Luke 19:11-27
New English Translation
The Parable of the Ten Minas
11 While the people were listening to these things, Jesus[a] proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they thought[b] that the kingdom of God[c] was going to[d] appear immediately. 12 Therefore he said, “A nobleman[e] went to a distant country to receive[f] for himself a kingdom and then return.[g] 13 And he summoned ten of his slaves,[h] gave them ten minas,[i] and said to them, ‘Do business with these until I come back.’ 14 But his citizens[j] hated[k] him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man[l] to be king[m] over us!’ 15 When[n] he returned after receiving the kingdom, he summoned[o] these slaves to whom he had given the money. He wanted[p] to know how much they had earned[q] by trading. 16 So[r] the first one came before him and said, ‘Sir,[s] your mina[t] has made ten minas more.’ 17 And the king[u] said to him, ‘Well done, good slave! Because you have been faithful[v] in a very small matter, you will have authority[w] over ten cities.’ 18 Then[x] the second one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has made five minas.’ 19 So[y] the king[z] said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ 20 Then another[aa] slave[ab] came and said, ‘Sir, here is[ac] your mina that I put away for safekeeping[ad] in a piece of cloth.[ae] 21 For I was afraid of you, because you are a severe[af] man. You withdraw[ag] what you did not deposit[ah] and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 The king[ai] said to him, ‘I will judge you by your own words,[aj] you wicked slave![ak] So you knew, did you, that I was a severe[al] man, withdrawing what I didn’t deposit and reaping what I didn’t sow? 23 Why then didn’t you put[am] my money in the bank,[an] so that when I returned I could have collected it with interest?’ 24 And he said to his attendants,[ao] ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has ten.’[ap] 25 But[aq] they said to him, ‘Sir, he has ten minas already!’[ar] 26 ‘I tell you that everyone who has will be given more,[as] but from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.[at] 27 But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be their king,[au] bring them here and slaughter[av] them[aw] in front of me!’”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Luke 19:11 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Luke 19:11 tn The present active infinitive δοκεῖν (dokein) has been translated as causal.
- Luke 19:11 sn Luke means here the appearance of the full kingdom of God in power with the Son of Man as judge as Luke 17:22-37 describes.
- Luke 19:11 tn Or perhaps, “the kingdom of God must appear immediately (see L&N 71.36).
- Luke 19:12 tn Grk “a man of noble birth” or “a man of noble status” (L&N 87.27).
- Luke 19:12 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).
- Luke 19:12 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.
- Luke 19:13 tn See the note on the word “slave” in 7:2.
- Luke 19:13 sn That is, one for each. A mina was a Greek monetary unit worth 100 denarii or about four months’ wages for an average worker based on a six-day work week.
- Luke 19:14 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).
- Luke 19:14 tn The imperfect is intense in this context, suggesting an ongoing attitude.
- Luke 19:14 tn Grk “this one” (somewhat derogatory in this context).
- Luke 19:14 tn Or “to rule.”
- Luke 19:15 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.
- Luke 19:15 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.”
- Luke 19:15 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.
- Luke 19:15 sn The Greek verb earned refers to profit from engaging in commerce and trade (L&N 57.195). This is an examination of stewardship.
- Luke 19:16 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the royal summons.
- Luke 19:16 tn Or “Lord”; or “Master.” (and so throughout this paragraph).
- Luke 19:16 tn See the note on the word “minas” in v. 13.
- Luke 19:17 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the nobleman of v. 12, now a king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Luke 19:17 tn See Luke 16:10.
- Luke 19:17 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.
- Luke 19:18 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
- Luke 19:19 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the second slave’s report.
- Luke 19:19 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the nobleman of v. 12, now a king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Luke 19:20 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.
- Luke 19:20 tn The word “slave” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied for stylistic reasons.
- Luke 19:20 tn Grk “behold.”
- Luke 19:20 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.’”
- Luke 19:20 tn The piece of cloth, called a σουδάριον (soudarion), could have been a towel, napkin, handkerchief, or face cloth (L&N 6.159).
- Luke 19:21 tn Or “exacting,” “harsh,” “hard.”
- Luke 19:21 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 (aireis) as a finite verb.
- Luke 19:21 tn The Greek verb τίθημι (tithēmi) 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.
- Luke 19:22 tn Grk “He”; the referent (the nobleman of v. 12, now a king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Luke 19:22 tn Grk “out of your own mouth” (an idiom).
- Luke 19:22 tn Note the contrast between this slave, described as “wicked,” and the slave in v. 17, described as “good.”
- Luke 19:22 tn Or “exacting,” “harsh,” “hard.”
