Lukas 12:45-46

12:45 But if ¹  that ²  slave should say to himself, ³  ‘My master is delayed ⁴  in returning,’ and he begins to beat ⁵  the other ⁶  slaves, both men and women, ⁷  and to eat, drink, and get drunk, 12:46 then the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not foresee, and will cut him in two, ⁸  and assign him a place with the unfaithful. ⁹ 

Lukas 12:1

Fear God, Not People

12:1 Meanwhile, ¹⁰  when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus ¹¹  began to speak first to his disciples, “Be on your guard against ¹²  the yeast of the Pharisees, ¹³  which is hypocrisy. ¹⁴ 

Lukas 5:2-3

5:2 He ¹⁵  saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. 5:3 He got into ¹⁶  one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then ¹⁷  Jesus ¹⁸  sat down ¹⁹  and taught the crowds from the boat.

Yakobus 4:13-14

4:13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town ²⁰  and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” 4:14 You ²¹  do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? ²²  For you are a puff of smoke ²³  that appears for a short time and then vanishes.

[12:45]  ¹ tn In the Greek text this is a third class condition that for all practical purposes is a hypothetical condition (note the translation of the following verb “should say”).

[12:45]  ² tn The term “that” (ἐκεῖνος, ekeino") is used as a catchword to list out, in the form of a number of hypothetical circumstances, what the possible responses of “that” servant could be. He could be faithful (vv. 43-44) or totally unfaithful (vv. 45-46). He does not complete his master’s will with knowledge (v. 47) or from ignorance (v 48). These differences are indicated by the different levels of punishment in vv. 46-48.

[12:45]  ³ tn Grk “should say in his heart.”

[12:45]  ⁴ tn Or “is taking a long time.”

[12:45]  ⁵ sn The slave’s action in beginning to beat the other slaves was not only a failure to carry out what was commanded but involved doing the exact reverse.

[12:45]  ⁶ tn The word “other” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[12:45]  ⁷ tn Grk “the menservants and the maidservants.” The term here, used in both masculine and feminine grammatical forms, is παῖς (pais), which can refer to a slave, but also to a slave who is a personal servant, and thus regarded kindly (L&N 87.77).

[12:46]  ⁸ tn The verb διχοτομέω (dicotomew) means to cut an object into two parts (L&N 19.19). This is an extremely severe punishment compared to the other two later punishments. To translate it simply as “punish” is too mild. If taken literally this servant is dismembered, although it is possible to view the stated punishment as hyperbole (L&N 38.12).

[12:46]  ⁹ tn Or “unbelieving.” Here the translation employs the slightly more ambiguous “unfaithful,” which creates a link with the point of the parable – faithfulness versus unfaithfulness in servants. The example of this verse must be taken together with the examples of vv. 47-48 as part of a scale of reactions with the most disobedient response coming here. The fact that this servant is placed in a distinct group, unlike the one in vv. 47-48, also suggests ultimate exclusion. This is the hypocrite of Matt 24:51.

[12:1]  ¹⁰ tn The phrase ἐν οἷς (en Jois) can be translated “meanwhile.”

[12:1]  ¹¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:1]  ¹² tn According to L&N 27.59, “to pay attention to, to keep on the lookout for, to be alert for, to be on your guard against.” This is another Lukan present imperative calling for constant vigilance.

[12:1]  ¹³ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[12:1]  ¹⁴ sn The pursuit of popularity can lead to hypocrisy, if one is not careful.

[5:2]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[5:3]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “Getting into”; the participle ἐμβάς (embas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[5:3]  ¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[5:3]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “sitting down”; the participle καθίσας (kaqisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[4:13]  ²⁰ tn Or “city.”

[4:14]  ²¹ tn Grk “who” (continuing the description of the people of v. 13). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[4:14]  ²² tn Or “you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow.”

[4:14]  ²³ tn Or “a vapor.” The Greek word ἀτμίς (atmis) denotes a swirl of smoke arising from a fire (cf. Gen 19:28; Lev 16:13; Joel 2:30 [Acts 2:19]; Ezek 8:11).