Translation commentary on Matthew 18:23

The English word Therefore is not a good translation of the Greek phrase here. Jesus has just said that there should be no limit to forgiveness, and now he goes on to give the reason for that statement, which has to do with the magnitude of divine forgiveness as seen in this next parable. So a better translation than Therefore is “I tell you this because God’s rule is like this story” or “The reason you must forgive like that can be seen in this parable about God’s rule. It is like this.” Note that a phrase such as “God’s Kingdom is like a king” is not really the correct comparison. Jesus is comparing God’s rule to the situation in the whole parable.

For the kingdom of heaven, see comment at 3.2; for may be compared to, see comment at 13.24. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “When God establishes his Kingdom, he will act like a king who wanted to check up on those who were in charge of his possessions,” INCL “When God establishes his rule, the situation will be like that described in this parable,” and Barclay “That is why what happens in the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared with the situation which arose when a king wished to settle accounts with his servants.”

Settle accounts is often used in a very negative sense in English. It can be understood as taking revenge, or possibly as dismissing the servants. In fact, in this verse the correct idea is better seen in a phrase such as “examine the accounts” or “check on what each of his servants owed him.”

In this parable, and in the total biblical context, a king’s servants were his higher officials. In this case this is evident from the large amount of money entrusted to them (see verse 24). Translators should therefore try to use a word that will refer to officials or high-ranking servants rather than inferior ones.

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Matthew 18:23



Paragraph 18:23–25

18:23a

Because of this: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Because of this is more literally “because of this.” This phrase introduces a parable about forgiveness in the kingdom of heaven. The parable illustrates that when God forgives a person for his many sins, that person must forgive his fellow man for his few sins. If he does not forgive, God will judge him. This parable is closely related to Jesus’s command in verses 21–22 to forgive 77 times.

Here are some other ways to introduce this parable:

• Use a connecting word or phrase. For example:

Because this ⌊is true⌋
-or-

⌊You must forgive like that⌋ because
-or-
In order to ⌊make clear why you should do this⌋

• Leave the connection between Jesus’ command and the parable implied. For example:

This story will show you what the kingdom of heaven is like (Contemporary English Version)

the kingdom of heaven: The phrase kingdom of heaven has the same meaning as the phrase “kingdom of God.” This phrase also occurs in 18:1b. You should translate it the same way in both places. For example:

• As a noun. For example:

the kingdom of God
-or-
God’s kingship
-or-
God’s rule over people
-or-
the rule of ⌊the one/Lord who lives in⌋ heaven

• As a verbal expression. For example:

the way God rules his people
-or-
the way God cares for his people as king

is like: The phrase is like indicates that Jesus was going to compare one thing with another. He compared the kingdom of God (in particular forgiveness in the kingdom), to the forgiveness of the king in the parable.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

is like ⌊this⌋
-or-
is like ⌊this parable:⌋

18:23b

a king: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as a king is more literally “a man a king.” This means “a man who was a king.” In most languages, it will not be necessary to translate the word “man.”

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

a certain king/chief

who wanted: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as wanted indicates that the king had made a decision.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

who decided (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
who wished (English Standard Version)

to settle accounts: In this context, the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as accounts refers to financial records. Usually these records were debts that need to be repaid. So the Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to settle refers to arrangements to pay off those debts.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

to collect the money his servants owed him (New Century Version)
-or-
to ask his workers to pay him the money that they owed him

with his servants: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as servants also means slaves. It usually refers to people who were owned by someone else. Many slaves in that time had absolutely no authority. But if they were slaves of a rich person, and if they were capable people, they could be given great responsibility.

In this context, this word refers to people who were in charge of the king’s finances. In some languages, it may be better to use a word other than “servant” or “slave.” For example:

his ⌊important⌋ workers

-or-

his officials (Contemporary English Version)

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