^12:42The Lord replied,¹⁰⁴ “Who then is the faithful and wise manager,¹⁰⁵ whom the master puts in charge of his household servants,¹⁰⁶ to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? ^12:43Blessed is that slave¹⁰⁷ whom his master finds at work¹⁰⁸ when he returns. ^12:44I tell you the truth,¹⁰⁹ the master¹¹⁰ will put him in charge of all his possessions. ^12:45But if¹¹¹ that¹¹² slave should say to himself,¹¹³ ‘My master is delayed¹¹⁴ in returning,’ and he begins to beat¹¹⁵ the other¹¹⁶ slaves, both men and women,¹¹⁷ and to eat, drink, and get drunk, ^12:46then the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not foresee, and will cut him in two,¹¹⁸ and assign him a place with the unfaithful.¹¹⁹

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Footnotes

104 Grk “And the Lord said.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
105 Or “administrator,” “steward” (L&N 37.39).
106 This term, θεραπεία (therapeia), describes the group of servants working in a particular household (L&N 46.6).
107 See the note on the word “slave” in .
108 That is, doing his job, doing what he is supposed to be doing.
109 Grk “Truly (ἀληθῶς, alēthōs), I say to you.”
110 Grk “he”; the referent (the master) has been specified in the translation for clarity. See also Luke 19:11–27.
111 In the Greek text this is a third class condition that for all practical purposes is a hypothetical condition (note the translation of the following verb “should say”).
112 The term “that” (ἐκεῖνος, ekeinos) is used as a catchword to list out, in the form of a number of hypothetical circumstances, what the possible responses of “that” servant could be. He could be faithful (vv. 43–44) or totally unfaithful (vv. 45–46). He does not complete his master’s will with knowledge (v. 47) or from ignorance (v 48). These differences are indicated by the different levels of punishment in vv. 46–48.
113 Grk “should say in his heart.”
114 Or “is taking a long time.”
115 The slave’s action in beginning to beat the other slaves was not only a failure to carry out what was commanded but involved doing the exact reverse.
116 The word “other” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
117 Grk “the menservants and the maidservants.” The term here, used in both masculine and feminine grammatical forms, is παῖς (pais), which can refer to a slave, but also to a slave who is a personal servant, and thus regarded kindly (L&N 87.77).
118 The verb διχοτομέω (dichotomeō) means to cut an object into two parts (L&N 19.19). This is an extremely severe punishment compared to the other two later punishments. To translate it simply as “punish” is too mild. If taken literally this servant is dismembered, although it is possible to view the stated punishment as hyperbole (L&N 38.12).
119 Or “unbelieving.” Here the translation employs the slightly more ambiguous “unfaithful,” which creates a link with the point of the parable—faithfulness versus unfaithfulness in servants. The example of this verse must be taken together with the examples of vv. 47–48 as part of a scale of reactions with the most disobedient response coming here. The fact that this servant is placed in a distinct group, unlike the one in vv. 47–48, also suggests ultimate exclusion. This is the hypocrite of Matt 24:51.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

The Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose the servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time in coming,’ and he then begins to beat the other servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

The Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and sensible manager his master will put in charge of his household servants to give them their allotted food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom the master finds doing his job when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and starts to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, that servant’s master will come on a day he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unfaithful.

NLTNew Living Translation

And the Lord replied, “A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns. But what if the servant thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’ and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk? The master will return unannounced and unexpected, and he will cut the servant in pieces and banish him with the unfaithful.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And 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? Blessed is that slave whom his master will find so doing when he comes back. Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if that slave should say to himself, ‘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, the 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.

KJV 1900King James Version

And the Lord said,

Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.

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