Exegesis:

eipen oun ‘so he said,’ takes up eipen in v. 11.

anthrōpos tis eugenēs ‘a nobleman.’

eugenēs ‘well born,’ ‘high born.’

eporeuthē eis chōran makran labein heauatō basileian ‘travelled to a far country in order to receive for himself a kingship.’ The picture is that of a vassal king to be appointed by the Roman emperor. For allusions to contemporary events see commentaries.

kai hupostrepsai ‘and (then) to return,’ i.e. to his country over which he would have received the kingship, still dependent upon eporeuthē. hupostrepsai is added explicitly because the parable hinges on his return.

Translation:

A nobleman, or, ‘a certain nobleman,’ see on 7.41. If a specific term is not available, one may render the noun by, ‘a man of a chief’s family,’ ‘a descendant of chiefs,’ ‘a man of high position’ (cf. Sranan Tongo; similarly Ekari, lit. ‘a person having a name’).

Went, preferably ‘was about to go,’ ‘planned to travel.’

To receive kingly power, or ‘power to rule the kingdom’ (Thai), ‘authority of a chief’ (Kele). The phrase structure may have to be changed, e.g. “to be appointed king” (New English Bible), ‘to be installed as chief’ (Tae’ 1933), ‘that the emperor might appoint/grant him to be king/chief of his land.’ Some versions add a locative specification, ‘there to receive…’ (cf. Sranan Tongo, Sundanese, Bible de Jérusalem). For kingly power cf. also on “kingdom” in 1.33 and references.

Then return, or with a more explicit transition, ‘after that (or, having received it) to come back home’; or as a new sentence, ‘he intended to come back after that (or, after he had been appointed).’

Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.