SEV Biblia, Chapter 18:24
Y comenzando a hacer cuentas, le fue presentado uno que le debía diez mil talentos.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Matthew 18:24
Verse 24. Ten thousand talents] muriwn talantwn, a myriad of talents, the highest number known in Greek arithmetical notation. An immense sum, which, if the silver talent be designed, amounts to 4,500,000 sterling; but if the gold talent be meant which is by far the most likely, then the amount is 67,500,000 sterling, a sum equal to the annual revenue of the British empire! See the note on Exod. xxv. 39. The margin above is incorrect.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 24. And when he had begun to reckon , etc.] To open the book of conscience, and to bring to account by some awakening providence, and strong conviction: one was brought unto him; whether he would or no, through the force of an awakened conscience, under guilt and terror; which owed him ten thousand talents ; which must be understood, either of gold, or silver: a talent of silver contained 3,000 shekels, as appears from ( Exodus 38:25,26), and was in value of our money 375l. but a talent of gold was equal to 4,500l. of our money. According to Dr. Prideaux f1018 , a talent of silver was 450l. and a talent of gold, the proportion of gold to silver being reckoned as sixteen to one, was 7,200l. and according to Bishop Cumberland, a talent of silver was 353l. 11s. 10d. ob. and a talent of gold of the same weight, was 5,075l. 15s. 7d. ob. The whole, according to Dr. Hammond, was a thousand eight hundred seventy five thousand pounds, reckoning them silver talents; but if talents of gold are meant, what an immense sum must ten thousand of them be! According to some, seventy two millions sterling. The design of the phrase, is to set forth the exceeding greatness of the debt. Munsters Hebrew Gospel reads it, ten thousand manehs, or pounds; and so the Persic version: now the value of a maneh of gold, was 75l. and of silver, 7l 10s. take the sum in the least quantity and value, it was exceeding large. The Arabic version renders it a sum of talents, without mentioning the number, and may mean an innumerable one. Mention is made of such a number of talents of silver, in ( Esther 3:9), which Aben Ezra says is defective, and signifies ten thousand thousand talents. The second Targum on the place says, that the sum of six hundred thousand zuzim, drachms, or pence (i.e. Roman ones) is ten thousand talents of silver. These ten thousand talents intend sins, which are called debts, in Scripture; not that they are properly so, or owing to God, for then it would be right to pay them, but because they bind over to punishment. All men owe a debt of thankfulness to God, for their beings, the preservation of them, and all the mercies of life; and a debt of obedience to the whole law, in failure of which, they are obliged to punishment: hence every sin becomes a debt, and these are numerous; indwelling sin, and the lusts thereof, are innumerable; as are actual sins and transgressions, they are more than the hairs of a mans head, and are fitly expressed, both for the weight and quantity of them, by ten thousand talents. In this light they appear to the conscience of an awakened sinner, who sees that he has been doing nothing but sin, all the days of his life; and that he has been continually breaking the law, one precept or another of it, in thought, word, or deed: which violations of the law, even in word and deed, are risen up to so great a sum, that he is not able to give it to any nearness, and with any exactness; he cannot understand all his errors, nor express the full number of them, or declare all their aggravated circumstances; besides the swarms of corruption of internal lusts and sins, which he observes dwelling in his heart, and are as innumerable as the motes and atoms in a sunbeam. The sins of Gods people, which have been all made to meet upon Christ, have been laid upon him by his Fathers imputation of them to him, with his own consent, are represented in this manner; (see Psalm 40:12). And indeed, if the debts of one of them amount to ten thousand talents, what must the sum of all be, put together! and how great must be the strength and power of Christ, to bear the weight of these sins, and not be broken or discouraged, and fail, as he did not! and what a rich virtue and efficacy must there be in his blood, to pay off all these debts, and make satisfaction for them, which could never have been done, if he had not done it! for, it is impossible that a person in such circumstances as here described, should ever be able to recover himself, or pay his debts, as follows.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 21-35 - Though we live wholly on mercy and forgiveness, we are backward to forgive the offences of our brethren. This parable shows how muc provocation God has from his family on earth, and how untoward his servants are. There are three things in the parable: 1. The master' wonderful clemency. The debt of sin is so great, that we are not able to pay it. See here what every sin deserves; this is the wages of sin to be sold as a slave. It is the folly of many who are under stron convictions of their sins, to fancy they can make God satisfaction for the wrong they have done him. 2. The servant's unreasonable severit toward his fellow-servant, notwithstanding his lord's clemency towar him. Not that we may make light of wronging our neighbour, for that is also a sin against God; but we should not aggravate our neighbour' wronging us, nor study revenge. Let our complaints, both of the wickedness of the wicked, and of the afflictions of the afflicted, be brought to God, and left with him. 3. The master reproved his servant' cruelty. The greatness of sin magnifies the riches of pardoning mercy and the comfortable sense of pardoning mercy, does much to dispose ou hearts to forgive our brethren. We are not to suppose that God actuall forgives men, and afterwards reckons their guilt to them to condem them; but this latter part of the parable shows the false conclusion many draw as to their sins being pardoned, though their after-conduc shows that they never entered into the spirit, or experienced the sanctifying grace of the gospel. We do not forgive our offendin brother aright, if we do not forgive from the heart. Yet this is no enough; we must seek the welfare even of those who offend us. Ho justly will those be condemned, who, though they bear the Christia name, persist in unmerciful treatment of their brethren! The humble sinner relies only on free, abounding mercy, through the ransom of the death of Christ. Let us seek more and more for the renewing grace of God, to teach us to forgive others as we hope for forgiveness from him __________________________________________________________________
Greek Textus Receptus
αρξαμενου 756 5671 V-AMP-GSM δε 1161 CONJ αυτου 846 P-GSM συναιρειν 4868 5721 V-PAN προσηνεχθη 4374 5681 V-API-3S αυτω 846 P-DSM εις 1520 A-NSM οφειλετης 3781 N-NSM μυριων 3463 A-GPM ταλαντων 5007 N-GPN
Vincent's NT Word Studies
24. Which owed him (ofeilethv). Lit., a debtor of ten thousand talents. Ten thousand talents. An enormous sum; about twelve millions of dollars.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
18:24 {Ten thousand talents} (muriwn talantwn). A talent was 6,000 denarii or about a thousand dollars or 240 pounds. Ten thousand times this is about ten or twelve million dollars, an enormous sum for that period. We live today in the age of national debts of billions of dollars or even of pounds sterling. The imperial taxes of Judea, Idumea, and Samaria for one year were only 600 talents while Galilee and Perea paid 200 (Josephus, _Ant_. xi. 4). But oriental kings were free in the use of money and in making debts like the native kings of India today.
