Matthew 18:21-35 “If the LORD Forgave You…”

Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 27 Jan 2013

Translation

18:21 Then, Peter, having approached Him, said,
“Lord, how many times is my brother going to sin against me and will I forgive him? Up to seven?”

18:22 Jesus says to him,

“To you I’m not saying up to seven times, but rather up to seventy times seven.

18:23 As a result, the kingdom of the heavens is similar to a man – a king – who wanted to settle accounting with his servants.

18:24 So, once he started to make settlements, one owing 10,000 year’s-wages was brought up to him.

18:25 Now, since he did not have means to pay back, his master commanded to be paid back thus: for him to be sold, with his wife and the children and whatever all he had owned.

18:26 The servant therefore, fell down and was bowing before him, saying, ‘Start being patient with me and I will pay you back all.’

18:27 Then the master of that servant, moved with compassion, let him go and forgave him of the loan!

18:28 However, after that servant went out, he found one of his fellow-servants who owed him one hundred day’s-wages, and he grabbed hold [of him and] was choking him, saying, ‘Pay me back, since you are obligated!’

18:29 Therefore, his fellow-servant, after falling down, called him off, saying, ‘Start being patient with me, and I will pay you back.’

18:30 But, as for him, he didn’t want to. Instead he went off and threw him into prison until whenever he might [be able to] pay back what was owed.

18:31 Well, having observed these happenings, his fellow-servants were really upset, and they went and explained all the happenings to each one’s master.

18:32 Then the master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant, I forgave you all that obligation since you called me off;

18:33 wasn’t it proper for you to have mercy on your fellow-servant, like I myself also had mercy on you?’

18:34 And his master, since he was angry, delivered him to the tormentors until whenever he might [be able to] pay back all that was owed to him.

18:35 Thus also my Father who is above the heavens will do to y’all, unless each one of you happen to forgive your brother, from your hearts.”

Introduction

Let me paint some context for this passage of scripture before jumping in.
Most of this is just educated guesses, but I think it may help to set the stage:

Jesus took Peter, James, and John on a special hike up a mountain and showed Him His exclusive glory, then Jesus returned to Capernaum to stay at Peter’s house. The tax collectors come by Peter’s house and Jesus sends Peter off to go fishing for the tax money. While Peter is gone, his brother Andrew comes up and says, “Hey Jesus, you’ve been treating Peter as though he is more special than me. He’s not really any more special is he?” And Jesus launches into a tirade about how they should quit jockeying for position in the kingdom of God and just be humble like children. Well, Peter comes back from paying his tax and finds out that Andrew has been trying to make him look less important to Jesus, and Peter gets upset. Perhaps this explains how his question comes about in Matthew 18:1.

Exegesis

18:21 Then, Peter, having approached Him, said, “Lord, how many times is my brother going to sin against me and will I forgive him? Up to seven?”

Τοτε προσελθων αυτω^{^[1]} ο Πετρος ειπεν Κυριε ποσακις^{^[2]} ‘αμαρτησει εις εμε ‘ο αδελφος μου και αφησω αυτω ‘εως ‘επτακις;

The Greek grammar with the verbs in Indicative mood indicate that this is not just a hypothetical example. Peter appears to have a real brother in mind whom he has reason to believe will sin against him.
Part of the question seems to be, “How many times is this guy going to sin against me? If you, Jesus, by your divine knowledge of the future, can tell me that it’s only going to happen a few more times, then I’ll just grit my teeth and hang on, knowing the end will come soon.

Wouldn’t we all like to get rid of the uncertainty of not knowing when our trials will be over? Yeah, then we wouldn’t need to trust God anymore.

We don’t want to be hurt by others’ sin, so we think that if we can just control them and limit our exposure to them, we can keep ourselves safe.
Now, there is a certain extent to which we should act preemptively if our life and limb is really threatened by another person’s sin^{^[3]}. If they are wiring car bombs in front of your church every month, you need police who can put a stop to that, but if it’s just a matter of a small personal loss or inconvenience or hurting your feelings, take a deep breath. The end is not in sight; you are going to get sinned against a lot more than 7 more times.
Furthermore, in addition to experiencing the hurt of being sinned against, you are going to be called upon to forgive your brother or sister. Peter asks, “Is 7 times enough?”

