Lukas 12:42-46

12:42 The Lord replied, ¹  “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, ²  whom the master puts in charge of his household servants, ³  to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? 12:43 Blessed is that slave ⁴  whom his master finds at work ⁵  when he returns. 12:44 I tell you the truth, ⁶  the master ⁷  will put him in charge of all his possessions. 12:45 But if ⁸  that ⁹  slave should say to himself, ¹⁰  ‘My master is delayed ¹¹  in returning,’ and he begins to beat ¹²  the other ¹³  slaves, both men and women, ¹⁴  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, ¹⁵  and assign him a place with the unfaithful. ¹⁶ 

Lukas 21:34-36

Be Ready!

21:34 “But be on your guard ¹⁷  so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day close down upon you suddenly like a trap. ¹⁸  21:35 For ¹⁹  it will overtake ²⁰  all who live on the face of the whole earth. ²¹  21:36 But stay alert at all times, ²²  praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that must ²³  happen, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

[12:42]  ¹ tn Grk “And the Lord said.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[12:42]  ² tn Or “administrator,” “steward” (L&N 37.39).

[12:42]  ³ tn This term, θεραπεία (qerapeia), describes the group of servants working in a particular household (L&N 46.6).

[12:43]  ⁴ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 7:2.

[12:43]  ⁵ tn That is, doing his job, doing what he is supposed to be doing.

[12:44]  ⁶ tn Grk “Truly (ἀληθῶς, alhqw"), I say to you.”

[12:44]  ⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the master) has been specified in the translation for clarity. See also Luke 19:11-27.

[12:45]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “should say in his heart.”

[12:45]  ¹¹ tn Or “is taking a long time.”

[12:45]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn The word “other” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[12:45]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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.

[21:34]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “watch out for yourselves.”

[21:34]  sn Disciples are to watch out. If they are too absorbed into everyday life, they will stop watching and living faithfully.

[21:34]  ¹⁸ sn Or like a thief, see Luke 12:39-40. The metaphor of a trap is a vivid one. Most modern English translations traditionally place the words “like a trap” at the end of v. 34, completing the metaphor. In the Greek text (and in the NRSV and REB) the words “like a trap” are placed at the beginning of v. 35. This does not affect the meaning.

[21:35]  ¹⁹ tn There is debate in the textual tradition about the position of γάρ (gar) and whether v. 35 looks back to v. 34 or is independent. The textual evidence does slightly favor placing γάρ after the verb and thus linking it back to v. 34. The other reading looks like Isa 24:17. However, the construction is harsh and the translation prefers for stylistic reasons to start a new English sentence here.

[21:35]  ²⁰ tn Or “come upon.”

[21:35]  ²¹ sn This judgment involves everyone: all who live on the face of the whole earth. No one will escape this evaluation.

[21:36]  ²² sn The call to be alert at all times is a call to remain faithful in looking for the Lord’s return.

[21:36]  ²³ tn For the translation of μέλλω (mellw) as “must,” see L&N 71.36.