58. And one more thing. . .

...be occupied until he comes.

In Luke 19:12-14, Jesus told this illustration (from the King James Version [KJV]):

"12 He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. 13 And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds [minas], and said unto them, Occupy till I come . 14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us."

Now when we consider the word "occupy", we generally think of an army occupation of a country, and so we interpret the parable to mean that Jesus is telling us to occupy the earth much as the U.S. Army occupies Iraq, keeping it safe and orderly until Jesus comes again. This is the viewpoint that is brought about by the 1611 King James Version translation, and while it may be true, it is almost universally agreed that this interpretation of the passage is not what is meant.

What it really means can be seen in almost all the other versions, whether older or contemporary. Here, are the various Bible version translations of the highlighted part of the above verse (Jesus had just given them a large sum of money -- each of the ten minas being worth about 2-3 months wages) and then he said to them:

NASB: Do business with this until I come back.
NIV: Put this money to work until I come back.
NKJV: Do business until I come.
NLT: Invest this while I am gone.
NCV: Do business with this money until I come back.
CEV: Use this to earn more money until I get back.
The Message: Operate with this until I return.
Amplified: Buy and sell with this while I go and then return.
Rheims: Trade till I come.
NAB: Engage in trade with these until I return.
NRSV: Do business with these until I come back.
ESV: Engage in business until I come.

And the newest version, The Expanded Bible (TExB): Do business with [Invest; Trade with] this money until I get back.

It can be clearly seen that he is telling them a parable about the obedient life using a business illustration which is lost in the KJV: do business, invest this, operate with this, buy and sell, trade, engage in trade, engage in business, trade with.

It is the "Good steward / Good employee / Good servant" illustration again. The gifts that God has given us we are to put to good use, that we may give the proceeds back to God with interest and to others, even more than was initially given to us.

And I would add, if you appreciate and value the KJV and hate to give it up, just tweak this verse a little bit to say "Be occupied until I come", and then do it!
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