Matthew 25:19-30

25:19 After ¹  a long time, the master of those slaves came and settled his accounts with them. 25:20 The ²  one who had received the five talents came and brought five more, saying, ‘Sir, ³  you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’ 25:21 His master answered, ⁴  ‘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 ⁵  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 ⁶  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, ⁷  ‘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, ⁸  and on my return I would have received my money back with interest! ⁹  25:28 Therefore take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten. ¹⁰  25:29 For the one who has will be given more, ¹¹  and he will have more than enough. But the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. ¹²  25:30 And throw that worthless slave into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Luke 16:1-2

The Parable of the Clever Steward

16:1 Jesus ¹³  also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who was informed of accusations ¹⁴  that his manager ¹⁵  was wasting ¹⁶  his assets. 16:2 So ¹⁷  he called the manager ¹⁸  in and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? ¹⁹  Turn in the account of your administration, ²⁰  because you can no longer be my manager.’

Luke 19:12-27

19:12 Therefore he said, “A nobleman ²¹  went to a distant country to receive ²²  for himself a kingdom and then return. ²³  19:13 And he summoned ten of his slaves, ²⁴  gave them ten minas, ²⁵  and said to them, ‘Do business with these until I come back.’ 19:14 But his citizens ²⁶  hated ²⁷  him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man ²⁸  to be king ²⁹  over us!’ 19:15 When ³⁰  he returned after receiving the kingdom, he summoned ³¹  these slaves to whom he had given the money. He wanted ³²  to know how much they had earned ³³  by trading. 19:16 So ³⁴  the first one came before him and said, ‘Sir, ³⁵  your mina ³⁶  has made ten minas more.’ 19:17 And the king ³⁷  said to him, ‘Well done, good slave! Because you have been faithful ³⁸  in a very small matter, you will have authority ³⁹  over ten cities.’ 19:18 Then ⁴⁰  the second one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has made five minas.’ 19:19 So ⁴¹  the king ⁴²  said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ 19:20 Then another ⁴³  slave ⁴⁴  came and said, ‘Sir, here is ⁴⁵  your mina that I put away for safekeeping ⁴⁶  in a piece of cloth. ⁴⁷  19:21 For I was afraid of you, because you are a severe ⁴⁸  man. You withdraw ⁴⁹  what you did not deposit ⁵⁰  and reap what you did not sow.’ 19:22 The king ⁵¹  said to him, ‘I will judge you by your own words, ⁵²  you wicked slave! ⁵³  So you knew, did you, that I was a severe ⁵⁴  man, withdrawing what I didn’t deposit and reaping what I didn’t sow? 19:23 Why then didn’t you put ⁵⁵  my money in the bank, ⁵⁶  so that when I returned I could have collected it with interest?’ 19:24 And he said to his attendants, ⁵⁷  ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has ten.’ ⁵⁸  19:25 But ⁵⁹  they said to him, ‘Sir, he has ten minas already!’ ⁶⁰  19:26 ‘I tell you that everyone who has will be given more, ⁶¹  but from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. ⁶²  19:27 But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be their king, ⁶³  bring them here and slaughter ⁶⁴  them ⁶⁵  in front of me!’”

Romans 14:12

14:12 Therefore, each of us will give an account of himself to God. ⁶⁶ 

Romans 14:1

Exhortation to Mutual Forbearance

14:1 Now receive the one who is weak in the faith, and do not have disputes over differing opinions. ⁶⁷ 

Colossians 4:5

4:5 Conduct yourselves ⁶⁸  with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunities.

Colossians 4:2

Exhortation to Pray for the Success of Paul’s Mission

4:2 Be devoted to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving.

Colossians 1:10-11

1:10 so that you may live ⁶⁹  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ⁷⁰  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God, 1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of ⁷¹  all patience and steadfastness, joyfully

[25:19]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[25:20]  ² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[25:20]  ³ tn Grk Or “Lord; or “Master” (and so throughout this paragraph).

[25:21]  ⁴ tn Grk “His master said to him.”

[25:22]  ⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[25:25]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[25:26]  ⁷ tn Grk “But answering, his master said to him.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

[25:27]  ⁸ tn For the translation “deposited my money with the bankers,” see L&N 57.216.

[25:27]  ⁹ sn That is, “If you really feared me you should have done a minimum to get what I asked for.”

[25:28]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “the ten talents.”

[25:29]  ¹¹ tn Grk “to everyone who has, he will be given more.”

[25:29]  ¹² 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.

[16:1]  ¹³ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:1]  ¹⁴ tn These are not formal legal charges, but reports from friends, acquaintances, etc.; Grk “A certain man was rich who had a manager, and this one was reported to him as wasting his property.”

[16:1]  ¹⁵ sn His manager was the steward in charge of managing the house. He could have been a slave trained for the role.

[16:1]  ¹⁶ tn Or “squandering.” This verb is graphic; it means to scatter (L&N 57.151).

[16:2]  ¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the reports the man received about his manager.

[16:2]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the manager) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:2]  ¹⁹ sn Although phrased as a question, the charges were believed by the owner, as his dismissal of the manager implies.

[16:2]  ²⁰ tn Or “stewardship”; the Greek word οἰκονομία (oikonomia) is cognate with the noun for the manager (οἰκονόμος, oikonomo").

[19:12]  ²¹ tn Grk “a man of noble birth” or “a man of noble status” (L&N 87.27).

