This saying, repeated in 25.29 (see Mark 4.25; Luke 8.18), is difficult; some scholars even speak of it as “obscure.” It is in the form of a proverb, and commentators note the similarity between it and the proverbial sayings of certain Jewish teachers. For example, some of them taught that God gave wisdom to the wise, but not to the foolish, thereby filling vessels that were already full, while leaving others empty. Here the application is to Jesus’ disciples; they have received an understanding of the way that God works, and to them he will grant a deeper understanding. But others have refused this wisdom, and so in the final judgment God will take from them what they have.
For is not used as a preposition; it serves to indicate a logical connection between verses 11 and 12. Obviously many languages have a simple word that corresponds to For. Others have to strengthen it with a phrase like “(For) you see, to him…” or “This is true because.”
Him who has (Good News Translation “person who has something”): as may be observed from Revised Standard Version, the Greek text does not have an expressed object of the verb has, and for many languages an object will be required. To supply “something” (Good News Translation) may imply material possessions and possibly even money. And the restructuring of New American Bible will definitely cause the majority of readers to think in material terms: “To the man who has, more will be given until he grows rich.” Many languages will require an object after has, and some decision must be made. In the context the implied object is “understanding,” especially as it relates to the activity of God in establishing his Kingdom in the world. Therefore one may translate “who has understanding,” or “who understands the secrets of God’s Kingdom,” or “who understands the secret ways that God goes about establishing his Kingdom in the world.”
Will more be given may need to be transformed into an active construction with God as subject: “God will give more understanding.” Actually the whole first part of the sentence may need to be restructured, as in “For the person who has understanding, God will give that person more of it” or “For it is the person who has understanding to whom God will give more of it.”
Note that him means “person” and does not refer to males only.
And he will have abundance is translated “so that he will have more than enough” by Good News Translation and “… will be plentifully supplied” by An American Translation. The meaning is that the person will receive more than is sufficient, but the wording of Good News Bible may imply that he receives more than he actually wants. One may translate “until he has all the understanding that he needs, and even more.”
Him who has not (Good News Translation “the person who has nothing”): as with “something” in the first half of this verse, so “nothing” may also be understood of material possessions. Therefore one may need to translate similarly, “who does not have any understanding.”
It is not logical to state that even what he has will be taken from the person who has nothing. But the statement is one of exaggeration for emphasis, as is typical in parables. In order to stress the smallness of what he has, Good News Translation translates “even the little he has” (New American Bible “what little he has”).
Will be taken away may be translated “God will take away from him.”
The second part of the verse may be restructured also, as was the first part: “but the person who has no understanding, God will take from him even the little he has” or “but God will take away from the person who has no understanding even the little he has.”
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .