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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.comVincent Word Studies - Matthew 18:28 - 18:28
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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
Found
Either went in search of him, as he himself had been sought out by his lord, or came upon him accidentally in the street.
A hundred pence (ἑκατὸν δηνάρια)
Less than a millionth part of his own debt.
Took him by the throat (αὐτὸν ἔπνιγεν)
Lit., throttled. Wyc., strangled. Compare were choked, Mar 5:13. Creditors often dragged their debtors before the judge, as the Roman law allowed them to do, holding them by the throat. Thus Livy (4:53), relates how, a difficulty having arisen between the consul Valerius and one Menenius, the tribunes put an end to the contest, and the consul ordered into prison (collum torsisset, twisted the neck) the few who appealed. And Cicero (“Pro Cluentio,” xxi.) “Lead him to the judgment-seat with twisted neck (collo obtorto).” Compare Cicero, “In C. Verrem,” 4:10.
What thou owest (εἴ τι ὀφείλεις)
Lit., If thou owest anything. Not that the creditor is uncertain about the fact of the debt, though some uncertainty about the exact amount may be implied. This would agree with found, in the sense of coming upon accidentally. Compare Mat 13:44. He came suddenly upon him and recognized him as a debtor, though not certain as to the amount of his debt. Meyer remarks, “The if is simply the expression of a pitiless logic. If thou owest anything (as thou dost) pay!” The word pay (ἀπόδος) is emphatic in position.