Lukas 12:48

12:48 But the one who did not know his master’s will ¹  and did things worthy of punishment ²  will receive a light beating. ³  From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, ⁴  and from the one who has been entrusted with much, ⁵  even more will be asked. ⁶ 

Lukas 16:2-13

16:2 So ⁷  he called the manager ⁸  in and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? ⁹  Turn in the account of your administration, ¹⁰  because you can no longer be my manager.’ 16:3 Then ¹¹  the manager said to himself, ‘What should I do, since my master is taking my position ¹²  away from me? I’m not strong enough to dig, ¹³  and I’m too ashamed ¹⁴  to beg. 16:4 I know ¹⁵  what to do so that when I am put out of management, people will welcome me into their homes.’ ¹⁶  16:5 So ¹⁷  he contacted ¹⁸  his master’s debtors one by one. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 16:6 The man ¹⁹  replied, ‘A hundred measures ²⁰  of olive oil.’ The manager ²¹  said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write fifty.’ ²²  16:7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ The second man ²³  replied, ‘A hundred measures ²⁴  of wheat.’ The manager ²⁵  said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ ²⁶  16:8 The ²⁷  master commended the dishonest ²⁸  manager because he acted shrewdly. ²⁹  For the people ³⁰  of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their contemporaries ³¹  than the people ³²  of light. 16:9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by how you use worldly wealth, ³³  so that when it runs out you will be welcomed ³⁴  into the eternal homes. ³⁵ 

16:10 “The one who is faithful in a very little ³⁶  is also faithful in much, and the one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 16:11 If then you haven’t been trustworthy ³⁷  in handling worldly wealth, ³⁸  who will entrust you with the true riches? ³⁹  16:12 And if you haven’t been trustworthy ⁴⁰  with someone else’s property, ⁴¹  who will give you your own ⁴² ? 16:13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate ⁴³  the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise ⁴⁴  the other. You cannot serve God and money.” ⁴⁵ 

[12:48]  ¹ tn Grk “did not know”; the phrase “his master’s will” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the contemporary English reader.

[12:48]  ² tn Grk “blows.”

[12:48]  ³ tn Grk “will receive few (blows).”

[12:48]  ⁴ tn Grk “required from him”; but the words “from him” are redundant in English and have not been translated.

[12:48]  ⁵ sn Entrusted with much. To be gifted with precious responsibility is something that requires faithfulness.

[12:48]  ⁶ tn Grk “they will ask even more.”

[16:2]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the reports the man received about his manager.

[16:2]  ⁸ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the manager) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:2]  ⁹ sn Although phrased as a question, the charges were believed by the owner, as his dismissal of the manager implies.

[16:2]  ¹⁰ tn Or “stewardship”; the Greek word οἰκονομία (oikonomia) is cognate with the noun for the manager (οἰκονόμος, oikonomo").

[16:3]  ¹¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events in the parable.

[16:3]  ¹² tn Grk “the stewardship,” “the management.”

[16:3]  ¹³ tn Here “dig” could refer (1) to excavation (“dig ditches,” L&N 19.55) or (2) to agricultural labor (“work the soil,” L&N 43.3). In either case this was labor performed by the uneducated, so it would be an insult as a job for a manager.

[16:3]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “I do not have strength to dig; I am ashamed to beg.”

[16:3]  sn To beg would represent a real lowering of status for the manager, because many of those whom he had formerly collected debts from, he would now be forced to beg from.

[16:4]  ¹⁵ tn This is a dramatic use of the aorist and the verse is left unconnected to the previous verse by asyndeton, giving the impression of a sudden realization.

[16:4]  ¹⁶ sn Thinking ahead, the manager develops a plan to make people think kindly of him (welcome me into their homes).

[16:5]  ¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the manager’s decision.

[16:5]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “summoning.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:6]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the first debtor) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:6]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ 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]  ²² 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]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the manager) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:7]  ²⁶ sn The percentage of reduction may not be as great because of the change in material.

[16:8]  ²⁷ tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[16:8]  ²⁸ 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]  ²⁹ 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]  ³⁰ tn Grk “sons” (an idiom).

[16:8]  ³¹ tn Grk “with their own generation.”

[16:8]  ³² 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.

[16:9]  ³³ tn Grk “unrighteous mammon.” Mammon is the Aramaic term for wealth or possessions. The point is not that money is inherently evil, but that it is often misused so that it is a means of evil; see 1 Tim 6:6-10, 17-19. The call is to be generous and kind in its use. Zacchaeus becomes the example of this in Luke’s Gospel (19:1-10).

[16:9]  ³⁴ sn The passive refers to the welcome of heaven.

[16:9]  ³⁵ tn Grk “eternal tents” (as dwelling places).

[16:10]  ³⁶ sn The point of the statement faithful in a very little is that character is shown in how little things are treated.

[16:11]  ³⁷ tn Or “faithful.”

[16:11]  ³⁸ tn Grk “the unrighteous mammon.” See the note on the phrase “worldly wealth” in v. 9.

[16:11]  ³⁹ sn Entrust you with the true riches is a reference to future service for God. The idea is like 1 Cor 9:11, except there the imagery is reversed.

[16:12]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “faithful.”

[16:12]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “have not been faithful with what is another’s.”

[16:12]  ⁴² tn Grk “what is your own.”

[16:13]  ⁴³ sn The contrast between hate and love here is rhetorical. The point is that one will choose the favorite if a choice has to be made.

[16:13]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “and treat [the other] with contempt.”

[16:13]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “God and mammon.” This is the same word (μαμωνᾶς, mamwnas; often merely transliterated as “mammon”) translated “worldly wealth” in vv. 9, 11.

[16:13]  sn The term money is used to translate mammon, the Aramaic term for wealth or possessions. The point is not that money is inherently evil, but that it is often misused so that it is a means of evil; see 1 Tim 6:6-10, 17-19. God must be first, not money or possessions.