He’s probably being generous. The Jewish rabbis had a saying, “He that says, ‘I have sinned, and I repent,’ forgive him up to three times and no more.^{^[4]}” Peter doubled that and added one. That’s big of you, Peter!
Throughout the O.T. there were a lot of ceremonies where an object or person was sprinkled seven times with the blood of a sacrificial lamb and forgiven of sin or uncleanness^{^[5]}. So seven is very Biblical. Surely it’s the right answer!

18:22 Jesus says to him, “To you I’m not saying up to seven times, but rather up to seventy times seven.

Λεγει αυτω ‘ο Ιησους Ου λεγω σοι ‘εως ‘επτακις αλλ’ ‘εως ‘εβδομηκοντακις ‘επτα.

The Greek text here has one word for “seventy times” followed by a second word that means “seven,” and it is not clear whether we are supposed to add or multiply the 70 and the 7, so the NIV reads “77 times,” and most other translations (KJV/NAS/ESV) read “70 times 7.”
There is only one other verse in the Greek Bible with this word for “70 times” in it, and that is Genesis 4:24, where “Lamech said to his wives, Ada and Sella, ‘Hear my voice, ye wives of Lamech, consider my words, because I have slain a man to my sorrow and a youth to my grief. Because vengeance has been exacted seven times on Cain's behalf, on Lamech's it shall be seventy times seven.’” (At least that’s how Brenton translated it into English.) The original Hebrew of Genesis 4:24, however clearly says 70 plus 7 ( שׁבעים ושׁבעה).
The great N.T. Greek scholar A.T. Robinson noted that this same Greek phrase is found in an ancient document known as the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs (Benj. vii. 4), where the context indicates that it means 70 times 7, so I’ll go with 490.
490 times a day – that’s once every two minutes of the waking day!
The point, of course, is not to set a limit of a particular number. The point is to blow Peter’s mind (and ours) – to give a number so large that we have to change our strategy.

It’s like if you were told that your basketball team was going to have to play against a 7-man team on the court. O.K. That’s a stretch, but we’ll go to zone defense, and we can cope with it. Then the team shows up, and – not just 7, but – 490 opponents step onto the basketball court together to play against you. Suddenly, your 5-man zone defense plan goes out the window. You need something totally out of the box to deal with this, maybe an army from a small country or something, but you can’t deal with this like business-as-usual!
In the Gospel of Luke, we read of a warm-up to this conversation recorded in Matthew, where Jesus talks about forgiving a brother seven times in one day. The disciples respond by saying, “Lord, to forgive that much, we’re going to need You to make our faith bigger!” (Luke 17:5b, NAW) Bingo, that’s what God wants! He wants us to turn to Him to enable us to live out this kind of forgiveness.

The point is not how many times to forgive; the point is to quit keeping accounts altogether, and to quit putting limits on your love for one another.

“One might as well ask, ‘How often must I love my wife, my husband, my children?’ as to ask, ‘How often shall I forgive?’” ~William Hendriksen
The unlimited revenge of Lamech must give place to the unlimited forgiveness of Christians. (Paraphrase of McNeile, quoted in ATR)
My missionary friend Paul Hamelryck says, “When it comes to money, keep good books, but when it comes to sins, keep lousy books!”
Now Jesus launches into a parable (with the word homoiwthe):

18:23 As a result, the kingdom of the heavens is similar to a man – a king – who wanted to settle accounting with his servants.

Δια τουτο ‘ωμοιωθη ‘η βασιλεια των ουρανων ανθρωπω βασιλει ‘ος ηθελησεν συναραι^{^[6]} λογον μετα των δουλων αυτου

18:24 So, once he started to make settlements, one owing 10,000 year’s-wages was brought up to him.

αρξαμενου δε αυτου συναιρειν προσηνεχθη αυτω εις οφειλετης μυριων^{^[7]} ταλαντων

The picture is of an accounting office.