- Luke 19:23 tn That is, “If you really feared me why did you not do a minimum to get what I asked for?”
- Luke 19:23 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).
- Luke 19:24 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.
- Luke 19:24 tn Grk “the ten minas.”
- Luke 19:25 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.
- Luke 19:25 tc A few mss (D W 69 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.
- Luke 19:26 tn Grk “to everyone who has, he will be given more.” sn Everyone who has will be given more. Again, faithfulness yields great reward (see Luke 8:18; also Matt 13:12; Mark 4:25).
- Luke 19:26 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).
- Luke 19:27 tn Grk “to rule over them.”
- Luke 19:27 tn This term, when used of people rather than animals, has some connotations of violence and mercilessness (L&N 20.72).
- Luke 19:27 sn Slaughter them. To reject the king is to face certain judgment from him.
Luke 19:11-27
Mounce Reverse Interlinear New Testament
11 As they autos were listening akouō to · de this houtos, he went prostithēmi on to tell legō a parable parabolē, because dia · ho he autos was eimi near engys Jerusalem Ierousalēm, and kai they autos supposed dokeō that hoti the ho kingdom basileia of ho God theos was going mellō to appear anaphainō at once parachrēma. 12 So oun he said legō, “A certain tis man anthrōpos of noble birth eugenēs went poreuō to eis a distant makros country chōra to acquire lambanō royal power basileia for himself heautou and kai then to return hypostrephō. 13 So de, calling kaleō ten deka of his heautou servants, he gave didōmi them autos ten deka minas mna, and kai said legō to pros them autos, ‘ Conduct pragmateuomai business until en hos I return erchomai.’ 14 · ho But de his autos citizens politēs hated miseō him autos and kai sent apostellō a delegation presbeia after opisō him autos, saying legō, ‘ We do not ou want thelō this houtos person to rule basileuō over epi us hēmeis.’ 15 · kai When en · ho he autos returned epanerchomai, having acquired lambanō · ho royal basileia power , · kai he ordered legō these houtos servants to whom hos he had given didōmi the ho money argyrion to be called phōneō to him autos, · ho that hina he might know ginōskō what tis they had gained diapragmateuomai by doing business . 16 The ho first prōtos came paraginomai before · de him, saying legō, ‘ Master kyrios, · ho your sy mina mna has gained prosergazomai ten deka minas mna.’ 17 And kai he said legō to him autos, ‘ Well euge done , good agathos servant! Because hoti you have been ginomai trustworthy pistos in en a very small elachistos matter , you will eimi have echō authority exousia over epanō ten deka cities polis.’ 18 And kai the ho second deuteros came erchomai, saying legō, · ho ‘ Your sy mina mna, Master kyrios, has gained poieō five pente minas mna.’ 19 So de he said legō to this one houtos as well kai, ‘ And kai you sy, rule ginomai over epanō five pente cities polis.’ 20 Then kai the ho other heteros came erchomai, saying legō, ‘ Master kyrios, look idou, · ho your sy mina mna that hos I kept echō laid apokeimai away in en a piece soudarion of cloth , 21 for gar I was afraid phobeomai of you sy, because hoti you are eimi an exacting austēros man anthrōpos: you take airō up what hos you did not ou lay tithēmi down , and kai reap therizō what hos you did not ou sow speirō.’ 22 He said legō to him autos, ‘ Out ek of ho your own sy mouth stoma I will judge krinō you sy, wicked ponēros servant. You knew oida, did you, that hoti I egō am eimi an exacting austēros man anthrōpos, taking airō up what hos I did not ou lay tithēmi down and kai reaping therizō what hos I did not ou sow speirō? 23 Why dia then kai did you not ou put didōmi my egō · ho money argyrion in epi the bank trapeza? Then kagō when I returned erchomai I prassō could an have collected prassō it autos with syn interest tokos.’ 24 Then kai he said legō to his ho attendants paristēmi, ‘ Take airō from apo him autos the ho mina mna and kai give didōmi it to the ho one who has echō the ho ten deka minas mna.’ 25 And kai they said legō to him autos, ‘ Master kyrios, he has echō ten deka minas mna!’ 26 I tell legō you hymeis that hoti to everyone pas who ho has echō, more will be given didōmi; but de from apo the ho one who does not mē have echō, even kai what hos he has echō will be taken airō away . 27 But plēn as for · ho these houtos enemies echthros of mine egō who ho did not mē want thelō me egō to reign basileuō over epi them autos, bring agō them here hōde and kai slaughter katasphazō them autos before emprosthen me egō.”
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