19:21a

For: In this verse the servant explained the reason why he did not invest the money. He said that he hid it because he was afraid of his master. In Greek this reason is introduced with a conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as For. Other versions, such as the New International Version, Contemporary English Version, God’s Word, and New Living Translation (2004), do not translate this conjunction. Express the reason in a natural way in your language. Another way to do this in English is:

I did this because I was afraid of you

I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man: Here the servant told his reason for fearing his master. He thought that his master was a harsh man. In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of the clauses in 19:21a. For example:

You are a hard man, and I was afraid of you. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
You are very severe, so I feared you.

I was afraid of you: Here this clause implies that the servant was afraid that his master would be angry or punish him if he lost the coin. In some languages it may be necessary to make that explicit. For example:

I was afraid that you would be angry with me ⌊if I lost it⌋ (Translator’s Reference Translation)

you are a harsh man: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as harsh means “severe” or “strict.” Here it implies that the master demanded that his servants work hard and do the work exactly as he wanted them to. It may also imply that the master would punish them severely if they did not do the work properly. The servant thought that his master was a difficult man to serve. Here is another way to translate this:

you are a severe man (Revised Standard Version)

In some languages there is an idiom to describe this sort of person.

19:21b–c

The two statements in 19:21b and 19:21c explain what the servant meant by saying that his master was a “hard man.” The statements are figurative and were used as proverbs.

The two statements have the same basic meaning. They refer to a person who takes profit that he does not deserve. He gets this profit from work that other people did. The servant implied that his master was greedy and unjust.

You withdraw what you did not deposit: The Greek proverb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as You withdraw what you did not deposit describes someone who wants to gain or take more than he deserves. It often refers specifically to financial profit. If a literal translation is not clear in your language, you may translate the meaning more explicitly. For example:

You take out what you did not put in (New International Version)
-or-
You even take money that you didn’t earn (New Century Version)

If you have a proverb in your language that has the same meaning, you may be able to use it here.

and reap what you did not sow: This statement literally means “you harvest the crops that other people planted.” It refers to someone receiving the benefits from the hard work that other people have done.

In some languages it may be necessary to refer to a specific type of crop. Some ways to do that are:

• Supply a general word such as “grain.”

• Supply a specific grain if you do not have a suitable general word. It is good to use a grain grown in Israel, such as wheat or barley, if possible. If these are not known in your area, substitute a local crop.

If the meaning of the proverb would not be understood in your language, you may need to supply the meaning:

⌊You profit from the work done by someone else,⌋ like someone who harvests grain that he did not plant.

General Comment on 19:20–21

In some languages it may be helpful to put the reason for the slave’s actions in 19:21 before his conclusion in 19:20. For example:

21Another servant came and said, “Sir, you are a hard man. What you did not put in, you go and take out, and what you did not plant you go and reap. 20Because that is how you behave/are, I was afraid of you. So, I wrapped up the money you gave me in a piece of cloth and put it away. Here it is.”

If you decide to change the order of the verses in this way, you may combine the verse numbers. For example:

20–21Another…

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