The reading was Luke 16:1-15, and I noticed verse 13 in particular: "'No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.'" This verse is nearly identical to Matthew 6:24 and contains the same feature that I noticed there about a year ago. There's a chiastic structure to highlight the opposites:
He will hate the oneand love the other,
or he will be devoted to the oneand despise the other.
As with Matthew 6:24, this structure is also present in the Greek:
Οὐδεὶς οἰκέτης δύναται δυσὶ κυρίοις δουλεύειν· ἢ γὰρ τὸν ἕνα μεισήσει καὶ τὸν ἕτερον ἀγαπήσει, ἢ ἑνὸς ἀνθέξεται καὶ τοῦ ἑτέρου καταφρονήσει. οὐ δύνασθε θεῷ δουλεύειν καὶ μαμωνᾷ.
the Latin Vulgate:
Nemo servus potest duobus dominis servire aut enim unum odiet et alterum diliget aut uni adherebit et alterum contemnet non potestis Deo servire et mamonae
my German New Testament:
Kein Knecht kann zwei Herren dienen; entweder er wird den einen hassen und den andern lieben, oder er wird an dem einen hängen und den andern verachten. Ihr könnt nicht Gott dienen und dem Mammon.
and my French New Testament:
Nul serviteur ne peut servir deux maîtres. Car, ou il haïra l'un et aimera l'autre; ou il s'attachera à l'un et méprisera l'autre. Vous ne pouvez servir Dieu et Mamon.