The accountant and his wealthy client are flipping through accounts payable, maybe trying to tie off end-of-the-year accounting.
So they’re flipping through the account book, and, “Whoah, this account is overdue by a whopping 10,000 talents! Man, alive, what do are we going to do with that?”
The human side of the equation is not there in the Greek wording – the Greek wording does not say “man;” it just says “one obligation/one debt.”^{^[8]}

A talent is about a year’s wages.

Different Bible scholars fix its value at a number of different places in this range, but there are two problems with putting a number value on it:

Different people make different amounts of money, so what would seem a lot of money to one person might not sound like much to another,
and secondly, the practice of unaccountable fiat currency in our day means that the same dollar amount is actually equal to very different amounts of value, depending on what time in history you are referencing, so even if I could give you an accurate dollar amount today, it would be inaccurate next year. So let’s just go with year’s wages.

Now, how many years will this servant have to work in order to pay off 10,000 year’s wages? Even if he can live on half his salary and even if the interest rate is low, we’re talking somewhere in the neighborhood of 60,000 years! Is he ever going to be able to pay that back? Probably not.

Furthermore, what on earth did that servant do to lose that much of his master’s money?

Bible Commentator William Hendriksen suggests that since 10,000 talents is on the order of the entire tax burden of a large country in those days, perhaps this servant was a high-ranking satrap responsible for gathering taxes from a region of an empire.
It must have been a populous region, for Josephus recorded that the imperial taxes of all Judea, Idumea, Samaria, Galilee and Perea only amounted to 800 talents. Perhaps the servant had been embezzling tax money for years.
At any rate, this king probably has good reason to be peeved with this servant who has been over-the-top irresponsible with his master’s money!

So, what did the master do?

18:25 Now, since he did not have means to pay back, his master commanded to be paid back thus: for him to be sold, with his wife and the children and whatever all he had owned.

μη εχοντος δε αυτου αποδουναι εκελευσεν αυτον ‘ο κυριος αυτου^{^[9]} πραθηναι και την γυναικα αυτου³ και τα τεκνα και παντα ‘οσα ειχεν^{^[10]} και αποδοθηναι

This is actually what the law of Moses says to do if a thief gets away with a robbery and doesn’t have the stolen goods on him anymore when he is caught: Exodus 22:3b “… if he have nothing, let him be sold in compensation for what he has stolen.” (Brenton)
Really it was the only reasonable thing to do – this servant was a liability with the potential to cause further loss to the master, and the servant couldn’t possibly make up for the losses he had incurred, so the best thing the master could do was to cash out this liability and cut his losses.
So he decrees an estate sale to get whatever money he can from the sale of this servant’s house (and his donkey and tools and other personal effects), as well as the sale of the servant and his wife and children on the slave market for whatever cash he can get. Then he can zero out the account, and move on.
It was really rather merciful. Under Biblical law, a slave could lead a pretty decent life and even earn his freedom^{^[11]}. But look what the servant does:

18:26 The servant therefore, fell down and was bowing before him, saying, ‘Start being patient with me and I will pay you back all.’

Πεσων ουν ‘ο δουλος ^{^[12]} προσεκυνει αυτω λεγων Κυριε^{^[13]} μακροθυμησον επ εμοι και παντα σοι^{^[14]} αποδωσω.

Jesus paints the servant as being somewhat disagreable:

First the servant frames his request as though his master has never had mercy on him before –

as though the master had not already had to exercise patience with him for loosing that 10,000 year’s wages in the first place.
Generally, Greek Aorist Imperatives, such as the one this slave uses in his request for patience, connote a demand to begin doing something.
Now, if I were that master, my first thought would be, “What do you mean BEGIN being patient with you? I’ve been putting up with your negligence too long already! You are being incredibly presumptuous, dude!”

Secondly, the servant seeks to resolve the problem by pledging to pay the debt back. This strikes me as ludicrous. He’s got some new pie-in-the-sky scheme to get rich quick again, just like the one he lost the first 10,000 talents on. And he’s going to ask me to be the investor, of course, and then he’s going to loose the rest of my estate. No way am I going to have anything to do with this guy’s foolishness!

So the master storms out of the room, right? WRONG.

18:27 Then the master of that servant, moved with compassion, let him go and forgave him of the loan!

