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Luke 16:1-3
New English Translation
Luke 16:1-3
New English Translation
The Parable of the Clever Steward
16 Jesus[a] also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who was informed of accusations[b] that his manager[c] was wasting[d] his assets. 2 So[e] he called the manager[f] in and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you?[g] Turn in the account of your administration,[h] because you can no longer be my manager.’ 3 Then[i] the manager said to himself, ‘What should I do, since my master is taking my position[j] away from me? I’m not strong enough to dig,[k] and I’m too ashamed[l] to beg.
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- Luke 16:1 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Luke 16:1 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.”
- Luke 16:1 sn His manager was the steward in charge of managing the house. He could have been a slave trained for the role.
- Luke 16:1 tn Or “squandering.” This verb is graphic; it means to scatter (L&N 57.151).
- Luke 16:2 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the reports the man received about his manager.
- Luke 16:2 tn Grk “him”; the referent (the manager) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Luke 16:2 sn Although phrased as a question, the charges were believed by the owner, as his dismissal of the manager implies.
- Luke 16:2 tn Or “stewardship”; the Greek word οἰκονομία (oikonomia) is cognate with the noun for the manager (οἰκονόμος, oikonomos).
- Luke 16:3 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events in the parable.
- Luke 16:3 tn Grk “the stewardship,” “the management.”
- Luke 16:3 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.
- Luke 16:3 tn Grk “I do not have strength to dig; I am ashamed to beg.”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.
New English Translation (NET)
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