Even so you also, when you have done all the things that are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants. We have done our duty.’ ”
Parallel Translations
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Even so you also, when you have done all the things that are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants. We have done our duty.’ ”
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Soo lyke wyse ye when ye have done all thoose thinges which are commaunded you: saye we are vnprofitable servautes. We have done: ye which was oure duetye to do.
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So likewise yee, when yee haue done all those things, which are commanded you, say, We are vnprofitable seruants: wee haue done that which was our duetie to doe.
Cross-references (16)
Passages linked to Luke 17:10 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Corinthians 9:16-17 For if I preach the Good News, I have nothing to boast about; for necessity is laid on me; but woe is to me if I don’t preach the Good News. For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward. But if not of my own will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me.
- Job 22:2-3 “Can a man be profitable to God? Surely he who is wise is profitable to himself. Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous? Or does it benefit him that you make your ways perfect?
- 1 Peter 5:5-6 Likewise, you younger ones, be subject to the elder. Yes, all of you clothe yourselves with humility, to subject yourselves to one another; for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time,
- 1 Corinthians 15:9-10 For I am the least of the apostles, who is not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the assembly of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am. His grace which was given to me was not futile, but I worked more than all of them; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
- Job 35:6-7 If you have sinned, what effect do you have against him? If your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him? If you are righteous, what do you give him? Or what does he receive from your hand?
- Romans 11:35 “Or who has first given to him, and it will be repaid to him again?”
- Proverbs 16:2-3 All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but Yahweh weighs the motives. Commit your deeds to Yahweh, and your plans shall succeed.
- Isaiah 64:6 For we have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteousness is like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
- 1 Chronicles 29:14-16 But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from you, and we have given you of your own. For we are strangers before you, and foreigners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is no remaining. Yahweh our God, all this store that we have prepared to build you a house for your holy name comes from your hand, and is all your own.
- Romans 3:12 They have all turned away. They have together become unprofitable. There is no one who does good, no, not so much as one.”
- Matthew 25:37-40 “Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you; or thirsty, and give you a drink? When did we see you as a stranger, and take you in; or naked, and clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you?’ “The King will answer them, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
- Philippians 3:8-9 Yes most certainly, and I count all things to be a loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and count them nothing but refuse, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, that which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith,
- Psalms 16:2-3 My soul, you have said to Yahweh, “You are my Lord. Apart from you I have no good thing.” As for the saints who are in the earth, they are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight.
- Psalms 35:6-7 Let their way be dark and slippery, Yahweh’s angel pursuing them. For without cause they have hidden their net in a pit for me. Without cause they have dug a pit for my soul.
- Isaiah 6:5 Then I said, “Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell among a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh of Armies!”
- Matthew 25:30 Throw out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain The most perfect keeping of the Law, which we…
The most perfect keeping of the Law, which we can perform, deserves no reward.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done…
10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.
