LUKE 16:13 Interlinear View

1. Greek word
2. Greek lemma
3. OET-LV words
4. OET-RV words
5. Strongs
6. Role/Morphology
7. OET Gloss
8. VLT Gloss
9. CAPS codes
10. Confidence
11. OET tags
12. OET word #
1. Οὐδείς
2. oudeis
3. Not one
4. -
5. 37620
6. E····NMS
7. not_one
8. not_one
9. S
10. Y33
11. 54057
1. οἰκέτης
2. oiketēs
3. house servant
4. household servant
5. 36100
6. N····NMS
7. house_servant
8. house_servant
9. -
10. Y33; F54062; F54068; F54072; F54075; F54079
11. 54058
1. δύναται
2. dunamai
3. is able
4. -
5. 14100
6. VIPM3··S
7. ˓is˒ able
8. ˓is˒ able
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54059
1. δυσί
2. duo
3. for two
4. two
5. 14170
6. E····DMP
7. ˱for˲ two
8. ˱for˲ two
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54060
1. κυρίοις
2. kurios
3. masters
4. masters
5. 29620
6. N····DMP
7. masters
8. masters
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54061
1. δουλεύειν
2. douleuō
3. to be serving
4. -
5. 13980
6. VNPA····
7. ˓to_be˒ serving
8. ˓to_be˒ serving
9. -
10. Y33; R54058
11. 54062
1. εἰ
2. ei
3. -
4. -
5. 14870
6. C·······
7. if
8. if
9. -
10. -
11. 54063
1. ἤ
2. ē
3. either
4. either
5. 22280
6. C·······
7. either
8. either
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54064
1. γάρ
2. gar
3. because/for
4. because
5. 10630
6. C·······
7. for
8. for
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54065
1. τόν
2. ho
3. the
4. -
5. 35880
6. E····AMS
7. the
8. the
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54066
1. ἕνα
2. heis
3. one
4. -
5. 15200
6. S····AMS
7. one
8. one
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54067
1. μισήσει
2. miseō
3. he will be hating
4. -
5. 34040
6. VIFA3··S
7. ˱he˲ ˓will_be˒ hating
8. ˱he˲ ˓will_be˒ hating
9. -
10. Y33; R54058
11. 54068
1. καί
2. kai
3. and
4. -
5. 25320
6. C·······
7. and
8. and
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54069
1. τόν
2. ho
3. the
4. -
5. 35880
6. E····AMS
7. the
8. the
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54070
1. ἕτερον
2. heteros
3. other
4. -
5. 20870
6. R····AMS
7. other
8. other
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54071
1. ἀγαπήσει
2. agapaō
3. he will be loving
4. -
5. 250
6. VIFA3··S
7. ˱he˲ ˓will_be˒ loving
8. ˱he˲ ˓will_be˒ loving
9. -
10. Y33; R54058
11. 54072
1. ἤ
2. ē
3. or
4. -
5. 22280
6. C·······
7. or
8. or
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54073
1. ἑνός
2. heis
3. of +the one
4. -
5. 15200
6. S····GMS
7. ˱of˲ ˓the˒ one
8. ˱of˲ ˓the˒ one
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54074
1. ἀνθέξεται
2. anteχō
3. he will be upholding
4. -
5. 4720
6. VIFM3··S
7. ˱he˲ ˓will_be˒ upholding
8. ˱he˲ ˓will_be˒ upholding
9. -
10. Y33; R54058
11. 54075
1. καί
2. kai
3. and
4. -
5. 25320
6. C·······
7. and
8. and
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54076
1. τοῦ
2. ho
3. of the
4. -
5. 35880
6. E····GMS
7. ˱of˲ the
8. ˱of˲ the
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54077
1. ἑτέρου
2. heteros
3. other
4. -
5. 20870
6. R····GMS
7. other
8. other
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54078
1. καταφρονήσει
2. katafroneō
3. he will be despising
4. despise
5. 27060
6. VIFA3··S
7. ˱he˲ ˓will_be˒ despising
8. ˱he˲ ˓will_be˒ despising
9. -
10. Y33; R54058
11. 54079
1. Οὒ
2. ou
3. not
4. -
5. 37560
6. D·······
7. not
8. not
9. S
10. Y33
11. 54080
1. δύνασθε
2. dunamai
3. You all are being able
4. -
5. 14100
6. VIPM2··P
7. ˱you_all˲ ˓are˒ being_able
8. ˱you_all˲ ˓are˒ being_able
9. -
10. Y33; R53786
11. 54081
1. Θεῷ
2. theos
3. for god
4. -
5. 23160
6. N····DMS
7. ˱for˲ god
8. ˱for˲ God
9. GN
10. Y33; Person=God
11. 54082
1. δουλεύειν
2. douleuō
3. to be serving
4. -
5. 13980
6. VNPA····
7. ˓to_be˒ serving
8. ˓to_be˒ serving
9. -
10. Y33; R53786
11. 54083
1. καί
2. kai
3. and
4. -
5. 25320
6. C·······
7. and
8. and
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54084
1. μαμωνᾷ
2. mamōnas
3. money
4. -
5. 31260
6. N····DMS
7. money
8. money
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54085

