Even though the text uses the word gave, the meaning is not that he gave a gift to each servant, but that he entrusted the money to them to manage. Some translators have had to say “gave to take care of.”

Five talents is stated in a more dynamic form in several translations: “five bags of gold” (New English Bible) and “five thousand gold coins” (Good News Translation). The talent was worth between five and six thousand denarii (see 18.24, 28). Sometimes it is tempting to express the value in modern currencies such as pounds or dollars or francs. But this should be avoided, since currencies may quickly change their market value. It is the relative value of five, two, and one that is important, not the actual value, and so it may be better to use something more general such as “five bags of gold,” “five bags of money,” or “five thousand pieces of gold.” If translators can use a term that refers to coins, it is better than one which refers to paper money, which may become rotten in the ground if it is buried.

According to his ability relates to the servants, not to the man who is giving out the money. Barclay makes this clear by saying “He gave each man a sum proportionate to his ability.” Another way to express this is “the amount he gave each man depended on how skilful that servant was.” Whether to put this expression at the beginning of the sentence (Good News Translation) or at the end (Revised Standard Version, Barclay) will depend on the receptor language.

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 .