Σπλαγχνισθεις δε ‘ο κυριος του δουλου εκεινου^{^[15]} απελυσεν αυτον και το δανειον^{^[16]} αφηκεν αυτω

“Moved with compassion” over that loser who had done so much harm and insult to him? What kind of master is this?
“Guilty, vile, and helpless we. Spotless lamb of God was He. Full atonement – can it be? Halleluiah, what a Savior!” ~Phillip Bliss
Two words show up in verse 27 describing this “full atonement:”

Apelusen: Translated “Loosed^KJV/released^NAS/let him go^NIV” – in Matthew, this word is used of divorcing a spouse and of dismissing a crowd, and later of releasing Barabbas the murderer from prison, and I think the latter is the sense in which the word is used here.
The second word – Apheken: Translated “Forgave^KJV/cancelled^NIV” is the word Peter used in his question at the beginning of this passage: “How many times am I going to have to forgive my brother?” The short answer is “70 x 7,” but the expanded answer is, “The Master forgave that servant, and so can you.”
The difference between these two Greek verbs is that the first one focuses on the freedom of the object who was released whereas the second word focuses on the action of the subject who is doing the releasing.

Wow, can you believe it? He’s been absolved of all obligation to that stupendous debt. What a tremendous burden was lifted off his shoulders! What heights of gratitude could his heart ascend as he skips home and beams at his wife and children, “Guess what, you’re not going to be sold as slaves after all! Wow! Our master is the greatest, most kind person ever!!!”
Now Jesus reaches the crux of the chiasm – His main point:

18:28 However, after that servant went out, he found one of his fellow-servants who owed him one hundred day’s-wages, and he grabbed hold [of him and] began choking him, saying, ‘Pay me back, since you are obligated!’

εξελθων δε ‘ο δουλος εκεινος ‘ευρεν ‘ενα των συνδουλων αυτου ὃς ωφειλεν αυτω ‘εκατον δηναρια και κρατησας αυτον επνιγεν^{^[17]} λεγων Αποδος [μοι^{^[18]}] ει^{^[19]} τι οφειλεις.

The Greek grammar of this clause (ei + verb in the Indicative mood) is a “true” condition; it can be rendered, “If you owe me anything – and I know you do – then pay me back!”
What was owed? 100 denaria

Various Bible commentators throughout history have pinned an exact monetary value onto the denarius, and, as a result, a variety of numeric values have been suggested, such as the KJV “pence” (penny)^{^[20]}.
One denarius is what the paymaster in the parable in chapter 20 will pay each of his laborers for their day’s work, so I take it to mean a day’s wages (more or less).
So, how long will it take for this other guy to pay back 100 day’s wages? Maybe a few years, but it’s doable.
The main idea is that this is a very, very small amount of money in comparison to 10,000 year’s wages.

But the forgiven servant flies into a rage. He seizes this guy who owes him such a comparatively small debt, grabs him around the neck, and starts to throttle him – as if killing him is going to help anything!
Classical Greek expert Dr. Marvin Vincent noted passages from Cicero where Roman law actually encouraged creditors to “wring the neck” of their debtors and literally drag them into court^{^[21]}.
What strikes me, however, is that these are not the words and actions of someone who believes that he has been forgiven. They are the words of someone who thinks he is still obligated to pay his own debt back. He can’t receive forgiveness any more than he can give forgiveness.
The two are closely related. (Remember what Jesus says after the Lord’s Prayer?)

18:29 Therefore, his fellow-servant, after falling down, called him off, saying, ‘Start being patient with me, and I will pay you back.’

Πεσων ουν ‘ο συνδουλος αυτου ^{^[22]} παρεκαλει αυτον λεγων Μακροθυμησον επ’ εμοι και ^{^[23]} αποδωσω σοι.

