16:1 Jesus 1 also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who was informed of accusations 2 that his manager 3 was wasting 4 his assets.
16:10 “The one who is faithful in a very little 5 is also faithful in much, and the one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 16:11 If then you haven’t been trustworthy 6 in handling worldly wealth, 7 who will entrust you with the true riches? 8 16:12 And if you haven’t been trustworthy 9 with someone else’s property, 10 who will give you your own 11 ?
1 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn These are not formal legal charges, but reports from friends, acquaintances, etc.; Grk “A certain man was rich who had a manager, and this one was reported to him as wasting his property.”
3 sn His manager was the steward in charge of managing the house. He could have been a slave trained for the role.
4 tn Or “squandering.” This verb is graphic; it means to scatter (L&N 57.151).
5 sn The point of the statement faithful in a very little is that character is shown in how little things are treated.
6 tn Or “faithful.”
7 tn Grk “the unrighteous mammon.” See the note on the phrase “worldly wealth” in v. 9.
8 sn Entrust you with the true riches is a reference to future service for God. The idea is like 1 Cor 9:11, except there the imagery is reversed.
9 tn Or “faithful.”
10 tn Grk “have not been faithful with what is another’s.”
11 tn Grk “what is your own.”