Luke 16:3
New International Version
“The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg—

New Living Translation
“The manager thought to himself, ‘Now what? My boss has fired me. I don’t have the strength to dig ditches, and I’m too proud to beg.

English Standard Version
And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.

Berean Standard Bible
The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking away my position? I am too weak to dig and too ashamed to beg.

Berean Literal Bible
And the manager said within himself, 'What shall I do, for my master is taking away the management from me? I am not able to dig; I am ashamed to beg.

King James Bible
Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.

New King James Version
“Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.

New American Standard Bible
And the manager said to himself, ‘What am I to do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg.

NASB 1995
“The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg.

NASB 1977
“And the steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the stewardship away from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg.

Legacy Standard Bible
And the steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the stewardship away from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg.

Amplified Bible
The manager [of the estate] said to himself, ‘What will I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig [for a living], and I am ashamed to beg.

Christian Standard Bible
“Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do since my master is taking the management away from me? I’m not strong enough to dig; I’m ashamed to beg.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
“Then the manager said to himself, What should I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I’m not strong enough to dig; I’m ashamed to beg.

American Standard Version
And the steward said within himself, What shall I do, seeing that my lord taketh away the stewardship from me? I have not strength to dig; to beg I am ashamed.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
That steward said to himself, “What shall I do? My Lord has taken the stewardship from me; I cannot dig, and I am ashamed to beg.”

Contemporary English Version
The manager said to himself, "What shall I do now that my master is going to fire me? I can't dig ditches, and I'm ashamed to beg.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the steward said within himself: What shall I do, because my lord taketh away from me the stewardship? To dig I am not able; to beg I am ashamed.

English Revised Version
And the steward said within himself, What shall I do, seeing that my lord taketh away the stewardship from me? I have not strength to dig; to beg I am ashamed.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"The manager thought, 'What should I do? My master is taking my job away from me. I'm not strong enough to dig, and I'm ashamed to beg.

Good News Translation
The servant said to himself, 'My master is going to dismiss me from my job. What shall I do? I am not strong enough to dig ditches, and I am ashamed to beg.

International Standard Version
"Then the servant manager told himself, 'What should I do? My master is taking my position away from me. I'm not strong enough to plow, and I'm ashamed to beg.

Literal Standard Version
And the steward said in himself, What will I do, because my lord takes away the stewardship from me? I am not able to dig, I am ashamed to beg—

Majority Standard Bible
The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking away my position? I am too weak to dig and too ashamed to beg.

New American Bible
The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me? I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.

NET Bible
Then the manager said to himself, 'What should I do, since my master is taking my position away from me? I'm not strong enough to dig, and I'm too ashamed to beg.

New Revised Standard Version
Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.

New Heart English Bible
"The manager said within himself, 'What will I do, seeing that my lord is taking away the management position from me? I do not have strength to dig. I am ashamed to beg.

Webster's Bible Translation
Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.

Weymouth New Testament
"Then the steward said within himself, "'What am I to do? For my master is taking away the stewardship from me. I am not strong enough for field labour: to beg, I should be ashamed.

World English Bible
“The manager said within himself, ‘What will I do, seeing that my lord is taking away the management position from me? I don’t have strength to dig. I am ashamed to beg.

Young's Literal Translation
'And the steward said in himself, What shall I do, because my lord doth take away the stewardship from me? to dig I am not able, to beg I am ashamed: --

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Parable of the Shrewd Manager
2So he called him in to ask, ‘What is this I hear about you? Turn in an account of your management, for you cannot be manager any longer.’ 3 The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking away my position? I am too weak to dig and too ashamed to beg. 4I know what I will do, so that after my removal from management, people will welcome me into their homes.’…

Cross References
Matthew 20:8
When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last ones hired and moving on to the first.'

Luke 16:2
So he called him in to ask, 'What is this I hear about you? Turn in an account of your management, for you cannot be manager any longer.'

Luke 16:4
I know what I will do, so that after my removal from management, people will welcome me into their homes.'


Treasury of Scripture

Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord takes away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.

said.

Luke 18:4
And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;

Esther 6:6
So Haman came in. And the king said unto him, What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour? Now Haman thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honour more than to myself?

What.

Luke 12:17
And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

Isaiah 10:3
And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory?

Jeremiah 5:31
The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?

I cannot.

Proverbs 13:4
The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.

Proverbs 15:19
The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain.

Proverbs 18:9
He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.

to beg.

Luke 16:20,22
And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, …

Proverbs 20:4
The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.

Mark 10:46
And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.