As a fellow slave, this guy is able to speak to the first slave as a peer, and I think that the Greek word parekalei used here indicates more of a peer relationship than most English translations render it (besought^KJV/begged^NIV,NKJ/pleaded^NAS,ESV). I think “exhorted” or “called down” may be more accurate here, but this isn’t the main point, so I don’t want to make a big deal of it.
The words this fellow servant speaks are practically the same as the words the first servant had used to plead with the master. That should have rocked him back on his heels. “Oh, wait a minute, that’s what I just said… and what an incredible forgiveness I received! Oh, I’m so sorry, brother, nevermind. Take as long as you need to pay that back… In fact, just forget you ever owed me anything; you don’t have to pay me back after all. Hey, bro, I’m sorry; Is your neck o.k.?”
But that’s not what he says, is it? What a jerk.
In fact, the fellow-servant’s use of the Greek Imperative in the Aorist tense here in his call to “start being patient” indicates that the first servant has always been characterized by impatience toward him. The master’s patience had not even touched him enough to get him started in being any more patient now.

18:30 But, as for him, he didn’t want to. Instead he went off and threw him into prison until whenever he might [be able to] pay back what was owed.

‘ο δε ουκ ηθελεν αλλα απελθων εβαλεν αυτον εις φυλακην ‘εως οὗ^{^[24]} αποδω το οφειλομενον^{^[25]}

18:31 Well, having observed these happenings, his fellow-servants were really upset, and they went and explained all the happenings to each one’s master.

Ιδοντες δε^{^[26]} ‘οι συνδουλοι αυτου τα γενομενα ελυπηθησαν^{^[27]} σφοδρα και ελθοντες διεσαφησαν^{^[28]} τω κυριω ‘εαυτων^{^[29]} παντα τα γενομενα

Unwilling to be patient, the unforgiving servant refuses the requests of his peer – not just once, but multiple times, judging from the Imperfect tense of the verb, as he drags him away to debtor’s prison.
But word gets around, doesn’t it?
I know this may be pushing the limits of pulling too many details out of a parable, but inasmuch as the fellow servants to the main character are like fellow-Christians to you, just realize that other people are watching you – some are also watching out for you, and they are praying to God concerning you. Things may happen in your life that you never wanted to happen, but which are the answer to other people’s prayers – God is their God too!
There simply is no excuse for despising a fellow human, especially in light of the fabulous mercy God has shown you. Now the servant is going to get what-for!

18:32 Then the master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant, I forgave you all that obligation since you called me off;

Τοτε προσκαλεσαμενος αυτον ‘ο κυριος αυτου λεγει αυτω^{^[30]} Δουλε πονηρε πασαν την οφειλην^{^[31]} εκεινην αφηκα σοι επει παρεκαλεσας με

18:33 wasn’t it proper for you to have mercy on your fellow-servant, like I myself also had mercy on you?’

ουκ εδει ^{^[32]} και σε ελεησαι τον συνδουλον σου ‘ως και εγω σε ηλεησα;

The master takes on the role of judge now, declaring the servant “evil,” and applying the lesson.
This, by the way, is a role which Biblical law taught slaveholders to take, to train slaves toward responsible maturity, like a Father would do in training his child, so that the slave can succeed in life once his term of service was fulfilled and he was free to manage himself again.
The correlation between the master in the parable, and God in real life, is obvious now. God sets the standard for behavior, and His servants are to follow in His footsteps. So if He has compassion and shows mercy, then we should be moved with compassion and show mercy, too!
Wouldn’t it be proper for you to have mercy on your fellow-servant? Yes, of course it would. (The Ouk + Indicative grammatical construction expects a “Yes” answer.)

18:34 And his master, since he was angry, delivered him to the tormentors until whenever he might [be able to] pay back all that was owed to him.

Και οργισθεις ‘ο κυριος αυτου παρεδωκεν αυτον τοις βασανισταις ‘εως οὗ αποδω παν το οφειλομενον αυτω^{^[33]}.

In effect, the master says, “O.K. if you are going to act like I didn’t forgive you, then your debt is reinstated. You just try to pay it back yourself!”
The NIV and ESV say that the master handed this foolish servant over to the “jailers.” This is one possible translation of the Greek word here, and it would be a fitting tit-for-tat punishment, because that’s exactly what the unforgiving servant did to his fellow servant.
However, the Greek word basanistais, in its various forms, is more commonly translated “torment” or “torture^{^[34]}.” Of course we wouldn’t want to ascribe such severe vindictiveness to our God, because God is love, right?
Well, think again. This Greek word is used consistently to speak of God punishing the wicked with painful things:

