Luke 7:41-43

7:41 “A certain creditor ¹  had two debtors; one owed him ²  five hundred silver coins, ³  and the other fifty. 7:42 When they could not pay, he canceled ⁴  the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 7:43 Simon answered, ⁵  “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” ⁶  Jesus ⁷  said to him, “You have judged rightly.”

---

¹ sn A creditor was a moneylender, whose business was to lend money to others at a fixed rate of interest.

² tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

³ tn Grk “five hundred denarii.”

sn The silver coins were denarii. The denarius was worth about a day’s wage for a laborer; this would be an amount worth not quite two years’ pay. The debts were significant: They represented two months’ pay and one and three quarter years’ pay (20 months) based on a six day work week.

⁴ tn The verb ἐχαρίσατο (ecarisato) could be translated as “forgave.” Of course this pictures the forgiveness of God’s grace, which is not earned but bestowed with faith (see v. 49).

⁵ tn Grk “answering, said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “answered.”

⁶ tn Grk “the one to whom he forgave more” (see v. 42).

⁷ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.