17:9
Does he thank the servant because he did what he was told?: This is a rhetorical question. Jesus used this rhetorical question to emphasize that the master would not do this.
Some ways to translate this emphasis are:
• As a rhetorical question. For example:
Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? (English Standard Version)
-or-
The servant does not deserve thanks for obeying orders, does he? (Good News Translation)
• As a statement. For example:
The servant does not get any special thanks for doing what his master commanded. (New Century Version)
In some languages it may be necessary to supply an answer to the question. For example:
And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was told to do? Of course not. (New Living Translation (2004))
Translate this emphasis in a way that is natural in your language.
Does he thank the servant: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Does he thank is more literally “does he have thanks.” In this context the word “thanks” refers to special thanks, praise, or reward. The question in this verse implies that the master is not obligated to give his slave a special reward, privileges, or thanks just for obeying orders.
Some other ways to translate this are:
Would he thank/reward his servant
-or-
Should he give ⌊his servant⌋ special thanks/privileges
because he did what he was told: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as because he did what he was told is literally “because he did the things commanded.” This clause is passive. Some ways to translate it are:
• As a passive clause. For example:
because he did what was commanded (English Standard Version)
• As an active clause. For example:
for doing what his master commanded (New Century Version)
© 2009, 2010, 2013 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.