Luke 16

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The oikonomos ('manager, steward') was responsible for administering the master's estate — a position of significant trust and authority. The verb diaskorpizōn ('squandering, scattering') is the same word used for the prodigal son's waste in 15:13, creating a verbal link between the two parables. The passive dieblēthē ('was reported, was accused') does not confirm whether the accusation was true.

Translator Notes

1. The demand apodos ton logon ('give the account, render the reckoning') uses commercial language for a financial audit. The phrase ou dynē eti oikonomein ('you are no longer able to manage') is a termination notice. The manager is given a brief window to close the books — a window he will exploit.

Translator Notes

1. The internal monologue (eipen en heautō, 'said within himself') parallels the prodigal son's self-reflection in 15:17. The manager's self-assessment is brutally honest: he cannot do manual labor (skaptein, 'to dig') and will not beg (epaitein). He is a white-collar worker facing unemployment with no fallback skills. His dilemma forces the creative — if ethically questionable — solution that follows.

Translator Notes

1. The verb egnōn ('I know, I have realized') marks the eureka moment. His strategy is to create a network of obligation: by reducing the debtors' bills, he will have friends who owe him favors when he loses his position. The phrase dexōntai me eis tous oikous autōn ('they will receive me into their houses') will be echoed in verse 9 with 'eternal dwellings.'

Translator Notes

1. The chreoopheiletōn ('debtors') were likely tenant farmers or merchants who owed the master commodities as rent or payment. The manager acts individually with each debtor (hena hekaston, 'one by one'), creating personal obligation rather than a collective arrangement.

Translator Notes

1. A batos was approximately eight to nine gallons; a hundred batous of olive oil was a substantial debt — roughly 800-900 gallons, the yield of about 150 olive trees. The reduction of fifty percent is enormous. The urgency (tacheōs, 'quickly') reflects the need to act before the termination takes effect. Whether the reduction represents the manager's commission, the master's usurious interest, or outright fraud is debated.

Translator Notes

1. A koros was approximately ten to twelve bushels; a hundred koroi of wheat equaled roughly 1,000-1,200 bushels — a very large commercial quantity. The reduction here is only twenty percent, compared to fifty percent for the oil. The different percentages may reflect different commission rates or interest structures on different commodities.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The crucial question: does 'the master' (ho kyrios) refer to the rich man in the parable or to Jesus? Most interpreters read it as the rich man, who grudgingly admires the manager's cleverness even though it cost him money. The commendation is for phronimōs ('shrewdly, wisely') — strategic thinking about the future — not for the dishonesty (adikias). The contrast between 'children of this age' (huioi tou aiōnos toutou) and 'children of light' (huious tou phōtos) is a wisdom observation: worldly people invest more strategic effort in their temporal futures than God's people invest in their eternal ones.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. Jesus now applies the parable. The mamōna tēs adikias ('mammon of unrighteousness') is Aramaic mammon ('wealth, property') modified by a genitive of quality — 'wealth characterized by its worldly nature.' The instruction is: use material resources to build relationships that have eternal significance. The 'eternal dwellings' (aiōnious skēnas, literally 'eternal tents') contrast with the temporary shelters of this life. The identity of 'they' (dexōntai) is debated — the poor who benefit from generosity, the angels, or God himself.

Translator Notes

1. This proverb establishes the principle that character is consistent across scale. Small responsibilities reveal the character that will govern large ones. The adjective elachistō ('very little, least') applied to wealth frames material possessions as the smallest arena of faithfulness — preparation for greater spiritual responsibilities.

Translator Notes

1. The contrast between adikō mamōna ('unrighteous wealth') and to alēthinon ('the true, genuine thing') is sharp. Material wealth is not the 'real' treasure — it is a test, a proving ground. Failure in this lesser arena disqualifies one from receiving the greater spiritual treasure. The question format (tis hymin pisteusei, 'who will entrust to you?') implies God as the one who evaluates and entrusts.

