OET interlinear MAT 6:24

6:24a

No one can serve two masters: The Greek word that the BSB translates as serve means “do the work of a slave.”

The word masters refers to “owners of slaves.”

This entire clause means that no slave can work for two masters/owners at the same time and be equally loyal to both.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

No slave can work for two owners at the same time

No one can completely obey two bosses at the same time

6:24b–c

Before you translate 6:24b–c, there are two issues to consider:

Issue 1: The way the clauses are connected

Verse 6:24b–c is the basis for the conclusion in 6:24a. The Greek introduces this basis with a conjunction that is often translated as “for.” However, the BSB does not translate this word.

In some languages, it is more natural to put the basis (6:24b–c) before the conclusion (6:24a). For example:

^24b If a servant has two masters, he will hate the one and love the other, ^24cor he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. ^24aSo/Therefore, no one can serve two masters.

Even if you do not translate this conjunction, you should think about the most natural way in your language to order the clauses in this verse.

Issue 2: Parallelism

The clause “he will hate the one and love the other” (in 6:24b) and the clause “he will be devoted to the one and despise the other” (in 6:24c) are a parallelism. A parallelism is a feature of poetry where two (or more) lines are related to each other in some way. In this parallelism, the two lines repeat the same information, but in a different order. The first part of 24b has a similar meaning to the last part of 24c, and the last part of 24b has a similar meaning to the first part of 24c.This is called a chiastic parallelism. The similar parts are shown here:

^24bEither he will hate the one and love the other

^24cor he will be devoted to the one and despise the other

In some languages, it is not natural to repeat the same information in two ways. In other languages, the words “Either” and “or” will wrongly imply that a servant must choose either 6:24b or 6:24c.

Here are some other ways to translate this parallelism:

• Keep the parallelism but use a word like “also,” rather than “either/or.” For example:

  He will hate one master and love the other. He will also be devoted to one master and despise the other.

• Combine the parallel parts. 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 love one master more than the other. He will be more devoted to one master than to the other.

6:24b

Either: The Greek word that the BSB translates as Either introduces one possible attitude of a servant who was trying to serve two masters. A similar attitude is described in 6:24c. Since the two attitudes are not contradictory alternatives, it may be better to omit an explicit translation of the word Either.

Also, see the discussion about “or” in the note on 6:24c.

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 had two masters, he would hate the one and love the other

if he tried to serve two masters, he would hate the one and love the other

hate…love: Jesus probably used the strong opposites of hate and love 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 master

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

the one…the other: The phrases the one and the other mean “one master” and “the other master.”

6:24c

or: The conjunction or introduces a statement that is parallel to 6:24b. It is not contradictory to 6:24b. So in some languages it may be best to omit an explicit translation of the word or.

Here are some other possible ways to connect 24c with 24b:

As I said,

I repeat,

See also the discussion above about “Either” and “or” in 6:24b–c.

he will be devoted to the one and despise the other: This clause is parallel to 6:24b. It expresses the same idea using different words. The verb translated as be devoted to is a synonym of “love” in 6:24b. And the verb translated as despise is a synonym of “hate” in 6:24b. However, here the ideas are reversed for poetic effect. If it is not natural in your language to reverse the order of the verbs in this way, you may keep the same order as in 6:24b. For example:

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

be devoted to: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as be devoted to means “be loyal to.”

Here are some other ways to translate this verb:

be faithful to

enthusiastically follow

be…loyal to (CEV)

despise: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as despise means “disrespect someone” and “treat someone with scorn and contempt.”

Here are some other ways to translate this verb:

not respect

disdain

scorn

6:24d

You cannot serve both God and money: Jesus was saying that a person who loves money and says he also loves God is like a slave who is trying to serve two masters. Either God or money can be the master of a person, but not both. A person must choose which one they will love and serve.

You: In Greek, the pronoun You is plural. However, 6:24d is a general statement that is true of everyone. So you should use your normal pronoun or phrase for general statements. For example:

You^(sing) cannot serve God and money

We^(incl) cannot serve God and money

A person cannot serve God and money

money: The Greek word that the BSB translates as money includes money, property, and possessions.

Here are some other ways to translate this entire clause:

You cannot serve God and wealth (NRSV)

You cannot serve both God and worldly riches (NCV)

If people in your area will not understand a literal translation of “serve wealth,” you may want to use the concept of “master” from 6:24a. For example:

You^(plur) cannot have both God as your master and wealth as your master

Or you may want to translate in a nonmetaphorical way. For example:

In the same way, you^(plur) cannot love God above all else and seek money above all else at the same time.

If money is what you love the most, then you cannot also love God the most.