Luke 16:5

5 "So, after making appointments with each of his employer's debtors, he said to the first, `How much do you owe my boss?'

Luke 16:5 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 16:5

So he called every one of his Lord's debtors
Either the Gentiles, who were greatly indebted to God, having sinned against him, and the law, and light of nature, at a great rate; into whose affections, houses, and palaces, the Jews found ways and means to introduce themselves; and, in process of time, got leave to have synagogues built, and their worship set up again: or else the Jews, their countrymen; since these were under those stewards, tutors, and governors, and were debtors to do the whole law; and had, by breaking the law, contracted large debts; and against whom the ceremonial law stood as an handwriting: these the steward called

unto him, and said unto the first, how much owest thou unto my
Lord?
and it is observable, that the debts of these men, of the first, lay in oil, and of the other in wheat; things much used in the ceremonial law, in the observance of which they had been, greatly deficient; see ( Exodus 29:40 Exodus 29:41 ) ( Numbers 15:4-12 ) ( Ezekiel 45:13 Ezekiel 45:14 )

Luke 16:5 In-Context

3 "`What am I to do?' said the manager to himself. `My boss is firing me, I'm not strong enough to dig ditches, and I'm ashamed to go begging.
4 Aha! I know what I'll do -- something that will make people welcome me into their homes after I've lost my job here!'
5 "So, after making appointments with each of his employer's debtors, he said to the first, `How much do you owe my boss?'
6 `Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,' he replied. `Take your note back,' he told him. `Now, quickly! Sit down and write one for four hundred!'
7 To the next he said, `And you, how much do you owe?' `A thousand bushels of wheat,' he replied. `Take your note back and write one for eight hundred.'
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.