Translator Notes

1. The word allotriō ('another's, belonging to someone else') reframes all material wealth as borrowed — it belongs to God, and humans are stewards, not owners. The 'your own' (to hymeteron) refers to spiritual inheritance that becomes genuinely one's own. The implication is radical: everything material is on loan; only the spiritual treasure is truly yours.

Translator Notes

1. Luke adds oiketēs ('household servant') to the saying found also in Matthew 6:24. The word douleuein ('to serve as a slave') implies total ownership — a slave cannot divide loyalty. The personification of mamōna as a competing kyrios ('master') is the climax of the wealth teaching: money is not neutral but a power that demands allegiance. The final statement is absolute: ou dynasthe ('you are not able') — this is not a recommendation but a declaration of impossibility.

Translator Notes

1. Luke's editorial comment — philargyroi ('lovers of money,' literally 'lovers of silver') — is pointed. The verb exemyktērizon ('ridiculed, sneered at,' literally 'turned up their noses') suggests contemptuous dismissal. Their mockery reveals that Jesus's teaching about wealth has struck a nerve.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The phrase dikaiountes heautous ('justifying yourselves') means constructing a public reputation of righteousness. The word bdelygma ('abomination') is the strongest term of revulsion in biblical Greek — the same word used for the 'abomination of desolation' in Daniel 9:27 and Mark 13:14. What humans celebrate (wealth, status, prestige), God may find detestable. The reversal is total.
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] This verse quotes Daniel 9:27 — see the TCR rendering of that passage for the Hebrew source text and translation decisions.

Translator Notes

1. This compressed saying divides salvation history: the era of 'the Law and the Prophets' extends to John the Baptist, after which the kingdom of God is actively proclaimed. The verb biazetai is ambiguous — it can mean 'everyone forces their way in' (middle voice) or 'everyone is being urged/pressed in' (passive). We render the passive sense, which fits Luke's theology of God's initiative, but the middle sense ('everyone is pressing into it eagerly') is also possible.

Translator Notes

1. The keraia ('horn, stroke, serif') refers to the tiny decorative marks distinguishing similar Hebrew letters (such as beth and kaph). Jesus affirms the Law's enduring authority in the strongest possible terms — the cosmos will dissolve before the smallest detail of Torah fails. This statement prevents the previous verse from being read as abrogation of the Law.

Translator Notes

1. This saying, placed between statements about the Law's permanence and the Rich Man and Lazarus parable, may serve as a concrete example of the Law's enduring moral authority. The prohibition is absolute in Luke's version — no exception clause appears as in Matthew 19:9. The verb moicheuei ('commits adultery') applies to both scenarios.

Translator Notes

1. The porphyran ('purple') was the most expensive dye in the ancient world, extracted from murex sea snails. The bysson ('fine linen') was imported Egyptian fabric. Together they represent extreme luxury. The phrase euphrainomenos kath' hēmeran lamprōs ('celebrating splendidly every day') means his entire life was one continuous feast — while Lazarus starved at his gate. The rich man is traditionally called 'Dives' (Latin for 'rich'), but the text never names him.

Translator Notes

1. Lazarus (Lazaros) is the Greek form of the Hebrew Eleazar ('God helps') — the name itself is ironic, as no human helps him. He is the only named character in any of Jesus's parables, which may suggest a historical basis or may serve to personalize the poor man in contrast to the unnamed rich man. The passive ebeblēto ('had been placed, was lying') suggests he was too weak to position himself. The pylōna ('gate, entrance') implies a large, wealthy estate.

Translator Notes

1. The parallel with the prodigal son's hunger is deliberate (epithymōn chortasthēnai, 'longing to be fed' — cf. 15:16). But whereas the prodigal chose his degradation, Lazarus's suffering is involuntary. The dogs (kynes) are unclean street scavengers, not pets — their licking adds humiliation to misery. Whether Lazarus actually received the fallen scraps is left unclear; the text says he 'longed' for them.

