Luke 16:2-4
New English Translation
2 So[a] he called the manager[b] in and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you?[c] Turn in the account of your administration,[d] because you can no longer be my manager.’ 3 Then[e] the manager said to himself, ‘What should I do, since my master is taking my position[f] away from me? I’m not strong enough to dig,[g] and I’m too ashamed[h] to beg. 4 I know[i] what to do so that when I am put out of management, people will welcome me into their homes.’[j]
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- 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.
- Luke 16:4 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.
- Luke 16:4 sn Thinking ahead, the manager develops a plan to make people think kindly of him (welcome me into their homes).
Luke 16:2-4
New International Version
2 So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’
3 “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— 4 I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’
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