MAT 18:28 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. ἐξελθών
2. exerχomai
3. having come out
4. -
5. 18310
6. VPAA·NMS
7. ˓having˒ come_out
8. ˓having˒ come_out
9. -
10. Y32
11. 12568
1. Δέ
2. de
3. But
4. -
5. 11610
6. C·······
7. but
8. but
9. S
10. Y32
11. 12569
1. ὁ
2. ho
3. the
4. -
5. 35880
6. E····NMS
7. ¬the
8. ¬the
9. -
10. Y32
11. 12570
1. δοῦλος
2. doulos
3. slave
4. slave
5. 14010
6. N····NMS
7. slave
8. slave
9. -
10. Y32; F12577; F12580; F12585; F12587; F12588; F12599; F12607; F12617; F12625; F12639; F12666; F12668; F12701; F12708
11. 12571
1. ἐκεῖνος
2. ekeinos
3. that
4. -
5. 15650
6. E····NMS
7. that
8. that
9. -
10. Y32
11. 12572
1. εὗρεν
2. euriskō
3. found
4. found
5. 21470
6. VIAA3··S
7. found
8. found
9. -
10. Y32
11. 12573
1. ἕνα
2. heis
3. one
4. -
5. 15200
6. S····AMS
7. one
8. one
9. -
10. Y32; F12589; F12594
11. 12574
1. τῶν
2. ho
3. of the
4. -
5. 35880
6. E····GMP
7. ˱of˲ the
8. ˱of˲ the
9. -
10. Y32
11. 12575
1. συνδούλων
2. sundoulos
3. fellow-slaves
4. -
5. 48890
6. N····GMP
7. fellow-slaves
8. fellow-slaves
9. -
10. Y32
11. 12576
1. αὐτοῦ
2. autos
3. of him
4. -
5. 8460
6. R···3GMS
7. ˱of˲ him
8. ˱of˲ him
9. -
10. Y32; R12571
11. 12577
1. ὅς
2. hos
3. who
4. -
5. 37390
6. R····NMS
7. who
8. who
9. -
10. Y32
11. 12578
1. ὤφειλεν
2. ofeilō
3. was owing
4. -
5. 37840
6. VIIA3··S
7. ˓was˒ owing
8. ˓was˒ owing
9. -
10. Y32
11. 12579
1. αὐτῷ
2. autos
3. to him
4. -
5. 8460
6. R···3DMS
7. ˱to˲ him
8. ˱to˲ him
9. -
10. Y32; R12571
11. 12580
1. ἑκατόν
2. hekaton
3. +a hundred
4. -
5. 15400
6. E····ANP
7. ˓a˒ hundred
8. ˓a˒ hundred
9. -
10. Y32
11. 12581
1. δηνάρια
2. dēnarion
3. daʸnarion coins
4. -
5. 12200
6. N····ANP
7. daʸnarion_\add coins\add*
8. denarii
9. -
10. Y32; F12635
11. 12582
1. ἑκατόν
2. hekaton
3. -
4. -
5. 15400
6. E····ANP
7. ˓a˒ hundred
8. ˓a˒ hundred
9. -
10. -
11. 12583
1. καί
2. kai
3. and
4. But
5. 25320
6. C·······
7. and
8. and
9. -
10. Y32
11. 12584
1. κρατήσας
2. krateō
3. having apprehended
4. -
5. 29020
6. VPAA·NMS
7. ˓having˒ apprehended
8. ˓having˒ apprehended
9. -
10. Y32; R12571
11. 12585
1. αὐτόν
2. autos
3. him
4. -
5. 8460
6. R···3AMS
7. him
8. him
9. -
10. Y32
11. 12586
1. ἔπνιγεν
2. pnigō
3. he was strangling him
4. strangling
5. 41550
6. VIIA3··S
7. ˱he˲ ˓was˒ strangling ‹him›
8. ˱he˲ ˓was˒ strangling ‹him›
9. -
10. Y32; R12571
11. 12587
1. λέγων
2. legō
3. saying
4. saying
5. 30040
6. VPPA·NMS
7. saying
8. saying
9. -
10. Y32; R12571
11. 12588
1. Ἀπόδος
2. apodidōmi
3. Give back
4. -
5. 5910
6. VMAA2··S
7. give_back
8. give_back
9. D
10. Y32; R12574
11. 12589
1. μοί
2. egō
3. -
4. -
5. 14730
6. R···1D·S
7. me
8. me
9. -
10. -
11. 12590
1. εἰ
2. ei
3. if
4. -
5. 14870
6. C·······
7. if
8. if
9. -
10. Y32
11. 12591
1. ὅ
2. hos
3. -
4. -
5. 37390
6. R····ANS
7. what
8. what
9. -
10. -
11. 12592
1. τὶ
2. tis
3. anything
4. -
5. 51000
6. R····ANS
7. anything
8. anything
9. -
10. Y32
11. 12593
1. ὀφείλεις
2. ofeilō
3. you are owing
4. -
5. 37840
6. VIPA2··S
7. ˱you˲ ˓are˒ owing
8. ˱you˲ ˓are˒ owing
9. -
10. Y32; R12574
11. 12594