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 16:1–13: Jesus told a parable about a dishonest manager who acted wisely

In the main part of this section, 16:1–8b, Jesus told a parable that appears only in Luke. In this parable a rich man had hired a man to manage his money and possessions for him. The manager was dishonest in his work, so the rich man said that he could not continue to be his manager. But before the manager left this work, he used his position and money to cause other people to like him. He did this so that they would help him when he no longer had an income.

The main point of this parable is that the manager knew how to use money to make things better for his own future. In this way he was a good example for Jesus’ disciples. The parable does not mean that Jesus approved of the manager’s dishonesty.

In 16:8c–16:9 Jesus commented on the parable and applied it to his disciples. In 16:10–13 he gave other teachings about the proper use of wealth.

Other possible headings for this section are:

The Parable of the Shrewd Manager (NIV)

The dishonest man who was in charge of a rich man’s wealth

16:13

This verse is almost exactly the same as Matthew 6:24. Jesus compared those who wanted to be his disciples to servants or slaves. He warned them that if they love money so that it controls what they do and say and think, then they do not truly love God. The opposite is also true: if they love God so that he controls them, then they do not also love money. They must choose between the two.

16:13a

No servant can serve two masters.

No one can wholeheartedly/properly serve as a slave to two masters.
It is not possible for a person to become the slave of two men at the same time.

No servant can serve two masters: The phrase No servant can serve two masters implies that no one can serve as a slave to two masters or owners at the same time with the same degree of loyalty.According to Marshall (p. 624), it was certainly possible for a person in Jesus’ time to be a slave to more than one master. What this verse is talking about is the impossibility of serving more than one master simultaneously with complete and undivided loyalty. Consider whether it is necessary to make some of this information explicit in the text. For example:

It is not possible for a slave properly to serve two masters at the same time.

In some languages it may be redundant to have words such as servant, serve, and masters in the same sentence. If your language has a natural way to express this idea with less redundancy, you may use it here. For example:

A slave cannot have two masters

A person cannot make himself the slave of two men

servant: The Greek word that the BSB translates as servant refers here to a household or personal servant. In Jesus’ time these household servants were usually slaves rather than free, employed workers. The word servant that is used in this verse is a different Greek word than the word translated as “servants” in 12:37a. It is also different from the words translated as “menservants” and “maidservants” in 12:45c. But in this context the meaning is almost the same.The three words that the BSB translates as “servant” in Luke have slightly different ranges and nuances of meaning. The word doulos used in 12:37a is the most general word for servant/slave and perhaps focuses on the idea of being owned by a master. The word pais used in 12:45c refers more specifically to a household servant/slave. In some contexts it can refer to a child. The word oiketēs here refers specifically to a household servant/slave (Louw & Nida, p. 561; BDAG, p. 694).

16:13b–c

Either…or: These two verse parts contain parallel ideas with similar meanings. The word Either in 16:13b introduces the contrasting attitudes (“hate” and “love”) of a servant who was trying to serve two masters. The word or in 16:13c introduces a parallel set of contrasting attitudes (“be devoted” and “despise”). These two pairs of attitudes are parallel ideas that function together to produce emphasis and poetic effect.

If an “either…or” construction wrongly implies that a servant must choose either one set of attitudes or the other, you will need to translate these lines differently. Some other translation options are:

Use a word like “also,” rather than “either/or.” For example:
He may hate one master and love the other. He may also be devoted to one master and despise the other.
Put “hate” and “despise” in one statement, and “love” and “be devoted to” in the other statement. For example:
He will hate and despise one master, and he will love and be devoted to the other master.
Use a comparison. For example:
He will be more loving and devoted to one master than to the other.

See the note in 16:13b on “hate…love.”

16:13b

Either he will hate the one and love the other,

If he tries to do that, he will hate one master and love the other master,
For if he did have two masters, he would love one master more than the other.