Ver. 10. We have done that was our duty] Or, our debt; and it is no matter of merit to pay debts. This made William Wickam, founder of New College, &c., profess he trusted in Jesus Christ alone for salvation: Charles V did the like, when he came to die. {a} And in times of Popery, the ordinary instruction appointed to be given to men upon their death beds, was, that they should look to come to glory, not by their own merits, but by the virtue and merit of Christ’s passion, that they should place their whole confidence in his death only, and in no other thing; and that they should interpose his death between God and their sins, between them and God’s anger. (Dr Usheir in a sermon on Eph 4:13)
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{a} Cade of the Church, Parei Medul. 883.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And it came to pass as he went to…
And it came to pass as he went to Jerusalem,.... That is, Jesus, as the Persic version expresses it; though the Ethiopic version reads in the plural, "they going to Jerusalem passed", &c. that is, the disciples, or Christ with his disciples; who was now going thither to eat his last passover, and suffer and die for his people:
that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee; or "between Samaria and Galilee"; as the Syriac and Arabic versions render it; he steered his course through the borders of both these countries; and as he passed, Samaria was on his right hand, and Galilee on the left.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain When ye have done all, say, We are unprofitable…
When ye have done all, say, We are unprofitable servants - For a man cannot profit God. Happy is he who Judges himself an unprofitable servant: miserable is he whom God pronounces such. But though we are unprofitable to him, our serving him is not unprofitable to us. For he is pleased to give by his grace a value to our good works, which in consequence of his promise entitles us to an eternal reward.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 10. We are unprofitable servants] This text has…
Verse 10. We are unprofitable servants] This text has often been produced to prove that no man can live without committing sin against God. But let it be observed, the text says unprofitable servants, not sinful servants. If this text could be fairly construed to countenance sinful imperfection, it would be easy to demonstrate that there is not one of the spirits of just men made perfect, in paradise, nor a ministering angel at the throne of God, but is sinfully imperfect: for none of these can work righteousness, in the smallest degree, beyond those powers which God has given them; and justice and equity require that they should exert those powers to the uttermost in the service of their Maker; and, after having acted thus, it may be justly said, They have done only what it was their duty to do. The nature of God is illimitable, and all the attributes of that nature are infinitely glorious: they cannot be lessened by the transgressions of his creatures, nor can they be increased by the uninterrupted, eternal obedience, and unceasing hallelujahs, of all the intelligent creatures that people the whole vortex of nature. When ages, beyond the power of arithmetic to sum up, have elapsed, it may be said of the most pure and perfect creatures, "Ye are unprofitable servants." Ye have derived your being from the infinite fountain of life: ye are upheld by the continued energy of the Almighty: his glories are infinite and eternal, and your obedience and services, however excellent in themselves, and profitable to you, have added nothing, and can add nothing, to the absolute excellencies and glories of your God.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Are unprofitable servants - We have conferred no favor.…
Are unprofitable servants - We have conferred no favor. We have “merited” nothing. We have not “benefited” God, or laid him under “obligation.” If he rewards us, it will be matter of unmerited favor. This is true in relation to Christians in the following respects:
Our services are not “profitable” to God Job 22:2; he “needs” not our aid, and his essential happiness will not be increased by our efforts. The grace to do his will comes from him only, and all the praise of that will be due to him. All that we do is what is our “duty;” we cannot lay claim to having rendered any service that will “bind” him to show us favor; and, Our best services are mingled with imperfections. We come short of his glory Rom 3:23; we do not serve him as sincerely, and cheerfully, and faithfully as we ought; we are far, very far from the example set us by the Saviour; and if we are saved and rewarded, it will be because God will be merciful to our unrighteousness, and will remember our iniquities no more, Heb 8:12.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Unprofitable servants. Because our service is of no profit…
Unprofitable servants. Because our service is of no profit to our Master; and he justly claims it as our bounden duty. But though we are unprofitable to him, our serving him is not unprofitable to us; for he is pleased to give, by his grace, a value to our good works, which, in consequence of his promise, entitles them to an eternal reward. (Challoner) --- The word useless, when joined to servant, generally means a servant from whom his master does not derive the service he has a right to expect; as in St. Matthew xxv. 30. Here the word is taken in a less odious sense. It means a servant who does not testify sufficient zeal and ardour in his master’s service, who is not very eager to please him. With regard to God, we are always useless servants, because he wants not our services; and without his assistance, we can neither undertake nor finish any thing to please him. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain unprofitable--a word which, though usually denoting the opposite of…
unprofitable--a word which, though usually denoting the opposite of profit, is here used simply in its negative sense. "We have not, as his servants, profited or benefited God at all." (Compare Job 22:2-3; Rom 11:35.)
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 10. Ye—Ye apostles.
