Bible Strands
Matthew 18:25
Since the man was unable to pay, the master ordered that he be sold to pay his debt, along with his wife and children and everything he owned.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus narrates a parable to his disciples, placing the scene at the moment a king's servant is brought before him unable to settle a debt of ten thousand talents. The master acts as the sole authority who issues the sale order after the servant's initial plea is recorded.
The words — The Greek ἀποδοῦναι (apodounai) means "to pay back," while ἐκέλευσεν (ekeleusen) translates to "he commanded." These terms frame the master's decisive action following the man's inability to pay.
The thread — The forced sale of a debtor and his family echoes the distress recorded in Nehemiah 5:5 and 2 Kings 4:1, while Leviticus 25:39 later restricts such debt-slavery for Israelites. The parable draws on this legal and social reality to illustrate unpayable obligation.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition of a debt so vast that human resources cannot resolve it, leaving only the master's authority to determine the outcome. Readers must confront the reality of absolute accountability before any appeal for mercy.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
Cross-references
- Nehemiah 5:5 We and our children are just like our countrymen and their children, yet we are subjecting our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters are already enslaved, but we are powerless to redeem them because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”
- 2 Kings 4:1 Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant, my husband, is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And now his creditor is coming to take my two children as his slaves!”
- Leviticus 25:39 If a countryman among you becomes destitute and sells himself to you, then you must not force him into slave labor.
- Luke 7:42 When they were unable to repay him, he forgave both of them. Which one, then, will love him more?”
- Nehemiah 5:8 and said, “We have done our best to buy back our Jewish brothers who were sold to foreigners, but now you are selling your own brothers, that they may be sold back to us!” But they remained silent, for they could find nothing to say.
- Exodus 21:2 If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free without paying anything.
- Isaiah 50:1 This is what the LORD says: “Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce with which I sent her away? Or to which of My creditors did I sell you? Look, you were sold for your iniquities, and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.