Mat 18:23-35 | NET2full | STEP | “ For this reason , the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves .

‏ Matthew 18:23-35

The Parable of the Unforgiving Slave

23 “For this reason, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. ^{▼▼tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.} 24 As ^{▼▼tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.} he began settling his accounts, a man who owed 10,000 talents ^{▼▼sn A talent was a huge sum of money, equal to 6,000 denarii. One denarius was the usual day’s wage for a worker. L&N 6.82 states, “a Greek monetary unit (also a unit of weight) with a value which fluctuated, depending upon the particular monetary system which prevailed at a particular period of time (a silver talent was worth approximately 6,000 denarii with gold talents worth at least thirty times that much).”} was brought to him. 25 Because ^{▼▼tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.} he was not able to repay it, ^{▼▼tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.} the lord ordered him to be sold, along with ^{▼▼tn Grk “and his wife.”} his wife, children, and whatever he possessed, and repayment to be made. 26 Then the slave threw himself to the ground ^{▼▼tn Grk “falling therefore the slave bowed down to the ground.” The redundancy of this expression signals the desperation of the slave in begging for mercy.} before him, saying, ^{▼▼tc The majority of mss (א L W Γ Δ 058 0281 ƒ1, 13 33 565 579 1241 1424 Maj it syp,h co) begin the slave’s plea with “Lord” (κύριε, kurie), though a few key witnesses lack this vocative (B D Θ 700 lat sys,c Or Chr). Understanding the parable to refer to the Lord, scribes would be naturally prone to add the vocative here, especially as the slave’s plea is a plea for mercy. Thus, the shorter reading is more likely to be authentic.} ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you everything.’ 27 The lord had compassion on that slave and released him, and forgave him the debt. 28 After ^{▼▼tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.} he went out, that same slave found one of his fellow slaves who owed him 100 silver coins. ^{▼▼tn Grk “one hundred denarii.” The denarius was a silver coin worth about a day’s wage for a laborer; this would be about three month’s pay.} So ^{▼▼tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so.” A new sentence was started at this point in the translation in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.} he grabbed him by the throat and started to choke him, ^{▼▼tn Grk “and he grabbed him and started choking him.”} saying, ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ ^{▼▼tn The word “me” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.} 29 Then his fellow slave threw himself down and begged him, ^{▼▼tn Grk “begged him, saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.} ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you.’ 30 But he refused. Instead, he went out and threw him in prison until he repaid the debt. 31 When ^{▼▼tn Grk “Therefore when.” Here οὖν (oun) has not been translated.} his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were very upset and went and told their lord everything that had taken place. 32 Then his lord called the first slave ^{▼▼tn Grk “him”; the referent (the first slave mentioned in v. 24) has been specified in the translation for clarity.} and said to him, ‘Evil slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me! 33 Should you not have shown mercy to your fellow slave, just as I showed it to you?’ 34 And in anger his lord turned him over to the prison guards to torture him ^{▼▼tn Grk “handed him over to the torturers,” referring specifically to guards whose job was to torture prisoners who were being questioned. According to L&N 37.126, it is difficult to know for certain in this instance whether the term actually envisions torture as a part of the punishment or is simply a hyperbole. However, in light of the following verse and Jesus’ other warning statements in Matthew about “fiery hell,” “the outer darkness,” etc., it is best not to dismiss this as mere imagery.} until he repaid all he owed. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to you, if each of you does not forgive your ^{▼▼tn Grk “his.” The pronoun has been translated to follow English idiom (the last pronoun of the verse [“from your heart”] is second person plural in the original).} brother ^{▼▼tn Here the term “brother” means “fellow believer” or “fellow Christian” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.a), whether male or female. Concerning the familial connotations, see also the note on the first occurrence of this term in v. 15.} from your heart.”