And he summoned each one of his master’s debtors, and he began saying to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
Parallel translations
- WEB Calling each one of his lord’s debtors to him, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe to my lord?’
- KJV So he called every one of his lord’s debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?
- BSB And he called in each one of his master’s debtors. ‘How much do you owe my master?’ he asked the first.
- NKJV “So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
- NLT “So he invited each person who owed money to his employer to come and discuss the situation. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe him?’
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The manager summons his master's debtors one by one to renegotiate what they owe.
Overview
Acting quickly while he still can, the steward calls in the debtors to alter their accounts. His shrewd use of the brief window before dismissal illustrates urgency. The narrative builds toward the master's surprising commendation of his prudence.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Luke 7:41–42“A certain lender had two debtors. The one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.
- Matt 18:24When he had begun to reconcile, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 16:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.