10. Ye—Ye apostles.
Unprofitable—In the sense that we have laid God under no obligations. We have received from God all we have and are, and have done no more than just meet the demands of mere right. We are like a debtor that has paid but his just due, and no return of thanks but mere courtesy need be made to him. We are the servant who is but just square with his master, and so deserves no favour. Had Adam lived pure, he would have done no more than his duty, for each moment of his existence. God could not then have justly punished him: but he would have no claim for special reward from God. God would have the right to dispense with him at any moment; might drop him into nonexistence at any instant. He would live every moment upon the pure favour of God. The purest angel exists by grace and not by merit. From this it follows:
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1. That the sinner can be forgiven and saved only by grace. If he has been guilty, even at a single instant, of a sin of omission, he can never afterwards repair it; for he can never at any future moment do more than the duty of that moment. He can earn no surplus merit to fill up the blank of the past. And, in all probability, that one sin will so debilitate him morally and spiritually that he will sin again and again; so that debility and depravation will be the result. Much more, if he commit a positive sin will his whole moral nature be unhinged.
2. There can be no surplus merit in one man to save another. The Church of Rome strangely taught that we can do more than our duty; which deeds she calls works of supererogation. Against these the eleventh of our twenty-five articles is aimed. “Voluntary works, besides, over, and above God’s commandments, which are called works of supererogation, cannot be taught without arrogancy and impiety. For by them men do declare that they do not only render unto God as much as they are bound to do, but that they do more for his sake than of bounden duty is required: whereas Christ saith plainly, When ye have done all that is commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants.”
Although we can do to God no favour, no profit, and no service, yet he affords us the privilege of doing that which he consents to receive as service, and for which he graciously accepts us as profitable servants. Hence when our Lord speaks as in Luk_12:37, though there is a verbal contradiction, there is a most beautiful harmony.
Our Lord now, leaving Peraea and Eastern Judea, departs to Bethany, raises Lazarus, and is induced by the machinations of the Pharisees to depart to Ephraim on the confines of Judea and Samaria. Here, as John tells us, Jesus abode for some weeks with his disciples. Distance from Jerusalem was necessary for safety; and doubtless what ministry Jesus and his disciples performed during this period extended rather into Samaria northward than into Judea. Accordingly the next notice we have of Jesus in the following verse, finds him starting from Ephraim eastward. See HARMONY, p. 101.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 10. when ye shall have done alt] and this…
10. when ye shall have done alt] and this can never be, Psa_143:2. Even if it could “non est beneficium sed officium facere quod debetis,” Sen. Controv.
We are unprofitable servants] The same word for unprofitable occurs in Mat_25:30; Rom_3:12. This verse, like many others (Isa_64:6; Rom_3:27), cuts at the root of the whole Romish notion as to the possibility of ‘works of supererogation,’ see Article XIV. “Servi inutiles sunt, insufficientes quia nemo tantum timet, tantum diligit Deum, tantum credit Deo quantum oportuit,” Augsb. Conf. “We sleep half our lives; we give God a tenth of our time; and yet we think that with our good works we can merit Heaven. What have I been doing to day? I have talked for two hours. I have been at meals three hours. I have been idle four hours. Ah! enter not into judgment with thy servant, O Lord !” Luther. Yet in a lower sense—though ‘insufficient,’ though ‘unmeritorious’—it is possible for us to be ‘good and faithful servants,’ Mat_25:21; Mat_25:23.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (10) Say, We are unprofitable servants.—There is something very…
(10) Say, We are unprofitable servants.—There is something very suggestive in the use of the same word as that which meets us in the parable of the Talents (Mat_25:30). God, we are taught, may recognise and reward the varying use which men make of gifts and opportunities. But all boasting is excluded; and in relation to God the man who has gained the ten talents has to own that he has nothing that he has not received, and to confess that he stands, as it were, on a level with the “unprofitable servant.” Any personal claim on the ground of merit falls to the ground before such a declaration, and still more any speculative theory of works of supererogation, and of the transfer of the merits gained by them from one man to his fellow-servants and fellow-sinners.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.