Luke 16:13-15

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Luke 16:13 sn The contrast between hate and love here is rhetorical. The point is that one will choose the favorite if a choice has to be made.
2. Luke 16:13 tn Or “and treat [the other] with contempt.”
3. Luke 16:13 tn Grk “God and mammon.” This is the same word (μαμωνᾶς, mamōnas; often merely transliterated as “mammon”) translated “worldly wealth” in vv. 9, 11.sn The term money is used to translate mammon, the Aramaic term for wealth or possessions. The point is not that money is inherently evil, but that it is often misused so that it is a means of evil; see 1 Tim 6:6-10, 17-19. Here “money” is personified as a potential master and thus competes with God for the loyalty of the disciple. The passage is ultimately not a condemnation of wealth (there is no call here for absolute poverty) but a call for unqualified discipleship. God must be first, not money or possessions.
4. Luke 16:14 sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.
5. Luke 16:14 tn A figurative extension of the literal meaning “to turn one’s nose up at someone”; here “ridicule, sneer at, show contempt for” (L&N 33.409).
6. Luke 16:15 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
7. Luke 16:15 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8. Luke 16:15 tn Grk “before men.” The contrast is between outward appearance (“in people’s eyes”) and inward reality (“God knows your hearts”). Here the Greek term ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) is used twice in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, but “men” has been retained in the text to provide a strong verbal contrast with “God” in the second half of the verse.
9. Luke 16:15 tn Or “exalted.” This refers to the pride that often comes with money and position.
10. Luke 16:15 tn Or “is an abomination,” “is abhorrent” (L&N 25.187).