Luke 16:7

Then he said to another, ‘How much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred cors of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’

World English Bible
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Other translations

WEBBE

Then he said to another, ‘How much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred cors of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’

BSB

Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ ‘A hundred measures of wheat,’ he replied. ‘Take your bill and write eighty,’ he told him.

KJV

Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.

ASV

Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, A hundred measures of wheat. He saith unto him, Take thy bond, and write fourscore.

BBE

Then he said to another, What is the amount of your debt? And he said, A hundred measures of grain. And he said to him, Take your account and put down eighty.

Original Greek

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ἔπειτα epeita Then G1899 ἑτέρῳ heterō to another G2087 εἶπεν eipen he said G2036 σὺ su You yourself G4771 δὲ de now G1161 πόσον poson how much G4214 ὀφείλεις; opheileis owe G3784 ὁ ho (the) G3588 δὲ de And G1161 εἶπεν eipen he said G2036 ἑκατὸν hekaton A hundred G1540 κόρους korous cors G2884 σίτου sitou of wheat G4621 καὶ kai and G2532 λέγει legei He says G3004 αὐτῷ autō to him G846 δέξαι dexai do take G1209 σου sou your G4771 τὰ ta (the) G3588 γράμματα grammata bills G1121 καὶ kai and G2532 γράψον grapson do write G1125 ὀγδοήκοντα ogdoēkonta eighty G3589

The early church

From this we learn then, that we are not ourselves the masters, but rather the stewards of the property of others.
Ambrose of Milan · d. 397Catena Aurea (Aquinas, 1274)
(de Qu. Ev. l. ii. qu. 34.) Or because out of the hundred measures of oil, he caused fifty to be written down by the debtors, and of the hundred measures of wheat, fourscore, the meaning thereof is this, that those things which every Jew performs toward the Priests and Levites should be the more abundant in the Church of Christ, that whereas they give a tenth, Christians should give a half, as Zaccheus gave of his goods, (Luke 19:8.) or at least by giving two tenths, that is, a fifth, exceed the payments of the Jews.
Augustine of Hippo · d. 430Catena Aurea (Aquinas, 1274)
A cadus in Greek is a vessel containing three urns. It follows, And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty, forgiving him the half. It follows, Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. A corus is made up of thirty bushels. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore, forgiving him a fifth part. It may be then simply taken as follows: whosoever relieves the want of a poor man, either by supplying half or a fifth part, will be blessed with the reward of his mercy.
Bede · d. 735Catena Aurea (Aquinas, 1274)

Commentary

Matthew Henry · Verses 1–12

Whatever we have, the property of it is God's; we have only the use of it, according to the direction of our great Lord, and for his honour. This steward wasted his lord's goods. And we are all liable to the same charge; we have not made due improvement of what God has trusted us with. The steward cannot deny it; he must make up his accounts, and be gone. This may teach us that death will come, and deprive us of the opportunities we now have. The steward will make friends of his lord's debtors or tenants, by striking off a considerable part of their debt to his lord. The lord referred to in this parable commended not the fraud, but the policy of the steward. In that respect alone is it so noticed. Worldly men, in the choice of their object, are foolish; but in their activity, and perseverance, they are often wiser than believers. The unjust steward is not set before us as an example in cheating his master, or to justify any dishonesty, but to point out the careful ways of worldly men. It would be well if the children of light would learn wisdom from the men of the world, and would as earnestly pursue their better object. The true riches signify spiritual blessings; and if a man spends upon himself, or hoards up what God has trusted to him, as to outward things, what evidence can he have, that he is an heir of God through Christ? The riches of this world are deceitful and uncertain. Let us be convinced that those are truly rich, and very rich, who are rich in faith, and rich toward God, rich in Christ, in the promises; let us then lay up our treasure in heaven, and expect our portion from thence.

Read Matthew Henry on Luke 16 →

Cross-references

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Topics

WheatCor

Cross-references: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. Hebrew and Greek data from STEPBible.org (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0. Library: sources.