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Ashamed Beg Dig Enough Field Fields Job Labour Management Manager Master Money Position Requests Servant Shamed Steward Stewardship Streets Strength Strong What Within Working
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Ashamed Beg Dig Enough Field Fields Job Labour Management Manager Master Money Position Requests Servant Shamed Steward Stewardship Streets Strength Strong What Within Working
Luke 16
1. The parable of the unjust steward.
14. Jesus reproves the hypocrisy of the covetous Pharisees.
19. The parable of the rich man and Lazarus the beggar.














(3) I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.--In the outer framework of the parable there is something eminently characteristic in this utterance of the steward's thoughts. He has lost the manliness and strength which would have fitted him for actual labour. He retains the false shame which makes him prefer fraud to poverty. He shudders at the thought that it might be his lot to sit, like Lazarus, and ask an alms at the rich man's door. Spiritually, we may see what happens to a religious caste or order, like the Pharisees, when it forfeits its true calling by misuse. It has lost the power to prepare the ground for future fruitfulness by the "digging," which answers, as in Luke 13:8, to the preliminary work of education and other influences that lie outside direct religious activity. It is religious and ecclesiastical, or it is nothing. It is ashamed to confess its spiritual poverty, and to own that it is "poor, and blind, and naked" (Revelation 3:17). Anything seems better than either of those alternatives.

Verse 3. - What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship. This day of dismissal must be prepared for; very carefully, very anxiously, the man who has received the sentence of doom ponders over his future. The lesson of the Master is spoken to all; it is a solemn warning to each of us to see what we can do by way of providing for the inevitable day when we shall find ourselves alone and naked and perhaps friendless in the great, strange world to come. The hero of the parable seems suddenly, after a life of carelessness and thoughtlessness, to have awakened to a sense of his awful danger. So the voice of the real Owner of the goods, which we have so long deluded ourselves into thinking were our own, comes to us, bidding us make ready to give them back again to him, their Owner, and at the same time to render an account of our administration of them. The voice comes to us in the varied forms of conscience, sickness, misfortune, old age, sorrow, and the like; well for us if, when we hear it, we at once determine, as did the steward of the parable, to make a wise use of the goods in our power for the little time they are still left to us to dispose of as we will.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
The
(ho)
Article - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

manager
οἰκονόμος (oikonomos)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3623: A household manager, a steward, guardian.

said
Εἶπεν (Eipen)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 2036: Answer, bid, bring word, command. A primary verb; to speak or say.

to
ἐν (en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

himself,
ἑαυτῷ (heautō)
Reflexive Pronoun - Dative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1438: Himself, herself, itself.

‘What
Τί (Ti)
Interrogative / Indefinite Pronoun - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 5101: Who, which, what, why. Probably emphatic of tis; an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what.

shall I do,
ποιήσω (poiēsō)
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 1st Person Singular
Strong's 4160: (a) I make, manufacture, construct, (b) I do, act, cause. Apparently a prolonged form of an obsolete primary; to make or do.

now that
ὅτι (hoti)
Conjunction
Strong's 3754: Neuter of hostis as conjunction; demonstrative, that; causative, because.

my
μου (mou)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 1st Person Singular
Strong's 1473: I, the first-person pronoun. A primary pronoun of the first person I.

master
κύριός (kyrios)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2962: Lord, master, sir; the Lord. From kuros; supreme in authority, i.e. controller; by implication, Master.

is taking
ἀφαιρεῖται (aphaireitai)
Verb - Present Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 851: To take away, smite off. From apo and haireomai; to remove.

away
ἀπ’ (ap’)
Preposition
Strong's 575: From, away from. A primary particle; 'off, ' i.e. Away, in various senses.

my
ἐμοῦ (emou)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 1st Person Singular
Strong's 1473: I, the first-person pronoun. A primary pronoun of the first person I.

[position]?
οἰκονομίαν (oikonomian)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3622: Management of household affairs, stewardship, administration. From oikonomos; administration; specially, a 'economy'.

I am too weak
ἰσχύω (ischyō)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular
Strong's 2480: To have strength, be strong, be in full health and vigor, be able; meton: I prevail. From ischus; to have force.

to dig
σκάπτειν (skaptein)
Verb - Present Infinitive Active
Strong's 4626: To dig, excavate. Apparently a primary verb; to dig.

[and] too ashamed
αἰσχύνομαι (aischynomai)
Verb - Present Indicative Middle or Passive - 1st Person Singular
Strong's 153: To be ashamed, be put to shame. From aischos; to feel shame.

to beg.
ἐπαιτεῖν (epaitein)
Verb - Present Infinitive Active
Strong's 1871: To beg, be a beggar, ask alms. From epi and aiteo; to ask for.


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NT Gospels: Luke 16:3 The manager said within himself 'What will (Luke Lu Lk)
Luke 16:2
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