In Greek, this verse part begins with a conjunction that most English versions translate as “for.” This conjunction introduces the reason why a slave cannot serve two masters. The BSB makes this conjunction implicit. Use a natural way in your language to introduce a reason.

he will hate the one and love the other: This clause implies a situation in which a slave tries to serve two masters at the same time. In some languages, this information may need to be made explicit. For example:

if he tries to do that… (TRT)

if he did have two masters… (TRT)

hate…love: Jesus probably used these strong opposites here in a comparative sense. By comparison with a slave’s feeling of love for one master, his feeling for the second master would seem like hatred. One way to translate this as a comparative is:

he will love one master more than the other

Consider whether it will be more effective to use the absolute terms hate and love or a comparative statement.

the one…the other: In this context, the phrases the one and the other refer to “one master” and “the other master.” The GW shows another way to refer to these two masters:

the first master…the second (GW)

16:13c

or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.

or he will be loyal to one master and scorn the other.
He would also obey one master more faithfully/wholeheartedly than the other.

he will be devoted to the one and despise the other: This verse part is parallel to 16:13b. It expresses a similar idea using other words. The verbs be devoted to and despise express ideas that are similar to “love” and “hate” in 16:13b. However, here in 16:13c the ideas are reversed for poetic effect. If in your language it is not natural to reverse the order of the ideas in this way, you may keep the same order as in the previous verse part. For example:

he will despise one and be devoted to the other

If it is more natural to state a positive action or attitude before a negative one, you may reorder the 16:13b instead. For example:

he will love the one and hate the other

devoted to: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as devoted to in this context means to be loyal to.

despise: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as despise means to look down on a person and treat him with scorn and contempt.

16:13d

You cannot serve both God and money.”

Therefore you^(plur) cannot simultaneously serve/worship God and also serve/love money.”
In the same way, you^(plur) can not devote yourself to both serving God and gaining money.”
So also, it is not possible for God and riches to be your^(plur) master at the same time.”

You cannot serve both God and money: This clause is a specific conclusion to the more general statements in 16:13a–c. The pronoun You indicates that Jesus was applying this conclusion directly to the disciples. In some languages it may be necessary to introduce a conclusion like this with a specific word or phrase. For example:

Therefore/So you cannot serve…

In the same way, you cannot serve…

A slave could not give his undivided loyalty to two masters at the same time. In the same way, it was impossible for the disciples to serve God and money at the same time. In some languages a person cannot serve money, so it will be necessary to use different expressions for “serve God” and “serve money.” For example:

You cannot be faithful to God and also do everything possible to become wealthy.

If money is the most valuable thing to you, you cannot also work for God.

It is not possible for you to truly serve God if gaining money/riches is important in your mind.

money: The Greek word that the BSB translates as money is literally “mammon.” The RSV and several other English versions translate it that way. See the note on “worldly wealth” in 16:9b.

uW Translation Notes:

οὐδεὶς οἰκέτης δύναται δυσὶ κυρίοις δουλεύειν

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὐδείς οἰκέτης δύναται δυσί κυρίοις δουλεύειν ἤ γάρ τόν ἕνα μισήσει καί τόν ἕτερον ἀγαπήσει ἤ ἑνός ἀνθέξεται καί τοῦ ἑτέρου καταφρονήσει Οὒ δύνασθε Θεῷ δουλεύειν καί μαμωνᾷ)

If it would be helpful in your language, you could make the subject positive and the verb negative in this expression. Alternate translation: [A servant cannot serve two masters]

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

δυσὶ κυρίοις

The implication is that a servant could not meet the competing demands of two different masters at the same time with equal loyalty. Alternate translation: [two different masters equally well at the same time]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

ἢ γὰρ τὸν ἕνα μισήσει, καὶ τὸν ἕτερον ἀγαπήσει; ἢ ἑνὸς ἀνθέξεται, καὶ τοῦ ἑτέρου καταφρονήσει

Jesus is basically saying the same thing in two different ways. If it would be helpful in your language, you could combine these statements. Alternate translation: [for he is certain to love and serve one of them much better than the other]

ἑνὸς ἀνθέξεται

Alternate translation: [he will love the first master very strongly]

τοῦ ἑτέρου καταφρονήσει

˱of˲_the other ˱he˲_˓will_be˒_despising

Alternate translation: [will hold the second master in contempt] or [will hate the second master]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / you

οὐ δύνασθε & δουλεύειν

Even though Jesus has been describing the situation of an individual servant, as he draws this application, he is addressing his disciples as a group, so you is plural.