In the O.T., when the Philistines put the Ark of the Covenant into their Dagon temple as a trophy, 1 Sam. 5:3 says that God “tormented” the Philistines with a painful disease which matches the description of the Bubonic Plague^{^[35]}.
In Matt. 8:29, it is a demon who says, “Lord, you aren’t going to make us be “tortured” yet, are you?” (cf.Mk. 5:7)
In Mt. 14:24, the verb form is used to describe waves “beating” against the side of a boat. (A common form of basanist torture was to take a person’s shoes off and beat them on the soles of their feet.^{^[36]})
Then comes the book of Revelation, when judgment on evil is consummated. This word for “torture” shows up an unsettling number of times:
In Revelation 9:5, God releases ominous “locusts” to torture people for 5 months with scorpion-like stings.
In Revelation 14:10-11, everyone who doesn’t worship God, “will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” (NASB) Wow. How mad would God have to be to want to do such a thing? In the parable of the unforgiving servant, it does say that the master was angry.
To the world power called Babylon in Revelation 18:7, God issues this verdict, “To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning…” (NASB)
And, yes, the devil gets it too: Revelation 20:10 “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”
At that point in history, all the wicked can do to repay God for robbing His glory will be to glorify God by burning in hell and showing that God is perfectly just and does not compromise with evil.

And now, the punchline:

18:35 Thus also my Father who is above the heavens will do to y’all, unless each one of you happen to forgive your brother, from your hearts.”

‘Ουτως και ‘ο πατηρ μου ‘ο επουρανιος^{^[37]} ποιησει ‘υμιν εαν μη αφητε^{^[38]} ‘εκαστος τω αδελφω αυτου απο των καρδιων ‘υμων ^{^[39]}.

“How many times will I have to forgive my brother?” This question didn’t come from Peter alone, it’s on all of our minds, so Jesus applies the answer to every one of us with plural forms of the word “you” in Greek.
The greatness of God – “in,” and even “above³²” the heavens – is emphasized, as is fitting for the Master with whom every one of us will have to deal.
Unforgiveness is a deal-breaker with God. Oh, brothers and sisters, please do not hang on to bitterness in your hearts.
And, one more thing: God is not fooled by outward actions that don’t really reflect what is in your heart. Sometimes we say, “Oh that’s o.k, I forgive you, no problem,” because we know we’re supposed to, but inside we are still angry at our brother or sister and do not really want to see them forgiven of that sin. That’s why Jesus says to forgive from the heart, not just with words or actions you don’t mean.

Conclusion – 3 “B’s” that will never sting you – so take ‘em home.

BESEECH God for forgiveness.
BELIEVE that God has forgiven you on the basis of Jesus Christ’s work on the cross.
BESTOW forgiveness as freely as God forgives you.
“Though you forgive seventy times seven; though you continually pardon your neighbor for absolutely all his sins, as a drop of water to an endless sea, so much, or rather much more, does your love to man come short in comparison of the boundless goodness of God, of which you stand in need...” ~John Chrysostom^{^[40]}

^{^[1]} Not in Sinaiticus, and therefore not in some Critical editions. The person whom Peter is approaching is obvious from the ensuing vocative, “Lord,” so no change in meaning, but omission in only one manuscript, however ancient, is not a strong case for omission in a GNT edition, in my opinion.

^{^[2]} posakis “how oft^KJV/how many times^NIV – used in LXX of 1 Kings 22:16, when King Ahab told the prophet Micaiah, “How many times must I tell you to tell me the truth?!” and later in Mt. 23:37, when Jesus said, “Oh Jerusalem, How often I have wanted to just gather your children under my wings like a mother hen.”

^{^[3]} Cf. Calvin: “[F]or when the Lord bids us wish our enemies well, He does not demand that we shall approve in them what He Himself condemns, but only wishes our minds to be purged of hatred… Secondly, we must add that Christ is not depriving believers of discretion, to be foolishly credulous at the merest word, but only wishes them to be fair and humane and to reach out a hand to the penitent when they show signs of being sincerely displeased with themselves… whenever a sinner gives probable sign of conversion, Christ wants him to be admitted to reconciliation and not to be broken and lose heart by being repulsed.”

