LUKE 16:13 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object, red:negative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT No servant is able to serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and will love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and will despise the other. You are not able to serve God and wealth.”

UST No servant is able to serve two different masters at the same time. If he tried to do that, he would hate one of them and love the other one, or he would be loyal to one of them and despise the other one. You cannot devote your life to serving God if you are also devoting your life to acquiring money and other material possessions.”

BSB No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to [the] one and despise the other. You cannot serve [both] God and money.”

MSB No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to [the] one and despise the other. You cannot serve [both] God and money.”

BLB No servant is able to serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and he will love the other, or he will be devoted to one and he will despise the other. You are not able to serve God and mammon."

AICNT “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.
¶ “You cannot serve God and {wealth}.”[fn]

16:13, wealth: Greek “mammon”

OEB No servant can serve two masters, for, either they will hate one and love the other, or else they will attach themselves to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.’

WEBBE No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to one and despise the other. You aren’t able to serve God and Mammon.”[fn]

16:13 “Mammon” refers to riches or a false god of wealth.

WMBB (Same as above including footnotes)

NET No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

LSV No servant is able to serve two lords, for either he will hate the one, and he will love the other; or one he will hold to, and of the other he will be heedless; you are not able to serve God and wealth.”

FBV No servant can obey two masters. Either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can't serve both God and Money.”

TCNT No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

T4T No servant is able to serve two different bosses at the same time. If he tried to do that, he would prefer one of them more than the other one; he would be loyal to one of them and despise the other one. Similarly, you cannot devote your life to worshipping God and worshipping money and material goods at the same time.”

LEB No domestic slave is able to serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and will despise the other. You are not able to serve God and money.”

BBE No man may be a servant to two masters: for he will have hate for the one and love for the other; or he will keep to the one and have no respect for the other. You may not be servants of God and of wealth.

Moff No servant can serve two masters:
⇔ either he will hate the one and love the other,
⇔ or else he will stand by the one and despise the other--
⇔ you cannot serve both God and Mammon."

Wymth "No servant can be in bondage to two masters. For either he will hate one and love the other, or else he will cling fast to one and scorn the other. You cannot be bondservants both of God and of gold."

ASV No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

DRA No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

YLT 'No domestic is able to serve two lords, for either the one he will hate, and the other he will love; or one he will hold to, and of the other he will be heedless; ye are not able to serve God and mammon.'

Drby No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and will love the other, or he will cleave to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve [fn]God and mammon.

16.13 Elohim

RV No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
(No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye/You_all cannot serve God and mammon. )

SLT No servant can serve two lords: for he will either hate one, and love the other; or he will hold firmly to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Wbstr No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

KJB-1769 ¶ No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
(¶ No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye/You_all cannot serve God and mammon. )

KJB-1611 ¶ No seruant can serue two masters, for either he will hate the one, and loue the other: or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other: yee cannot serue God and Mammon.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation)

Bshps No man can serue two maisters: For either he shall hate the one, and loue the other: or els, he shall leane to the one, and despise the other. Ye can not serue God, and Mammon.
(No man can serve two masters: For either he shall hate the one, and love the other: or else, he shall lean to the one, and despise the other. Ye/You_all cannot serve God, and Mammon.)

Gnva No seruaunt can serue two masters: for either he shall hate the one, and loue the other: or els he shall leane to the one, and despise the other. Yee can not serue God and riches.
(No servant can serve two masters: for either he shall hate the one, and love the other: or else he shall lean to the one, and despise the other. Ye/You_all cannot serve God and riches. )

Cvdl No seruaunt can serue two masters: for either he shal hate the one, and loue ye other: or els he shal leane to the one, and despyse the other. Ye can not serue God and Mammon.
(No servant can serve two masters: for either he shall hate the one, and love ye/you_all other: or else he shall lean to the one, and despise the other. Ye/You_all cannot serve God and Mammon.)

TNT No servaunt can serve .ii. masters for other he shall hate ye one and love ye other or els he shall lene to the one and despyse the other. Ye can not serve God and mammon.
(No servant can serve 2 masters for other he shall hate ye/you_all one and love ye/you_all other or else he shall lean to the one and despise the other. Ye/You_all cannot serve God and mammon. )

Wycl No seruaunt may serue to twei lordis; for ether he schal hate `the toon, and loue the tothir; ethir he schal drawe to `the toon, and schal dispise the tothir. Ye moun not serue to God and to ritchesse.
(No servant may serve to twain/two_or_both lords; for either he shall hate the toon, and love the other; either he shall draw to the toon, and shall despise the other. Ye/You_all may/can not serve to God and to ritchesse.)

Luth Kein Hausknecht kann zweien Herren dienen; entweder er wird einen hassen und den andern lieben, oder wird einem anhangen und den andern verachten. Ihr könnet nicht GOtt samt dem Mammon dienen.
(No/Not houseknecht can two gentlemen serve/be_of_service; entweder he becomes a hate(v) and the change love(v), or becomes on attach and the change despise/scorn. You(pl) could not God together_with to_him Mammon serve/be_of_service.)

