Psalms 62:9

62:9 Men are nothing but a mere breath;

human beings are unreliable. ¹ 

When they are weighed in the scales,

all of them together are lighter than air. ² 

Luke 16:5-8

16:5 So ³  he contacted ⁴  his master’s debtors one by one. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 16:6 The man ⁵  replied, ‘A hundred measures ⁶  of olive oil.’ The manager ⁷  said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write fifty.’ ⁸  16:7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ The second man ⁹  replied, ‘A hundred measures ¹⁰  of wheat.’ The manager ¹¹  said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ ¹²  16:8 The ¹³  master commended the dishonest ¹⁴  manager because he acted shrewdly. ¹⁵  For the people ¹⁶  of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their contemporaries ¹⁷  than the people ¹⁸  of light.

[62:9]  ¹ tn Heb “only a breath [are] the sons of mankind, a lie [are] the sons of man.” The phrases “sons of mankind” and “sons of man” also appear together in Ps 49:2. Because of the parallel line there, where “rich and poor” are mentioned, a number of interpreters and translators treat these expressions as polar opposites, בְּנֵי אָדָם (bÿney ’adam) referring to the lower classes and בְּנֵי אִישׁ (bÿney ’ish) to higher classes. But usage does not support such a view. The rare phrase בְּנֵי אִישׁ (“sons of man”) appears to refer to human beings in general in its other uses (see Pss 4:2; Lam 3:33). It is better to understand the phrases as synonymous expressions.

[62:9]  ² tn The noun הֶבֶל (hevel), translated “a breath” earlier in the verse, appears again here.

[16:5]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the manager’s decision.

[16:5]  ⁴ tn Grk “summoning.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:6]  ⁵ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the first debtor) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:6]  ⁶ sn A measure (sometimes translated “bath”) was just over 8 gallons (about 30 liters). This is a large debt – about 875 gallons (3000 liters) of olive oil, worth 1000 denarii, over three year’s pay for a daily worker.

[16:6]  ⁷ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the manager) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[16:6]  ⁸ sn The bill was halved (sit down quickly, and write fifty). What was the steward doing? This is debated. 1) Did he simply lower the price? 2) Did he remove interest from the debt? 3) Did he remove his own commission? It is hard to be sure. Either of the latter two options is more likely. The goal was clear: The manager would be seen in a favorable light for bringing a deflationary trend to prices.

[16:7]  ⁷ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the second debtor) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[16:7]  ⁸ sn The hundred measures here was a hundreds cors. A cor was a Hebrew dry measure for grain, flour, etc., of between 10-12 bushels (about 390 liters). This was a huge amount of wheat, representing the yield of about 100 acres, a debt of between 2500-3000 denarii.

[16:7]  ⁹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the manager) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:7]  ¹⁰ sn The percentage of reduction may not be as great because of the change in material.

[16:8]  ⁹ tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[16:8]  ¹⁰ sn Is the manager dishonest because of what he just did? Or is it a reference to what he had done earlier, described in v. 1? This is a difficult question, but it seems unlikely that the master, having fired the man for prior dishonesty, would now commend those same actions. It would also be unusual for Jesus to make that point of the story the example. Thus it is more likely the reference to dishonesty goes back to the earliest events, while the commendation is for the cleverness of the former manager reflected in vv. 5-7.

[16:8]  ¹¹ sn Where this parable ends is debated: Does it conclude with v. 7, after v. 8a, after v. 8b, or after v. 9? Verse 8a looks as if it is still part of the story, with its clear reference to the manager, while 8b looks like Jesus’ application, since its remarks are more general. So it is most likely the parable stops after v. 8a.

[16:8]  ¹² tn Grk “sons” (an idiom).

[16:8]  ¹³ tn Grk “with their own generation.”

[16:8]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “sons.” Here the phrase “sons of light” is a reference to the righteous. The point is that those of the world often think ahead about consequences better than the righteous do.