^{^[4]} Abot. R. Nathan, c. 40. fol. 9. 3, cf. T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 36. 2. Mainion. Hilch. Teshuba. c. 3. sect. 5. As cited by John Gill.

^{^[5]} Leviticus 4:6,17; 8:11; 14:7,16,27,51; 16:14,19; Numbers 19:4; 2 Kings 4:35; 5:10

^{^[6]} Sunarai logon = take/reckon^KJV/settle accounts – Matthew the tax collector is the only author in the Bible who uses this phrase, so I have to think they are specialized tax or accounting terms (cf. 25:19 – settling of accounts in parable of talents).

^{^[7]} Curiously, the Sinaiticus reads pollwn “many” instead of myriad “10,000.”

^{^[8]} I would contend that the masculine gender of eis “one” and opheiletas “debt” refers back to the masculine logon “account” in v. 23.

^{^[9]} Not in Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, D, L, or family 1 of minuscules, so not in Critical editions, but most modern translations based on the Critical editions (except the NIV) put the word “his” in there anyway upon the force of the definite article, so there is no change in meaning. Ditto with the second “autou” in this verse except substitute Θ for D.

^{^[10]} The Critical editions of the Greek New Testament follow the Vaticanus and Koriadethi manuscripts (+ family 1 minuscules) in spelling this verb in the Present Tense and Indicative Mood (εχει), but the support is overwhelmingly in favor of the majority reading above, which is in the Imperfect tense. The shade of meaning of past possession of these goods before the Master took them away is too small to even register as a difference in English translations anyway.

^{^[11]} On the other hand, Chrysostom suggested that the readiness of the king to absolve the debtor indicates that selling him into slavery was merely a threat the king didn’t intend to pursue, but which he uttered to bring the servant to his senses. I hesitate to affirm God making empty threats, however.

^{^[12]} Several manuscripts and versions have ekeinos “that” here (cf. v.28), but not included in any editions of the GNT (as far as I know).

^{^[13]} This vocative is not in the Vaticanus, Bezae, or Koriadethi manuscripts, nor is it in the Vulgate, so it is omitted in Critical editions, but I’m not sure this is enough support to deviate from the majority of manuscripts and versions. It doesn’t change the meaning either way, because the context makes it clear to whom this request is addressed.

^{^[14]} Not in Koriadethi and Beza manuscripts, which might be why it’s not included in the NIV translation, but Critical editions do not omit it. Context makes the addressee obvious, so still no difference in meaning.

^{^[15]} Omitted in Vaticanus and Koriadethi manuscripts as well as family 1 of minuscules, but this is not considered enough evidence by Critical editions to reject it as not part of the original text. As usual, it would not change the meaning anyway.

^{^[16]} Again, Matthew alone of the NT authors picks up on a specialized accounting term for a loan. It also occurs in the LXX of Deuteronomy 15:8-10 and 24:11, governing loans. Its more general synonym οφειλην (referring to any kind of obligation) is used instead in v.32

^{^[17]} A.T. Robertson and Wm. Hendriksen believe this Imperfect tense verb is Inchoative, translated, “began to choke” this is also the reading of the NASB.

^{^[18]} This word is in the majority of Greek manuscripts, including C, K, Γ, Δ, and f¹³ as well as the majority of old Syriac versions, but it is not included in Critical editions of the GNT. It does not change the meaning, however.

^{^[19]} Not found in the T. R., but in the Majority of Greek manuscripts; doesn’t make a difference in English versions.

^{^[20]} John Calvin estimates that 1 talent is more than 100 denaria. William Hendriksen said one talent was equal to 6,000 denaria. Ralph Earle estimated one denarius at 18 to 20 cents and therefore a total of $20.

^{^[21]} Vincent cites Livy 4:53, Cicero’s “Pro Cluentio” 21, and Cicero’s “In C. Verrem” 4:10.)

^{^[22]} Majority and Textus Receptus editions of the GNT insert here εις τους ποδας αυτου “to his feet,” but this is supported by only one uncial manuscript (W), and only one ancient version (Middle Egyptian), (plus the f¹³ minuscule manuscripts), so it’s not in Critical editions of the GNT. Since the verb “fell down” already implies this, it does not change the meaning.