ClVg Nemo servus potest duobus dominis servire: aut enim unum odiet, et alterum diliget: aut uni adhærebit, et alterum contemnet. Non potestis Deo servire et mammonæ.[fn]
(Nobody servant can for_two masters to_serve: or because one odiet, and the_other diliget: or one adhærebit, and the_other contemnet. Not/No can_you to_God to_serve and mammonæ. )

16.13 Nemo servus. Corripiens avaritiam dicit amatores pecuniæ Deum amore non posse; qui ergo Deum amat pecuniam contemnit: non valet enim simul transitoria et æterna diligere. Aut uni adhærebit. AUG. Non quidem diliget. Nemo enim diligit, etc., usque ad et de bonitate ejus et impunitate sibi blanditur. Non potestis, etc. Non ait habere divitias, sed servire. Servit qui custodit ut servus; sed qui servitutis excussit jugum, distribuit ut Dominus. Qui servit mammonæ, illi utique servit qui merito suæ perversitatis rebus istis præpositus princeps mundi a Domino dicitur.

16.13 Nobody servant. Corripiens greed he_says lovers money God with_love not/no posse; who/which therefore God loves money despises: not/no valet because at_the_same_time passria and eternal to_love. Aut one adhærebit. AUG. Not/No indeed diliget. Nobody because he_loves, etc., until to and from/about goodtate his and impunitate to_himself blanditur. Not/No can_you, etc. Not/No he_said to_have riches, but to_serve. Servit who/which keeps/guards as servant; but who/which of_slavery shook yoke/collar, distributes as Master. Who serves mammonæ, them certainly serves who/which deservedly his/her_own perversitatis things to_these supervisor prince world from Master it_is_said.

UGNT οὐδεὶς οἰκέτης δύναται δυσὶ κυρίοις δουλεύειν, ἢ γὰρ τὸν ἕνα μισήσει, καὶ τὸν ἕτερον ἀγαπήσει; ἢ ἑνὸς ἀνθέξεται, καὶ τοῦ ἑτέρου καταφρονήσει. οὐ δύνασθε Θεῷ δουλεύειν καὶ μαμωνᾷ.
(oudeis oiketaʸs dunatai dusi kuriois douleuein, aʸ gar ton hena misaʸsei, kai ton heteron agapaʸsei; aʸ henos anthexetai, kai tou heterou katafronaʸsei. ou dunasthe Theōi douleuein kai mamōna.)

SBL-GNT οὐδεὶς οἰκέτης δύναται δυσὶ κυρίοις δουλεύειν· ἢ γὰρ τὸν ἕνα μισήσει καὶ τὸν ἕτερον ἀγαπήσει, ἢ ἑνὸς ἀνθέξεται καὶ τοῦ ἑτέρου καταφρονήσει. οὐ δύνασθε θεῷ δουλεύειν καὶ μαμωνᾷ.
(oudeis oiketaʸs dunatai dusi kuriois douleuein; aʸ gar ton hena misaʸsei kai ton heteron agapaʸsei, aʸ henos anthexetai kai tou heterou katafronaʸsei. ou dunasthe theōi douleuein kai mamōna.)

RP-GNT Οὐδεὶς οἰκέτης δύναται δυσὶν κυρίοις δουλεύειν· ἢ γὰρ τὸν ἕνα μισήσει, καὶ τὸν ἕτερον ἀγαπήσει· ἢ ἑνὸς ἀνθέξεται, καὶ τοῦ ἑτέρου καταφρονήσει. Οὐ δύνασθε θεῷ δουλεύειν καὶ μαμωνᾷ.
(Oudeis oiketaʸs dunatai dusin kuriois douleuein; aʸ gar ton hena misaʸsei, kai ton heteron agapaʸsei; aʸ henos anthexetai, kai tou heterou katafronaʸsei. Ou dunasthe theōi douleuein kai mamōna.)

TC-GNT Οὐδεὶς οἰκέτης δύναται δυσὶ κυρίοις δουλεύειν· ἢ γὰρ τὸν ἕνα [fn]μισήσει, καὶ τὸν ἕτερον ἀγαπήσει· ἢ ἑνὸς ἀνθέξεται, καὶ τοῦ ἑτέρου καταφρονήσει. Οὐ δύνασθε Θεῷ δουλεύειν καὶ μαμωνᾷ.
(Oudeis oiketaʸs dunatai dusi kuriois douleuein; aʸ gar ton hena misaʸsei, kai ton heteron agapaʸsei; aʸ henos anthexetai, kai tou heterou katafronaʸsei. Ou dunasthe Theōi douleuein kai mamōna. )

16:13 μισησει ¦ μεισησει TH

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN 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.

UTN 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.