Luke 16:2

Luk 16:2-4. And he called him, and said, How is it that I hear this of thee — His lord, having called him, told him what was laid to his charge; and as he did not pretend to deny the accusation, he ordered him to give in his accounts, because he was determined he should occupy his office no longer. Then the steward said, What shall I do? — The steward, having heard his doom pronounced, began to consider with himself, how he should be supported when he was discarded. He was of a disposition so prodigal, that he had laid up nothing; he thought himself incapable of bodily labour, (being old, perhaps,) or could not submit to it, and to beg he was ashamed. He was not, however, as appears from what follows, ashamed to cheat! This was likewise, says Mr. Wesley, a sense of honour! “By men called honour, but by angels, pride.” I am resolved what to do — So he said within himself after a little consideration; a lucky thought, as he doubtless accounted it, coming into his mind. He was not yet turned out of his office; he therefore resolved to use his power in such a manner as to make himself friends, who would succour him in his need. That they may receive me into their houses — That the tenants or debtors of his lord, who paid their rents or debts, not in money, but in wheat, oil, or other produce of the ground they rented or possessed, might give him entertainment in their houses, or provide for him some other means of subsistence.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16:2 Get your report in order: This financial statement was probably for the benefit of the manager’s successor.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Luk 16:2. Τί τοῦτο, what is this?) The rich man speaks as if something had happened which he was not expecting. This implies that God puts trust in man.—ἀκούω, I hear) from the complaints which have been made to Me concerning thee. God is represented as hearing of his proceedings, as if He did not see them Himself. Thus the steward was left to himself.[166]—τὸν λόγον) the account [‘libellum,’ the account-book].

[166] That is, to his own free agency, the rich master not interfering with him: just as God seems, as it were, not to interfere with man, and only to hear of man’s doings, though He really sees and controls all things.—E. and T.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luk_16:2. Τί τοῦτο ἀκούω περὶ σοῦ;] what is this that I hear concerning thee? quid hoc est, quod de te audio? A well-known contraction of a relative clause with an interrogative clause; Plat. Gorg. p. 452 D, and elsewhere. See Kühner, II. § 841. 1; Fritzsche, ad Marc. p. 780; Bornemann, Schol. p. 97, and in the Stud. u. Krit. 1843, p. 120. Comp. Test. XII. Patr. p. 715: τί ταῦτα ἀκούω; Act_14:15. The frequency of this usus loquendi, and the appropriateness of the sense just at the opening of the reckoning, gives to the interpretation the preference over this: wherefore do I hear, etc., Kuinoel, de Wette, Meuss, and others (comp. Luther, and so early as the Gothic version).

ἀπόδος κ.τ.λ.] give the (due) reckoning of thy stewardship. The master desires to see the state of affairs made plain. On λόγον διδόναι, ἀποδιδόναι (Mat_12:36; Act_19:40; Rom_14:12), see Schweighäusers Lex. Herod. II. p. 74. Comp. τὸν λόγον ἀπῄτουν, Dem. 868. 5.

οὐ γάρ] for thou shalt not, etc. The master decides thus according to what he had heard, and what he regards as established.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luk 16:2 . τί τοῦτο , etc. τί may be exclamatory = what! do I hear this of thee? or interrogatory: what is this that I hear of thee? the laconic phrase containing a combination of an interrogative with a relative clause. τὸν λόγον : the reference may be either to a final account previous to dismissal, already resolved on (so usually taken), or to an investigation into the truth or falsehood of the accusation = produce your books that I may judge for myself (so Hahn). The latter would be the reasonable course, but not necessarily the one taken by an eastern magnate, who might rush from absolute confidence to utter distrust without taking the trouble to inquire further. As the story runs, this seems to be what happened.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 2. Give an account of thy, &c.] Produce thy books of receipts and disbursements, that I may see whether the accusation against thee be true or false. The original may be translated, Give up the business, τον λογον, of the stewardship.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(2) How is it that I hear this of thee?—(1) The opening words of the steward’s master imply wonder as well as indignation. They remind us so far of the words of the lord of the vineyard in another parable, “Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?” (Isa_5:4). Speaking after the manner of men, it was a marvel and a mystery that men with so high a calling as the scribes and teachers of Israel should have proved so unfaithful to their trust. (2) The words that follow, “Give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward,” while they admit legitimately enough a personal application to each individual at the close of any period of trust and probation, and therefore at the close of life, are yet far from being limited to that application, and in their primary significance, do not even admit it. The close of a stewardship, for a party like the Pharisees—for a school like that of the scribes—for any Church or section of a Church—is when its day of judgment comes, when its work in the Kingdom is done, when history, and God in history, pass their sentence upon it. And that day of judgment was coming fast upon those who then heard the parable.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. give an account] Rather, render the account.

thou mayest be no longer steward] Rather, thou canst not be any longer steward.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he called him,.... By the prophets, sent one after another; by John the Baptist, by Christ himself, and by his apostles:

and said unto him, how is it that I hear this of thee? of thy corrupting the word; of thy covetousness, rapine, and theft; of thy adultery and idolatry, and sad violation of the law; see Rom 2:21

give an account of thy stewardship: what improvement is made of thy gifts; what care has been taken of my vineyard, the Jewish church; and where are the fruits that might be expected to have been received at your hands:

for thou mayest be no longer steward. This was foretold by the prophets, that God would write a "Loammi" upon the people of the Jews; that he would cut off three shepherds in one month, and particularly lay aside the idol shepherd, by whom the Pharisees may be meant, Zac 11:8 and by John the Baptist, who declared the axe was laid to the root of the tree, and it was just ready to be cut down, Mat 3:10 and by Christ, that the kingdom of God should be taken from them, Mat 21:43 and by the apostles, who turned from them to the Gentiles, Act 13:46.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.