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 18:21–35: Jesus told a parable about a servant who did not forgive

In this section, Jesus continued to talk about relationships among believers. He did this by telling a parable about a servant and a king. The king canceled the servant’s large debt. But the servant refused to cancel the small debt of his fellow servant. As a result the king punished the servant.

Jesus told this parable to show us that God has forgiven our many sins. So we should forgive the few sins that other people commit against us. If we do not forgive others, God will not forgive us.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

The parable of the servant who refused to forgive

The necessity for forgiveness (JBP)

18:28a

But when that servant went out,

¶ But that servant left
¶ Then that servant left there and

But: There is a contrast here. The contrast is between a king who forgave a large debt (18:24–27) and a servant who did not forgive a small debt (18:28–30). Some English versions (like the BSB) indicate this contrast by beginning this paragraph with the conjunction But.

In some languages, the contrast is obvious, and it may not be natural to introduce it with a conjunction like But. If that is true in your language, it may be more natural to begin this paragraph with a simple time word or phrase. For example:

Then (GNT)

Later (NCV)

You should do what is most natural in your language.

when that servant: This servant was the same man from 18:27. Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

when that same servant (ESV)

Then the man (GNT)

went out: The Greek word that the BSB translates as went out indicates that the servant left the presence of the king or left the house of the king. If including the location is more natural in your language, you should use a general reference such as “there.”

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

left there

left the palace/house and then

18:28b

he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii.

and later went to another servant who owed him a hundred denarii.
went searching and found another servant who owed him only a hundred coins.

he found: There are several ways to interpret the Greek verb that the BSB translates as found:

The servant went searching for the other servant. For example:

he went to (NLT) (NLT)Nolland on page 758 says, “Does the released slave seek out his fellow slave or simply come upon him? εὗρεν (‘found’) could connote either, but since the verb is used in v. 13 for a deliberate seeking out, that is more likely here. This also offers the best counterpart to the master’s initiative in the previous meeting.”

The servant met the other servant without planning to. For instance:

he came upon (RSV)

he happened to meet (CEV) (RSV, REB, NJB, CEV, GNT)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). There are several contrasts in this story, and this is one of them. The king had the servant brought to him. The king could do that because he was of higher status than the servant. But the servant did not have a higher status than his fellow servant. He had to go find him to get his money.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

he went to (NLT)

he went searching for and found

one of his fellow servants: The words fellow servants refer to the fact that both people referred to in this verse were servants of the king.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

another servant (NCV)

a second servant of the king

a hundred denarii: The Greek word that the BSB transliterates as denarii is the plural of “denarius.” A denarius was the name of a Roman coin. This coin was worth the same as the wages for a farm worker for one day of work.

One hundred denarii was almost nothing in comparison with ten thousand talents.

Here are some other ways to translate this term:

Transliterate the word denarii or “denarius.” For example:
a hundred denarii (NIV) It you use this option, you may want to include a footnote. A sample footnote is:
A hundred denarii were worth the same as the wages for a farm worker for a hundred days of work. This may have been a large debt for the second servant. But it was very, very small compared to the debt of the first servant.
Use the name of a general kind of coin. For example:
a hundred silver coins (NET)
Use a descriptive phrase. For example:
an amount much smaller than his own debt
a small debt

Some English versions use the American currency “dollars.” It is not recommended that you translate the term a hundred denarii using an amount of money in your national currency. The value of the currency used may change over time. In addition, using a modern currency removes this story from its historical setting.

