Vv. 28-34. The other side of the pic- ture.—Ver. 28. ἕνα τ. συνδούλων a.: 2 fellow-slave though a humble one, which he should have remembered, but did not.
243
ὁ κύριος τοῦ δούλου ἐκείνου 1 ἀπέλυσεν αὐτόν, καὶ τὸ 7 δάνειον ἀφῆκεν y here only
αὐτῷ.
λέγων, ᾿Απόδος por? ὅ τι» ὀφείλεις.
αὐτοῦ εἰς τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ * παρεκάλει αὐτόν, λέγων, Μακροθύμησον
ἐπ᾽ ἐμοί,ὃ καὶ πάντα ὃ ἀποδώσω σοι.
(Deut. xv.
28. ᾿Εξελθὼν δὲ 6 δοῦλος exeivos! εὗρεν ἕνα τῶν συνδούλων 8; xxiv. A - 11). αὐτοῦ, ὃς ὤφειλεν αὐτῷ ἑκατὸν δηνάρια, καὶ κρατήσας αὐτὸν "ἔπνιγε, z here and
in M
k. ν. 13 (of drown- ing).
29. πεσὼν οὖν ὁ σύνδουλος
30. ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἤθελεν, ἀλλὰ
ἀπελθὼν ἔβαλεν αὐτὸν eis φυλακήν, ἕως οὗ ” ἀποδῷ τὸ ὀφειλόμενον. 34. ἰδόντες δὲ 5 of σύνδουλοι αὐτοῦ τὰ γενόµενα ἐλυπήθησαν σφόδρα”
1 B omits εκεινου here (W.H. in brackets) and εκεινος in νετ. 28.
7 NBDL omit por.
3 SSBCD and other uncials have ει τι.
modern editors.
οτι (Τ. R.) onlyin minus., rejected by
4 eis τ. π. αυτου omitted in NBCDL and by modern editors.
5 So in ΑΒ and many uncials.
CDL have en’ epe.
6 παντα is feebly attested and unsuitable to the case.
7 ews in SBCL.
---ἑκατὸν δηνάρια: some fifty shillings ; an utterly insignificant debt, which, coming out from the presence of a king, who had remitted so much to him, he should not even haves remembered, far less been in the mood to exact.— κρατήσας a. ἔπνιγε: seizing, he choked, throttled him, after the brutal manner allowed by ancient custom, and even by Roman law. The act foretokens merci- less treatment: no remission of debt to be looked for in this quarter.—améSos εἴ τι ὀφ. In the et τι some ingenious com- mentators (Fritzsche, ε.ρ.) have dis- covered Greek urbanity! (‘* Non sine urbanitate Graeci a conditionis vinculo aptarunt, quod a nulla conditione sus- pensum sit.”) Weiss comes nearer the truth when he sees in it an expression of ‘merciless logic”. He will have payment of whatever is due, were it only apenny.—Ver. 20. μµακροθύμησον, etc.: the identical words he used him- self just a few minutes ago, reminding him surely of his position as a pardoned debtor, and moving him to like conduct. —Ver. 30. ovx7edev: no pity awakened by the words which echoed his own petition. ‘‘He would not.’ Is such conduct credible? Two remarks may be made on this. In parabolic narra- tions the improbable has sometimes to be resorted to, to illustrate the unnatural behaviour of men in the spiritual sphere, é.g., in the parable oi the feast (Lk. xiv. 16-24) all refuse; how unlikely! But the action of the pardoned debtor is not so improbable as it seems. He acts on
8ουν in NBD 33 e.
the instinct of a base nature, and also doubtless in accordance with long habits of harsh tyrannical behaviour towards men in his power. Every way a bad man: greedy, grasping in acquisition of wealth, prodigal in spending it, un- scrupulous in using what is not his awn. —Ver. 31. idvres of σ. ἐλυπήθησαν: the other fellow-servants were greatly vexed or grieved. At what? the fate of the poor debtor? Why then not pay the debt ? (Koetsveld). Not sympathy so much as annoyance at the unbecoming conduct of the merciless one who had obtained mercy was the feeling.—S8veod- φησαν: reported the facts (narraverunt, Vulg.), and so threw light on the charac- ter of the man (cf. Mt. xiii. 36, W. and H.)—7@ κ. ἑαυτῶν, to their own master, to whom therefore they might speak on a matter affecting his interest.—Ver. 32. 8. πονηρέ: the king could understand and overlook dishonesty in money matters, but not such inhumanity and villainy. τ. ὀφειλὴν, ἐ.: huge, un- countable.—érrel παρεκάλεσάς pe, when you entreated me. In point of fact he had not, at least in words, asked re- mission but only time to pay. Ungenerous himself, he was incapable of conceiving, and therefore of appreciating such mag- nificent generosity.—Ver. 33. οὐκ ἔδει; was it not your duty? an appeal to the sense of decency and gratitude.—xai σὲ ἠλέησα. There was condescension in putting the two cases together as parallel. Ten thousand acts of forgive- ness such as the culprit was asked to