and started to choke him, ⁴  saying, ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ ⁵  18:29 Then his fellow slave threw himself down and begged him, ⁶  ‘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 ⁷  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 ⁸  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 ⁹  until he repaid all he owed.

[18:28]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[18:28]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Grk “and he grabbed him and started choking him.”

[18:28]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Grk “begged him, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[18:31]  ⁷ tn Grk “Therefore when.” Here οὖν (oun) has not been translated.

[18:32]  ⁸ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the first slave mentioned in v. 24) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:34]  ⁹ 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.