Matthew 25:17

Greek (Tischendorf 8th ed.)

English Translation

In like manner he also who got the two gained another two.

World English Bible · Public Domain

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ἐκέρδησεν

kerdaínō

G2770

“to gain”

Verb, Aorist, Active, Indicative, 3rd person, Singular

Appears 16× in the Greek New Testament
First appears at Matthew 16:26

Full Thayer's Definition

Origin: from G2771

TDNT: 14:12,4

1. to gain, acquire, to get gain 2. metaph. a. of gain arising from shunning or escaping from evil (where we say "to spare one's self", "be spared") b. to gain any one i.e. to win him over to the kingdom of God, to gain one to faith in Christ c. to gain Christ's favour and fellowship

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

7: words
5: distinct lemmas
Gospels: section

Notable vocabulary

The rarest word here is ἐκέρδησεν to gain G2770 — appearing just 16 times in the whole Greek New Testament.

Shared distinctive vocabulary

ἐκέρδησεν to gain G2770 occurs in 15 verses of the Greek New Testament. Also found in:

Repetition

Words recur within this verse:

δύο two G1417 ×2
ὁ the G3588 ×2

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to Matthew 25:17 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

Proverbs 3:9–10 Honor Yahweh with your substance, With the first fruits of all your increase:
Ephesians 5:16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Genesis 18:19 For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of Yahweh, to do righteousness and justice; to the end that Yahweh may bring on Abraham that which he has spoken of him."
1 Kings 18:3–4 Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared Yahweh greatly:
2 Kings 4:8–10 It fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. So it was, that as often as he passed by, he turned in there to eat bread.
Ecclesiastes 11:1–6 Cast your bread on the waters; For you shall find it after many days.
Mark 14:3–8 While he was at Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster jar of ointment of pure nard-- very costly. She broke the jar, and poured it over his head.
Acts 9:36–39 Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which when translated, means Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and acts of mercy which she did.

Acts 10:2 a devout man, and one who feared God with all his house, who gave gifts for the needy generously to the people, and always prayed to God.
Acts 11:29–30 As any of the disciples had plenty, each determined to send relief to the brothers who lived in Judea;
2 Corinthians 8:12 For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what you have, not according to what you don't have.
2 Corinthians 9:11–14 you being enriched in everything to all liberality, which works through us thanksgiving to God.
Galatians 6:9–10 Let us not be weary in doing good, for we will reap in due season, if we don't give up.
Colossians 4:17 Tell Archippus, "Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you fulfill it."
1 Timothy 5:10 being approved by good works, if she has brought up children, if she has been hospitable to strangers, if she has washed the saints' feet, if she has relieved the afflicted, and if she has diligently followed every good work.
2 Timothy 1:16–18 May the Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain,

Hebrews 6:10–11 For God is not unrighteous, so as to forget your work and the labor of love which you showed toward his name, in that you served the saints, and still do serve them.
1 Peter 4:10 According as each has received a gift, be ministering it among yourselves, as good stewards of the grace of God in its various forms.
2 Samuel 19:32 Now Barzillai was a very aged man, even eighty years old: and he had provided the king with sustenance while he lay at Mahanaim; for he was a very great man.
Job 29:11–17 For when the ear heard me, then it blessed me; And when the eye saw me, it commended me:
Job 31:16–22 "If I have withheld the poor from their desire, Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Commentary

Notes on Matthew 25:17 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Expositor's Greek Testament

ed. W. Robertson Nicoll

Mat 25:17 . ὡσαύτως , in like manner; that absolutely the same proportion between capital and gain should be maintained in the two cases was not likely but possible, and the supposition is convenient for the application.

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

John Gill's Exposition

And likewise he that received two,.... Talents, or a lesser measure of ministerial gifts:

he also gained other two; he worked and laboured, and traded, in proportion to the gifts he had received; and his improvements and success, under a divine blessing, were answerable.

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

Trapp's Complete Commentary

John Trapp

17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.

Ver. 17. He also gained other two] The Lord, as he hath a fatherly respect to our weakness so as not to overlay us, so he takes well aworth what we are able, and exacts no more than he gives. Despise not therefore the day of small things, since God doth not, Zec 4:10. {a} Neither cast away your confidence, because not good to such a degree; but be faithful in weakness, though weak in faith. A palsy hand may receive an alms; he that had but half an eye might look upon the brazen serpent, and be healed.

{a} Honestum est ei qui in primis nequit, in secundis tertiisve consistere. Cic.

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.

The Pulpit Commentary

Likewise, etc. The second servant made an equally good use of his smaller capital. It matters not whether our endowments are large or little, we have to use them all in the Lord"s service. "To whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required"; (Luk_12:48) and vice versa, to whomsoever less is committed, of him less shall be required. The burden is proportioned to the shoulder. We continually observe what to us seem anomalies in the distribution of gifts, but faith sees the hand of God dividing to each severally as he will, and we are confident that God will take account at last not only of the man"s ability, but also of his opportunities of exercising the same. "He also" is omitted by Tischendorf, Westcott and Herr, and others.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

unfoldingWord translationNotes

Door43 World Missions Community

Connecting Statement:

Jesus continues telling a parable about the servants and the talents. (See: Parables and Biblical Money)

made another two

"earned another two talents"

translationWords

servant

lord

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

International Critical Commentary

17. Likewise, also, he of the two gained other two.]

(L)

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

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

Matthew, in the Gospels, opens this verse with 7 words (5 distinct Greek lemmas). Its most distinctive word is kerdaínō (“to gain”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

How does “to gain” (kerdaínō) shape what this verse is saying?
How does Matthew 16:26, which shares the word «to gain», read alongside this verse?
What does the repetition of “two” (2× in this one verse) do in this verse?
These translations render this verse differently. What is at stake in choosing one wording over another?
Compare how Expositor's Greek Testament and John Gill's Exposition read this verse. Where do they agree or differ?

Things to notice

These translations choose different wording for 10 words in this verse.
“two” occurs 2× in this single verse.
5 distinct Greek lemmas span 7 words in this verse.