Ver. 2. Give an account of thy stewardship] Villicus rationem cum Domino suo crebro putet, said Cato. Stewards should often account with their masters.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Give an account - Give a statement of your expenses and of your conduct while you have been steward. This is not to be referred to the day of judgment. It is a circumstance thrown into the parable to prepare the way for what follows. It is true that all will be called to give an account at the day of judgment, but we are not to derive that doctrine from such passages as this, nor are we to interpret this as teaching that our conscience, or the law, or any beings will “accuse us” in the day of judgment. All that will be indeed true, but it is not the truth that is taught in this passage.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And he called him, &c. Such are the words which our Lord daily addresses to us. We daily see persons equally healthy, and likely to live as ourselves, suddenly summoned by death, to give an account of their stewardship. Happy summons to the faithful servant, who has reason to hope in his faithful administration. Not so to the unfaithful steward, whose pursuits are earthly: death to him is terrible indeed, and his exit is filled with sorrow. All thunder-stricken at these words, "now thou canst be steward no longer," he says within himself, what shall I do! (St. Thomas Aquinas)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

2. Be no longer steward—The voice of death is imperious; for it is the decree of God himself.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. δύνῃ. אBD. δυνήσῃ is approved by Meyer as the more difficult reading.

2. τί τοῦτο ἀκούω περὶ σοῦ; This might mean ‘Why do I hear this?’ (So the A.V[298] “How is it” &c.) but it is simpler to render it ‘What is this that I hear about thee?’ comp. Act 14:15, τί ταῦτα ποιεῖτε; The interrog. and relative clauses are blended.

[298] A.V. Authorised Version.

ἀπόδος τὸν λόγον. ‘Render the account.’

οὐ γὰρ δύνῃ ἔτι οἰκονομεῖν. ‘Thou canst not be any longer steward.’

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. τί τοῦτο …] It makes very little difference either in admissibility of construction or of sense, whether we render, ‘why do I hear this of thee?’ i.e. ‘what is the ground of this report?—what occasion hast thou given for this being brought to me?’ or, ‘What is this that I hear of thee?’ i.e. ‘give some account of it.’ There is the same ambiguity in Mar 11:3, τί ποιεῖτε τοῦτο; I prefer rather the former, because no opportunity of explanation what it is, is given him, but he is commanded to produce his books, to shew how it has arisen.

ἀπόδος …] give up the account of thy stewardship; for (taking for granted the correctness of the report, the steward not denying it) thou wilt not be able to retain thy stewardship any longer,—in ordinary English, thou canst not, &c.

οὐ δύνῃ—in the nature of things—thou art precluded from.

The interpretation of this announcement to the steward, is the certainty, spoken by God in every one of our consciences, that we must give up and give an account of our stewardship at death. The great truth lies in the background, that that dismissal, death itself, is the consequence of the διασκορπίζειν τὰ ὑπάρχοντα αὐτοῦ,—the wages of sin.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. φωνήσᾳ αὐτὸν. For φωνεῖν of summoning by a message comp. 19:15; Joh 9:18, Joh 9:24, Joh 9:11:28.

τί τοῦτο ἀκούω περὶ σοῦ; No emphasis on σοῦ, as if it meant “of thee among all people.” The question is taken in three ways. What? do I hear this of thee?” 2. “What is this that I hear of thee?” (RV.) 3. “Why do I hear this of thee?” Act 14:15, where τί ταῦτα ποιεῖτε; means, “Why do ye these things?” is in favour of the last. See Blass on Act 14:15.

ἀπόδοͅ τὸν λόγον. “Render the (necessary) account.” This is commonly understood of the final account, to prepare for the surrender of the stewardship. But it might mean the account to

see whether the charge was true; and the use elsewhere in N.T. rather points to this (Mat 12:36; Act 19:40; Rom 14:12; Heb 13:17; 1Pe 4:5). In that case the thought to be supplied is, “a steward who cannot disprove charges of this kind is an impossibility.” The steward, knowing that he cannot disprove the charges, regards this demand for a reckoning as equivalent to dismissal.

With the originally Ionic form δύνῃ (א B D P) contrast φάγεσει and πίεσαι (17:8).

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

How is it that I hear this [τι τουτο ακουω] ? Better as Rev., What is this that I hear?

Give an account [αποδος τον λογον] . Lit., "give back" [απο] . Rev., render. The [τον] account which is due. Aristophanes has a striking parallel : "And now give back my signet; for thou shalt no longer be my steward" (" Knights, " 947).

Thou mayest [δυνηση] . More strictly, as Rev., thou canst.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.