^{^[23]} Patristic and Textus Receptus editions of the GNT include the word παντα “all” here, so it is in the KJV English translations, but it’s not in the majority of manuscripts, nor is it in the older manuscripts followed by Critical editions, so it’s not in the NAS, NIV, or ESV translations. But there is not an essential difference between “I will pay” and “I will pay all.”

^{^[24]} Not in Critical editions, following א, Β, C, and L, but not even translated in English versions which follow the Byzantine majority. “Until whenever/such time as. Still no change in meaning. Cf. v.34 where only B omits this word.

^{^[25]} This is a participle with a definite article, translated debt^KJV,NIV/what was owed^NAS – later in v.34, KJV translates the same word “what was due” and NIV switches allegiance to “what was owed.”

^{^[26]} Not in Vaticanus or Bezae, and Sinaiticus reads ουν (“therefore”), so not in Critical editions, but oddly, the NAS, which follows the UBS Critical edition includes the word anyway (“so”).

^{^[27]} sorry^KJV/grieved^NAS/distressed^NIV – used of Herod’s grief over killing John, the disciples’ upset over hearing that Jesus would die, and of Jesus’s passion in the garden of Gethsemane.

^{^[28]} Told^KJV,NIV is a little weak. Reported^NAS,ESV is a little more robust. Ralph Earle notes that this is a specialized word , and indicates giving a full account. He prefers “explain.” The root word means to make “clear,” so the English “elucidate” might also be fitting. Only 3x in the Bible: here, Deut. 1:5 (Moses explaining the law he had previously given), and Mt. 13:36, where Jesus is asked to “explain” a parable.

^{^[29]} Several ancient manuscripts (D, L, Θ, F¹, and f¹³) spell the word without the ε in front, making it less emphatic, and the Textus Receptus follow this. It makes no difference in the standard English translations, although it could indicate that some of these other slaves had a different master (i.e. “their own” vs. “his” master).

^{^[30]} - D, Θ

^{^[31]} Only occurs as a noun like this in the Greek Bible here and Romans 13:7 (tax), and 1 Corinthians 7:3 (marriage).

^{^[32]} D, Θ, P²⁵, and Syriac insert “therefore” here, but editors of Patristic, T.R., and Critical GNT’s did not consider this part of the original text.

^{^[33]} This last word is not in B, D, Θ, f¹³, or the majority of Latin translations, so it’s not in Critical editions of the GNT. Curiously, the NAS, which usually follows the Critical edition, includes this word anyway. It doesn’t change the meaning, though, since it is implied already.

^{^[34]} Cf. N.T. Greek scholar A.T. Robertson, “Not to prison simply but to terrible punishment.” Classical Greek master, Dr. Marvin Vincent quotes from Livy (2:23) where an old centurion complains of being taken by his creditor and “tortured” by having his back whipped.

^{^[35]} According to Dr. Paul White, in his book series, Jungle Doctor.

^{^[36]} According to G.A. Henty, The Pirate City.

^{^[37]} א, B, D, K, and L read a shortened form of this word without the “epi-” prefix, thus it is not in Critical editions. It doesn’t make a difference in how the word is translated into English, though.

^{^[38]} Third class conditional expresses uncertainty. Judas Iscariot may have been the exception.

^{^[39]} Majority and Textus Receptus read τα παραπτωματα αυτων “their trespasses,” but early manuscript support is weak, with only W and C from the Uncials, no support from f¹, and no early versions leaning this way (Majority of Latin and Syriac versions don’t include it). The context assumes this, so it doesn’t change the meaning.

^{^[40]} Continued from Chrysostom’s Homily: “[T]he more we are injured, so much the more should we lament for them that are injuring us. For to us many are the benefits hence arising, but to them the opposites. But did he insult thee, and strike thee before all? Then hath he disgraced and dishonored himself before all, and hath opened the mouths of a thousand accusers, and for thee hath he woven more crowns, and gathered for thee many to publish thy forbearance. But did he slander thee to others? And what is this? God is the one that is to demand the account, not they that have heard this. For to himself hath he added occasion of punishment, so that not only for his own sins he should give account, but also of what he said of thee…”