12:37a

Blessed are those servants whom the master finds on watch when he returns: In this context there is one master, and he has more than one servant. Your translation should not imply that there is more than one master. Some other ways to translate the clause are:

How happy are those servants whose master finds them awake (Good News Translation)
-or-
Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake
-or-
If their master finds them watching when he arrives, those servants will be most blessed/fortunate.

Blessed are those servants: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as Blessed are those servants means that these servants will be truly happy or fortunate. In this context it implies that their master will be pleased with them and will show them special favor.

See bless, Meaning 3 in the Glossary.

servants: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as servants also means “slaves.” Some English versions, such as the New American Standard Bible and New Revised Standard Version, translate it that way. These people were owned by another person. They worked for their owner/master without receiving pay.

In some cultures, slaves may not be known. In other cultures, a word such as “slaves” may have the wrong connotations. If that is true in your language, other ways to translate this are:

workers
-or-
servants

whom the master finds on watch when he returns: The clause whom the master finds on watch when he returns indicates here that the master sees that his servants are awake and expecting him to come. Some other ways to translate this are:

whose master finds them awake and ready (Good News Translation)
-or-
he sees that they were watching for him (New Century Version)
-or-
whom the master finds alert (New Revised Standard Version)

12:37b

Truly I tell you: Jesus often used the words Truly I tell you to introduce a statement that he wanted to emphasize. He wanted people to listen with extra attention. Some other ways to show this emphasis are:

I assure you (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
I can guarantee this truth (God’s Word)

This expression first occurs in Luke at 4:24a. It has almost the same meaning as the expression “I tell you,” which first occurs in Luke in 10:12.

he will dress himself to serve: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as he will dress himself to serve is literally “he will gird himself.” Some English versions, such as the Revised Standard Version, translate it that way. It is a different form of the same verb used in 12:35. See the note there. In 12:35 the verb was used as a metaphor for a servant being ready.

In the parable in this context, the master had just returned from a wedding feast. He may have changed his clothes, but it is also possible that he simply tucked his robe up into the sash around his waist. Either way, the clause literally describes what the master did with his clothes in order to serve a meal to his servants.

In some languages a literal translation of the clause will not be clear. Some other ways to translate it are:

• Use clothing that is appropriate in your culture for expressing the meaning. For example:

He will hitch up his robe (Revised English Bible)
-or-
He will fasten his belt (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
put on an apron (New Living Translation (2004))

• Refer to clothing in general and make the function explicit, if necessary. For example:

He will change his clothes (God’s Word)
-or-
He will dress himself to serve (New Century Version)

• Omit the reference to clothing. Translate only the function of the clothing. For example:

he will get ready (Contemporary English Version)

Consider how the people in your language area dress themselves in order to do work such as cooking and serving food.

12:37c

will have them recline at the table: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as have them recline at the table is literally “have them recline.” The Berean Standard Bible has supplied the phrase at the table to indicate the specific meaning in this context.

When people ate formal meals in Jesus’ time, they often lay on couches around a low table. They ate while leaning on one elbow. If people in your culture do not normally lie on couches when they eat formal meals, you may use a natural expression in your culture for this context. For example:

make them sit down at the table (God’s Word)
-or-
tell the servants to sit at the table (New Century Version)
-or-
have them sit down to eat (New Revised Standard Version)

See also 7:36b and 11:37c.

and he himself will come and wait on them: The phrase he himself will come and wait on them indicates that the master will come to where his servants are at the table and will serve them food. In some languages it may be possible to leave the verb will come implied. For example:

will give/serve them their food
-or-
will feed them

© 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.