Exegesis:

eipen de en heautō ho oikonomos ‘the manager said to (lit. ‘in’) himself,’ i.e. debated inwardly.

ti poiēsō ‘what shall I do,’ i.e. ‘what am I to do,’ i.e. with a view to his future, not with regard to the rendering of his account.

hoti ho kurios mou aphaireitai tēn oikonomian ap’ emou ‘since my master is taking the stewardship from me.’ hoti means here ‘since,’ ‘now that,’ as the clause refers to causes which are already known. For kurios cf. on 1.6. oikonomia refers here and in v. 4 to the function, or, the job, in v. 2 to the way in which the function is performed.

skaptein ouk ischuō ‘I cannot dig,’ i.e. ‘I am not strong enough to dig,’ a proverbial saying, indicating that one cannot do heavy manual labour.

epaitein aischunomai ‘I am ashamed to beg,’ i.e. to be a professional beggar, obviously the alternative for one who cannot earn his living with his own hands.

aischunomai ‘to be ashamed,’ ‘to be too proud to,’ with following infinitive.

Translation:

For said to himself see 3.8; for master see on “Lord” in 1.6, sub (a).

Is taking the stewardship (or, this/my work) away from me, or, ‘dismisses (lit. causes-to-cease) me as steward’ (Balinese, similarly Tzeltal), ‘will let-me-go’ (Ekari, Tae’ 1933), ‘will remove me from (my) steward’s duties’ (Thai 1967, similarly Shona 1966), ‘has decided that I can no longer be his manager, or, cannot continue to manage his property.’

I am not strong enough to dig, or, continuing, as it were, the initial question, ‘Dig? I have not the strength for it’ (Bible de Jérusalem). Dig, or, ‘hoe’ (Indonesian languages, Bible de Jérusalem); some specification may be required, e.g. ‘dig in the fields,’ ‘till the soil.’

I am ashamed to beg, i.e. begging will cause me shame, ‘beg? I would be ashamed’ (Bible de Jérusalem); or, worded reversely, “I am … too proud to beg” (New English Bible). Cf. also “shame” in 13.17. To beg, or, ‘to ask for money/gifts,’ ‘to ask-for alms (cf. 11.41), or, pity’ (Bahasa Indonesia, Tae’), ‘to go (around) begging’ (Sranan Tongo).

Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.