18:28c

He grabbed him and began to choke him,

He grabbed him and started choking him
He grabbed him around the throat/neck and started squeezing

He grabbed him: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as grabbed means to “take hold of” or “seize” something. In this context, it probably means that he grabbed him by the throat. For example:

he grabbed him by the throat (NET)

he grabbed him around the neck

began to choke him: In this context, the Greek verb that the BSB translates as choke refers to putting his hands around the other servant’s throat and squeezing with an intent to kill.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

he started choking him (CEV)

he started squeezing his neck

18:28d

saying, ‘Pay back what you owe me!’

saying, ‘Pay back all that you owe me!’
and said, ‘Give me the money that you owe me!’

saying: In Greek, the form of the verb saying indicates that the first servant spoke while he was choking the second servant.

Here are some other ways to indicate this:

at the same time he said

While he was doing this he said

Pay back what you owe me!: The Greek word that the BSB translates as what refers to the hundred denarii that he owed.

Here are some other ways to translate this command:

Pay back all that you owe me!

Pay me the money you owe me! (NCV)

Reimburse what you owe me!

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases

δὲ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐξελθών Δέ ὁ δοῦλος ἐκεῖνος εὗρεν ἕνα τῶν συνδούλων αὐτοῦ ὅς ὤφειλεν αὐτῷ ἑκατόν δηνάρια καί κρατήσας αὐτόν ἔπνιγεν λέγων Ἀπόδος εἰ τὶ ὀφείλεις)

Here, the word But introduces the next thing that happened. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces the next event, or you could leave But untranslated. Alternate translation: [Then,]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / go

ἐξελθὼν

In a context such as this, your language might say “come” instead of gone. Alternate translation: [having come out]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

εὗρεν

found

Here Jesus could mean that the slave: (1) happened to meet the fellow slave. Alternate translation: [encountered] (2) intentionally looked for the fellow slave. Alternate translation: [looked for]

Note 4 topic: translate-bmoney

ἑκατὸν δηνάρια

A denarius was a silver coin equivalent to about one day’s wage for a hired worker. You could try to express this amount in terms of current monetary values, but that might cause your Bible translation to become outdated and inaccurate, since those values can change over time. So instead you might state something more general or give the equivalent in wages. This is a much smaller amount than the 10,000 talents that the first slave owed, so make sure that is clear in your translation. Alternate translation: [100 silver coins] or [100 days’ wages]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

κρατήσας αὐτὸν ἔπνιγεν

˓having˒_apprehended (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐξελθών Δέ ὁ δοῦλος ἐκεῖνος εὗρεν ἕνα τῶν συνδούλων αὐτοῦ ὅς ὤφειλεν αὐτῷ ἑκατόν δηνάρια καί κρατήσας αὐτόν ἔπνιγεν λέγων Ἀπόδος εἰ τὶ ὀφείλεις)

Here Jesus could be indicating that the slave took: (1) one action, which was seizing his fellow slave around the neck so that he choked him. Alternate translation: [he choked him by seizing him around the neck] (2) two actions, one of which was seizing his fellow slave and the other of which was choking him. Alternate translation: [he seized him and was choking him]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἔπνιγεν

˱he˲_˓was˒_strangling_‹him›

Here Jesus means that the slave seized his fellow slave by the throat and made it hard for him to breath. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [he began to strangle him]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / quotations

λέγων, ἀπόδος εἴ τι ὀφείλεις

saying (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐξελθών Δέ ὁ δοῦλος ἐκεῖνος εὗρεν ἕνα τῶν συνδούλων αὐτοῦ ὅς ὤφειλεν αὐτῷ ἑκατόν δηνάρια καί κρατήσας αὐτόν ἔπνιγεν λέγων Ἀπόδος εἰ τὶ ὀφείλεις)

It may be more natural in your language to have an indirect quotation here. Alternate translation: [saying that he needed to repay whatever he owed]

Note 8 topic: writing-quotations

λέγων

saying

Consider natural ways of introducing direct quotations in your language. Alternate translation: [and he said]