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

1. OET-LV words
2. OET-RV words
3. Strongs
4. Greek word
5. Greek lemma
6. Role/Morphology
7. OET Gloss
8. VLT Gloss
9. CAPS codes
10. Confidence
11. OET tags
12. OET word #
1. Not one
2. -
3. 37620
4. S
5. oudeis
6. E-····NMS
7. not_one
8. not_one
9. S
10. Y33
11. 54057
1. house servant
2. household servant
3. 36100
5. oiketēs
6. N-····NMS
7. house_servant
8. house_servant
9. -
10. Y33; F54062; F54068; F54072; F54075; F54079
11. 54058
1. is able
2. -
3. 14100
5. dunamai
6. V-IPM3··S
7. ˓is˒ able
8. ˓is˒ able
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54059
1. to be serving
2. -
3. 13980
5. douleuō
6. V-NPA····
7. ˓to_be˒ serving
8. ˓to_be˒ serving
9. -
10. Y33; R54058
11. 54062
1. for two
2. two
3. 14170
5. duo
6. E-····DMP
7. ˱for˲ two
8. ˱for˲ two
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54060
1. masters
2. masters
3. 29620
5. kurios
6. N-····DMP
7. masters
8. masters
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54061
1. because/for
2. because
3. 10630
5. gar
6. C-·······
7. for
8. for
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54065
1. either
2. either
3. 22280
5. ē
6. C-·······
7. either
8. either
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54064
1. he will be hating
2. -
3. 34040
5. miseō
6. V-IFA3··S
7. ˱he˲ ˓will_be˒ hating
8. ˱he˲ ˓will_be˒ hating
9. -
10. Y33; R54058
11. 54068
1. the
2. -
3. 35880
5. ho
6. E-····AMS
7. the
8. the
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54066
1. one
2. -
3. 15200
5. heis
6. S-····AMS
7. one
8. one
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54067
1. and
2. -
3. 25320
5. kai
6. C-·······
7. and
8. and
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54069
1. the
2. -
3. 35880
5. ho
6. E-····AMS
7. the
8. the
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54070
1. other
2. -
3. 20870
5. heteros
6. R-····AMS
7. other
8. other
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54071
1. he will be loving
2. -
3. 250
5. agapaō
6. V-IFA3··S
7. ˱he˲ ˓will_be˒ loving
8. ˱he˲ ˓will_be˒ loving
9. -
10. Y33; R54058
11. 54072
1. or
2. -
3. 22280
5. ē
6. C-·······
7. or
8. or
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54073
1. of +the one
2. -
3. 15200
5. heis
6. S-····GMS
7. ˱of˲ ˓the˒ one
8. ˱of˲ ˓the˒ one
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54074
1. he will be upholding
2. -
3. 4720
5. anteχō
6. V-IFM3··S
7. ˱he˲ ˓will_be˒ upholding
8. ˱he˲ ˓will_be˒ upholding
9. -
10. Y33; R54058
11. 54075
1. and
2. -
3. 25320
5. kai
6. C-·······
7. and
8. and
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54076
1. of the
2. -
3. 35880
5. ho
6. E-····GMS
7. ˱of˲ the
8. ˱of˲ the
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54077
1. other
2. -
3. 20870
5. heteros
6. R-····GMS
7. other
8. other
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54078
1. he will be despising
2. despise
3. 27060
5. katafroneō
6. V-IFA3··S
7. ˱he˲ ˓will_be˒ despising
8. ˱he˲ ˓will_be˒ despising
9. -
10. Y33; R54058
11. 54079
1. You all are
2. -
3. 14100
5. dunamai
6. V-IPM2··P
7. ˱you_all˲ ˓are˒ being_able
8. ˱you_all˲ ˓are˒ being_able
9. -
10. Y33; R53786
11. 54081
1. not
2. -
3. 37560
4. S
5. ou
6. D-·······
7. not
8. not
9. S
10. Y33
11. 54080
1. being able
2. -
3. 14100
5. dunamai
6. V-IPM2··P
7. ˱you_all˲ ˓are˒ being_able
8. ˱you_all˲ ˓are˒ being_able
9. -
10. Y33; R53786
11. 54081
1. to be serving
2. -
3. 13980
5. douleuō
6. V-NPA····
7. ˓to_be˒ serving
8. ˓to_be˒ serving
9. -
10. Y33; R53786
11. 54083
1. for god
2. -
3. 23160
4. GN
5. theos
6. N-····DMS
7. ˱for˲ god
8. ˱for˲ God
9. GN
10. Y33; Person=God
11. 54082
1. and
2. -
3. 25320
5. kai
6. C-·······
7. and
8. and
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54084
1. money
2. -
3. 31260
5. mamōnas
6. N-····DMS
7. money
8. money
9. -
10. Y33
11. 54085

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.

OET interlinear LUKE 16:13

SR Greek word order (including unused variant words in grey)