Search Tools

Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds.

And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority ° over ten cities.

18

And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.

19

And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities.

20

And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin:

21

For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow.

22

And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:

23

Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?

24

And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds.

25

(And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) °

26

For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him.

27

But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.

Luke 19:17

19:17 authority over ten cities. In the parable of the pounds, the Lord rewards His servants in accordance with the quantity of return produced from equal gifts. In the somewhat similar parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), the reward is based on proportionate return from unequal gifts. The conclusion from the two parables is that our rewards when Christ returns are based on both quantitative and qualitative criteria. The Lord will take full and understanding account of both our opportunities and our works. He is well able to discern and to “give every man according as his work shall be” (Revelation 22:12). In the parable of the pounds, the nobleman went “into a far country” (Luke 19:12). In the parable of the talents, Jesus gives the additional information that the master only returned “after a long time” (Matthew 25:19).

The Institute for Creation Research

New Defender's Study Bible Notes

ICR Menu