The wicked slave (Mt 24:48-24:51)

“But if that wicked slave

Says to himself.

‘My master is delayed.’

He begins to beat

His fellow slaves.

He eats

And drinks

With drunkards.

The master

Of that slave

Will come

On a day

When he does not expect him,

At an hour

That he does not know.

He will beat him severely

He will put him

With the hypocrites.

There will be weeping

And gnashing of teeth.”

 

ἐὰν δὲ εἴπῃ ὁ κακὸς δοῦλος ἐκεῖνος ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ Χρονίζει μου ὁ κύριος,

καὶ ἄρξηται τύπτειν τοὺς συνδούλους αὐτοῦ, ἐσθίῃ δὲ καὶ πίνῃ μετὰ τῶν μεθυόντων,

ἥξει ὁ κύριος τοῦ δούλου ἐκείνου ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ᾗ οὐ προσδοκᾷ καὶ ἐν ὥρᾳ ᾗ οὐ γινώσκει,

καὶ διχοτομήσει αὐτὸν καὶ τὸ μέρος αὐτοῦ μετὰ τῶν ὑποκριτῶν θήσει· ἐκεῖ ἔσται ὁ κλαυθμὸς καὶ ὁ βρυγμὸς τῶν ὀδόντων.

 

This parable about the wicked slave is similar to Luke, chapter 12:44-47, with a little more elaboration in Luke, where the good slave became the wicked slave.  Jesus said that this wicked slave thought in his heart (ἐὰν δὲ εἴπῃ ὁ κακὸς δοῦλος ἐκεῖνος ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ) that his master was delayed (Χρονίζει μου ὁ κύριος).  Then he began to beat up his fellow slaves (καὶ ἄρξηται τύπτειν τοὺς συνδούλους αὐτοῦ).  He ate and drank with the drunkards (ἐσθίῃ δὲ καὶ πίνῃ μετὰ τῶν μεθυόντων).  Then the master of this slave came on a day when he was not expecting him, at an unknown hour (ἥξει ὁ κύριος τοῦ δούλου ἐκείνου ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ᾗ οὐ προσδοκᾷ καὶ ἐν ὥρᾳ ᾗ οὐ γινώσκει).  This master would beat him severely (καὶ διχοτομήσει αὐτὸν) and put him with the hypocrites (καὶ τὸ μέρος αὐτοῦ μετὰ τῶν ὑποκριτῶν θήσει), where there would be weeping (ἐκεῖ ἔσται ὁ κλαυθμὸς) and gnashing of teeth (καὶ ὁ βρυγμὸς τῶν ὀδόντων).  The non-vigilant slave would suffer disaster, not like the good slave.

The unrighteous son (Ezek 18:10-18:13)

“If he has a violent son,

A shedder of blood,

Who does

Any of these things,

Even though the father

Does none of them,

Shall he then live?

This violent son

Eats upon the mountains,

Defiles his neighbor’s wife,

Oppresses the poor,

Oppresses the needy,

Commits robbery,

Does not restore the pledge,

Lifts up his eyes

To the idols,

Commits abominations,

Takes advantage,

Accrues interest.

He shall not live.

He has done

All these abominable things.

He shall surely die.

His blood shall be

Upon himself.”

What happens if a righteous man has a violent son, who sheds blood? Even though the father does not do any of these things. This son eats upon the mountains, defiles his neighbor’s wife, and oppresses the poor and the needy. This violent son commits robbery, does not restore the pledge when the debt is paid. He lifts up his eyes to the idols, and commits all kinds of abominations. He takes advantage of others by accruing interest. Shall this son live? No, he shall die. His blood shall be upon himself, not his father.

Personal responsibility (Jer 31:29-31:30)

“In those days,

They shall no longer say.

‘The parents have eaten

Sour grapes.

The children’s teeth

Are set on edge.’

But all shall die

For their own sins.

The teeth of everyone

Who eats sour grapes,

Shall be set on edge.”

Yahweh talks about personal responsibility rather than suffering for the sins of your father or parents. Instead of the parents eating sour grapes with the affect on the teeth of their children, now it will affect the parents’ teeth. Yahweh says that everyone will die for their own sins, not the sins of their ancestors. Sometimes, sinning persons were putting the blame on their ancestors, rather than themselves, for what was happening to them. Thus whoever eats sour grapes would find his own teeth affected, not their children.

Curses on Samaria (Isa 28:1-28:4)

“Cursed be the proud garland

Of the drunkards of Ephraim!

Cursed be the fading flower

Of its glorious beauty!

Cursed on the head of those

Bloated with rich food!

Cursed be those

Overcome with wine!

See!

Yahweh has one that is mighty!

He has one that is strong!

Like a storm of hail,

Like a destroying tempest,

Like a storm of mighty overflowing waters,

He will hurl them down

To the earth with his hand.

The proud garland

Of the drunkards of Ephraim

Will be trampled underfoot.

The fading flower

Of its glorious beauty,

Is on the head

Of those bloated with rich food.

They will be

Like a first-ripe fig

Before the summer.

Whoever sees it,

Eats it up

As soon as it comes to his hand.”

This is an obvious warning to northern Israel Ephraim in Samaria, before the fall of this kingdom in 722 BCE, under the Assyrian army of King Sargon II (722-705 BCE). Isaiah refers to the people in the north as the drunkards of Ephraim. They will lose their crown and garland as well as its beautiful fading flower, a refrain that is repeated twice. The folks in Ephraim were bloated with rich food and overcome with wine. Yahweh then sent a mighty strong hail storm, a tempest that flooded the area.   They were going to be trampled underfoot. They were like the first fig of the season that someone immediately grabs and eats it as soon as they see it.

Adultery (Prov 30:20-30:20)

“This is the way of an adulterous woman.

She eats.

She wipes her mouth.

She says.

‘I have done no wrong.’”

This female adulterer eats and wipes her face, saying that she has not done anything wrong. This is the ancient belief that the female was somehow more responsible for adultery than the male. The old moral saying is that once you get accustomed to doing something, you no longer think that it is wrong. The first few times you might be worried, but then it becomes a habit with no sense of sin or evil involved.