³⁵“You must be prepared for action^g and your^* lamps burning. ³⁶And you, be like people who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast,^h so that when he^* comes back and knocks, they can open the door^* for him immediately. ³⁷Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he returns! Truly I say to you that he will dress himself for service and have them recline at the table and will come by and^* serve them. ³⁸Even if he should come back in the second or in the third watch of the night and find them^* like this, blessed are they! ³⁹But understand this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. ⁴⁰You also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not think he will come.”^*

A Faithful Slave and an Unfaithful Slave

⁴¹And Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us, or also for everyone?” ⁴²And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful wise manager whom the master will put in charge over his servants to give them^* their^* food allowance at the right time? ⁴³Blessed is that slave whom his master will find so doing when he^* comes back. ⁴⁴Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁵But if that slave should say to himself,ⁱ ‘My master is taking a long time to return,’ and he begins to beat the male slaves and the female slaves and to eat and drink and get drunk, ⁴⁶the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect and at an hour that he does not know, and will cut him in two and assign his place with the unbelievers. ⁴⁷And that slave who knew the will of his master and did not prepare or do according to his will will be given a severe beating.^j ⁴⁸But the one who did not know and did things deserving blows will be given a light beating.^k And from everyone to whom much has been given, much will be demanded, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will ask him for even more.

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Footnotes

gLiterally “your loins must be girded”
*Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
hOr perhaps simply “feast”
*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“comes back”)
*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“will come by”) has been translated as a finite verb
*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
*The words “he will come” are not in the Greek text but are implied
*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
*Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“comes back”) which is understood as temporal
iLiterally “in his heart”
jLiterally “will be beaten much”
kLiterally “will be beaten a few times”