You only have 9,999 more talents to go.”įrom this, we can easily see that if it takes 20 years to earn one talent, then repaying 10,000 talents would require working 200,000 YEARS! How absurd then for the servant to beg for mercy and tell the king that he would “pay back everything.” As a day laborer, he had no hope-almost literally “not in a million years”-of ever repaying his debt. You have worked for 20 years and have now earned 6,000 denarii. After 20 years of such labor, you will have earned 6,000 denarii.Īt this point, the king would say to his debtor, “Congratulations. Now suppose you continued to work as a day laborer earning 300 denarii each year. Therefore, 100 denarii was one-third of a year’s salary, or four months’ wages. Allowing approximately two weeks for various Jewish holidays, the typical laborer worked 50 weeks of the year and earned an annual wage of 300 denarii (50 weeks x 6 days). The denarius was one day’s wage for a typical day laborer, who worked six days a week with a Sabbath day of rest. The NIV footnotes usually say that this is equivalent to “several million dollars” versus “a few dollars.”Ī more accurate comparison is based on how much time it would take to earn these respective amounts of money. Matthew 18:23-35 records the parable of the two debtors: one owed the king 10,000 talents, and one owed his fellow servant 100 denarii.
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