[19:12]  ²² sn 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]  ²³ sn 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]  ²⁴ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 7:2.

[19:13]  ²⁵ sn 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]  ²⁶ tn 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]  ²⁷ tn The imperfect is intense in this context, suggesting an ongoing attitude.

[19:14]  ²⁸ tn Grk “this one” (somewhat derogatory in this context).

[19:14]  ²⁹ tn Or “to rule.”

[19:15]  ³⁰ tn 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]  ³¹ tn 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]  ³² tn 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]  ³³ sn 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]  ³⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the royal summons.

[19:16]  ³⁵ tn Or “Lord”; or “Master.” (and so throughout this paragraph).

[19:16]  ³⁶ tn See the note on the word “minas” in v. 13.

[19:17]  ³⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the nobleman of v. 12, now a king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:17]  ³⁸ tn See Luke 16:10.

[19:17]  ³⁹ sn The faithful slave received expanded responsibility (authority over ten cities) as a result of his faithfulness; this in turn is an exhortation to faithfulness for the reader.

[19:18]  ⁴⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[19:19]  ⁴¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the second slave’s report.

[19:19]  ⁴² tn Grk “he”; the referent (the nobleman of v. 12, now a king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:20]  ⁴³ sn Though ten were given minas, the story stops to focus on the one who did nothing with the opportunity given to him. Here is the parable’s warning about the one who does not trust the master. This figure is called “another,” marking him out as different than the first two.

[19:20]  ⁴⁴ tn The word “slave” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied for stylistic reasons.

[19:20]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “behold.”

[19:20]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “that I stored away.” L&N 85.53 defines ἀπόκειμαι (apokeimai) here as “to put something away for safekeeping – ‘to store, to put away in a safe place.’”

[19:20]  ⁴⁷ tn The piece of cloth, called a σουδάριον (soudarion), could have been a towel, napkin, handkerchief, or face cloth (L&N 6.159).

[19:21]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “exacting,” “harsh,” “hard.”

[19:21]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “man, taking out.” The Greek word can refer to withdrawing money from a bank (L&N 57.218), and in this context of financial accountability that is the most probable meaning. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronoun “you” as subject and translating the participle αἴρεις (airei") as a finite verb.

[19:21]  ⁵⁰ tn The Greek verb τίθημι (tiqhmi) can be used of depositing money with a banker to earn interest (L&N 57.217). In effect the slave charges that the master takes what he has not earned.

[19:22]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the nobleman of v. 12, now a king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:22]  ⁵² tn Grk “out of your own mouth” (an idiom).

[19:22]  ⁵³ tn Note the contrast between this slave, described as “wicked,” and the slave in v. 17, described as “good.”

[19:22]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “exacting,” “harsh,” “hard.”

[19:23]  ⁵⁵ tn That is, “If you really feared me why did you not do a minimum to get what I asked for?”

[19:23]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “on the table”; the idiom refers to a place where money is kept or managed, or credit is established, thus “bank” (L&N 57.215).

[19:24]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “to those standing by,” but in this context involving an audience before the king to give an accounting, these would not be casual bystanders but courtiers or attendants.

[19:24]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “the ten minas.”

[19:25]  ⁵⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context. Those watching the evaluation are shocked, as the one with the most gets even more. The word “already” is supplied at the end of the statement to indicate this surprise and shock.

[19:25]  ⁶⁰ tc A few mss (D W 69 pc and a few versional witnesses) omit this verse either to harmonize it with Matt 25:28-29 or to keep the king’s speech seamless.

[19:26]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “to everyone who has, he will be given more.”

[19:26]  ⁶² sn The one who has nothing has even what he seems to have taken away 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. Three groups are represented in the parable: the faithful of various sorts (vv. 16, 18); the unfaithful who associate with Jesus but do not trust him (v. 21); and the enemies (v. 27).

[19:27]  ⁶³ tn Grk “to rule over them.”

[19:27]  ⁶⁴ tn This term, when used of people rather than animals, has some connotations of violence and mercilessness (L&N 20.72).

[19:27]  ⁶⁵ sn Slaughter them. To reject the king is to face certain judgment from him.

[14:12]  ⁶⁶ tc ‡ The words “to God” are absent from some mss (B F G 6 630 1739 1881 pc) but are found in א A C D Ψ 0209 33 Ï lat sy co. External evidence somewhat favors their inclusion since Alexandrian, Western, and Byzantine mss are well represented. From an internal standpoint, however, it is easy to see the words as a scribal gloss intended to clarify the referent, especially as a reinforcement to the quotation of Isa 45:23 in v. 11. Not only that, but the abrupt ending of the verse without “to God” is harsh, both in Greek and in English. In this instance, the internal considerations seem overwhelming on the side of the omission. At the same time, English stylistic needs require the words and they have been put into the translation, even though they are most likely not original. NA²⁷ places the words in brackets, indicating doubt as to their authenticity.

[14:1]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “over opinions.” The qualifier “differing” has been supplied to clarify the meaning.

[4:5]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “walk.” The verb περιπατέω (peripatew) is a common NT idiom for one’s lifestyle, behavior, or manner of conduct (L&N 41.11).

[1:10]  ⁶⁹ tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”

[1:10]  ⁷⁰ tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”

[1:11]  ⁷¹ 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.