Translator Notes

1. The contrast in death is stark: Lazarus is escorted by angels to 'Abraham's bosom' (ton kolpon Abraam) — the place of honor at the patriarchal feast, the position of the beloved guest reclining next to the host. The rich man simply 'died and was buried' (etaphē) — his funeral was presumably grand, but no angels attend him. The reversal from their earthly conditions has begun.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The Greek hadēs corresponds to the Hebrew Sheol — the realm of the dead, not the later Christian concept of hell as a place of final punishment. In Jewish thought of this period, Hades contained both the righteous and the unrighteous in separate compartments. The rich man can see Abraham and Lazarus but cannot cross to them — proximity without access. The word basanois ('torments') originally referred to a touchstone for testing metals, then came to mean torture or torment.

Translator Notes

1. Even in Hades, the rich man treats Lazarus as a servant to be dispatched on errands — 'send Lazarus' (pempson Lazaron). He has learned Lazarus's name (he always knew who was at his gate) but has not grasped the reversal. The request for a finger-dip of water is pathetically minimal, measuring the depth of his suffering. The address 'Father Abraham' claims covenant identity — he considers himself Abraham's heir despite his behavior.

Translator Notes

1. Abraham addresses him as teknon ('child') — acknowledging the covenant relationship while denying the request. The principle is reversal: ta agatha sou ('your good things') in life are spent; Lazarus's suffering is now compensated. The verb parakaleitai ('is comforted') is the same root as paraklētos ('comforter, advocate'). The reversal echoes the Beatitudes and Woes of Luke 6:20-26.

Translator Notes

1. The chasma mega ('great chasm') represents the irreversible finality of the afterlife condition. The perfect passive estēriktai ('has been fixed, established') indicates a permanent divine arrangement, not a temporary boundary. The impossibility of crossing in either direction means there is no post-mortem remedy — choices made in life determine one's eternal state.

Translator Notes

1. The rich man's second request is to send Lazarus as a messenger — still treating him as an errand-runner. But the request also reveals that the rich man now understands something he failed to grasp in life: his choices had consequences, and his brothers are making the same ones.

Translator Notes

1. The five brothers suggest a large, wealthy family. The verb diamartyrētai ('warn, solemnly testify') is a compound verb intensifying the urgency. The 'place of torment' (topon touton tēs basanou) is the first time the rich man names his location. His compassion for his brothers, absent for Lazarus in life, arrives too late.

Translator Notes

1. Abraham's response is that the existing revelation — the Torah ('Moses') and the Prophets — is sufficient. The Hebrew Scriptures already command justice for the poor, generosity to the needy, and compassion for the suffering (Deuteronomy 15:7-11; Isaiah 58:6-7; Amos 2:6-7). No additional supernatural sign is needed. The imperative akousatōsan ('let them hear, let them listen') echoes the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4) and the repeated refrain 'let him hear' from the parables.
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] Echoes Deuteronomy 15:7-11. See the TCR's OT rendering for the Hebrew behind this passage and the translation rationale.
3. [TCR Cross-Reference] Echoes Isaiah 58:6-7. See the TCR's OT rendering for the Hebrew behind this passage and the translation rationale.
4. [TCR Cross-Reference] Echoes Amos 2:6-7. See the TCR's OT rendering for the Hebrew behind this passage and the translation rationale.
5. [TCR Cross-Reference] Echoes Deuteronomy 6:4. See the TCR's OT rendering for the Hebrew behind this passage and the translation rationale.

Translator Notes

1. The rich man contradicts Abraham — ouchi ('No!') — insisting that a supernatural visitor from the dead would succeed where Scripture has failed. His assumption is that the problem is insufficient evidence, not hardness of heart. The verb metanoēsousin ('they will repent') is confident but mistaken, as the next verse will make clear.

Translator Notes

1. Abraham's final word is devastating in its irony. The verb anastē ('rises,' from anistēmi, the standard word for resurrection) points beyond the parable to Jesus's own resurrection — and the fact that many still did not believe even after it occurred (cf. Acts 4:1-2; 17:32). The verb peisthēsontai ('they will be convinced, persuaded') suggests that the problem is not evidence but willingness. Those who ignore the witness of Scripture will not be moved by miracles. The parable ends on this note of solemn warning: no sign can substitute for listening to what God has already spoken.