13:34

In this verse Jesus used a short parable or illustration to teach his disciples about how they should act while he was away from them. What follows is an explanation. It explains that his disciples should watch for the Son of Man to come like servants watch for their master to come back from a trip. Another way to express that connection is:

The coming of the Son of Man can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. (New Living Translation)

In this parable Jesus used present forms of the verbs. In some languages it may be natural for the verbs in such a story to be in the past tense. See the General Comment on 13:34a–e at the end of 13:34e for an example of how to translate it in this way.

13:34a

It is like a man: In the Greek text, the phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as It is like a man is literally “like a man.” The Berean Standard Bible has supplied the words It is to provide a subject and verb for the sentence, since it is necessary for good English grammar. For example:

It’s like a man… (New International Version)
-or-
It will be like a man… (Good News Bible)

Another way to say this is:

Listen to this story/illustration. There was a man…

In some languages it may be necessary to have a more specific subject like “my coming.” For example:

My coming will be like…

a man: The man is the main character of this parable. You should introduce this man in a way that is natural in your language. For example:

a certain man

The context shows that the man owned a house and had servants or slaves.

going on a journey: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as going on a journey refers to going away temporarily on a journey. He will come back. The God’s Word has another way to translate the whole phrase “It is like a man going on a journey”:

It is like a man who went on a trip.

13:34b–c

who left his house, put each servant in charge: The man put his servants in charge before he left. In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of the verbs. For example:

When he is about to leave his house, he puts his servants in charge
-or-
When that man was leaving his house like that, he put his servants in charge

put each servant in charge: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates with the English idiom put…in charge is literally “gave authority” (as in the King James Version).

Here are some other ways to translate this:

…he entrusts the work of the house to his servants.
-or-
…he gave instructions to his servants, saying “Take care of everything.”

In some languages it may be necessary to specify what the servants were put in charge of. In some languages you may need to supply a general expression like “everything” or “the house.” For example:

he puts his servants in charge of all the tasks
-or-
he tells his servants to take care of his/the house

servant: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as servant means “slave” (as in the NET Bible). This word refers to people who were owned by another person. They worked for their owner/master without receiving pay. They had no rights of their own (or very few rights).

In some cultures, slaves may not be known. In other cultures, the word for slave may imply different customs than in biblical culture. If that is true in your language, here are some other ways to translate this:

people who belonged to someone else
-or-
owned people
-or-
people who serve someone
-or-
workers/servants

13:34d

of his own task: The clause of his own task means that the master gave work to each servant. In some languages it may be natural to translate this with a separate clause or sentence. For example:

He gave to each servant his own task to do.
-or-
He assigned work to each one (God’s Word)

13:34e

and instructed the doorkeeper to keep watch: The task that the master gave to the doorkeeper was to keep watch.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

and ordered the one at the door to keep watch
-or-
and instructed the guard to stay alert

In some languages, it may be natural to translate tells…to keep watch as direct speech. For example:

He told the doorkeeper: “You are to keep watch over my house.”

instructed: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as instructed is literally “commanded” or “ordered.”

the doorkeeper: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the doorkeeper refers to the servant who stayed at the door to guard the house. He did not allow enemies to enter. He also unlocked the door for his master and for whomever his master wanted to enter.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

one at the door (New International Version)
-or-
gatekeeper (New Living Translation)
-or-
guard (God’s Word)

to keep watch: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to keep watch means “be alert.” The master wanted the servant to keep awake and watch for his return. The servant should also stay alert to see that no enemy entered the house during his master’s absence. The form of the verb keep watch indicates that the action should be continuous.

General Comment on 13:34a–e

In some languages it may be natural for a speaker to use the past tense when telling a short story or illustration like this one. For example, the God’s Word says:

As he left home, he put his servants in charge. He assigned work to each one and ordered the guard to be alert.

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