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. But
2. -
3. 11610
4. S
5. de
6. C-·······
7. but
8. but
9. S
10. Y32
11. 12569
1. the
2. -
3. 35880
5. ho
6. E-····NMS
7. ¬the
8. ¬the
9. -
10. Y32
11. 12570
1. that
2. -
3. 15650
5. ekeinos
6. E-····NMS
7. that
8. that
9. -
10. Y32
11. 12572
1. slave
2. slave
3. 14010
5. doulos
6. N-····NMS
7. slave
8. slave
9. -
10. Y32; F12577; F12580; F12585; F12587; F12588; F12599; F12607; F12617; F12625; F12639; F12666; F12668; F12701; F12708
11. 12571
1. having come out
2. -
3. 18310
5. exerχomai
6. V-PAA·NMS
7. ˓having˒ come_out
8. ˓having˒ come_out
9. -
10. Y32
11. 12568
1. found
2. found
3. 21470
5. euriskō
6. V-IAA3··S
7. found
8. found
9. -
10. Y32
11. 12573
1. one
2. -
3. 15200
5. heis
6. S-····AMS
7. one
8. one
9. -
10. Y32; F12589; F12594
11. 12574
1. of the
2. -
3. 35880
5. ho
6. E-····GMP
7. ˱of˲ the
8. ˱of˲ the
9. -
10. Y32
11. 12575
1. fellow-slaves
2. -
3. 48890
5. sundoulos
6. N-····GMP
7. fellow-slaves
8. fellow-slaves
9. -
10. Y32
11. 12576
1. of him
2. -
3. 8460
5. autos
6. R-···3GMS
7. ˱of˲ him
8. ˱of˲ him
9. -
10. Y32; R12571
11. 12577
1. who
2. -
3. 37390
5. hos
6. R-····NMS
7. who
8. who
9. -
10. Y32
11. 12578
1. was owing
2. -
3. 37840
5. ofeilō
6. V-IIA3··S
7. ˓was˒ owing
8. ˓was˒ owing
9. -
10. Y32
11. 12579
1. +a hundred
2. -
3. 15400
5. hekaton
6. E-····ANP
7. ˓a˒ hundred
8. ˓a˒ hundred
9. -
10. Y32
11. 12581
1. daʸnarion coins
2. -
3. 12200
5. dēnarion
6. N-····ANP
7. daʸnarion_\add coins\add*
8. denarii
9. -
10. Y32; F12635
11. 12582
1. to him
2. -
3. 8460
5. autos
6. R-···3DMS
7. ˱to˲ him
8. ˱to˲ him
9. -
10. Y32; R12571
11. 12580
1. and
2. But
3. 25320
5. kai
6. C-·······
7. and
8. and
9. -
10. Y32
11. 12584
1. having apprehended
2. -
3. 29020
5. krateō
6. V-PAA·NMS
7. ˓having˒ apprehended
8. ˓having˒ apprehended
9. -
10. Y32; R12571
11. 12585
1. him
2. -
3. 8460
5. autos
6. R-···3AMS
7. him
8. him
9. -
10. Y32
11. 12586
1. he was strangling him
2. strangling
3. 41550
5. pnigō
6. V-IIA3··S
7. ˱he˲ ˓was˒ strangling ‹him›
8. ˱he˲ ˓was˒ strangling ‹him›
9. -
10. Y32; R12571
11. 12587
1. saying
2. saying
3. 30040
5. legō
6. V-PPA·NMS
7. saying
8. saying
9. -
10. Y32; R12571
11. 12588
1. Give back
2. -
3. 5910
4. D
5. apodidōmi
6. V-MAA2··S
7. give_back
8. give_back
9. D
10. Y32; R12574
11. 12589
1. if
2. -
3. 14870
5. ei
6. C-·······
7. if
8. if
9. -
10. Y32
11. 12591
1. anything
2. -
3. 51000
5. tis
6. R-····ANS
7. anything
8. anything
9. -
10. Y32
11. 12593
1. you are owing
2. -
3. 37840
5. ofeilō
6. V-IPA2··S
7. ˱you˲ ˓are˒ owing
8. ˱you˲ ˓are˒ owing
9. -
10. Y32; R12574
11. 12594

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 MAT 18:28

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

Section 18:21–35: Jesus told a parable about a servant who did not forgive

18:28a

18:28b

18:28c

18:28d

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