Luke 19:8

σταθείς. The word means ‘taking his position’ in sight of all the crowd; see Luke 18:11.

πρὸς τὸν κύριον. Not to the crowd who had nothing but contempt and hatred for him, but to Him who loved the nobler self which He saw in him, and of whose notice he desired to be more worthy.

τὰ ἡμίσεια. A vast sacrifice for one whose very position shewed that he had not been indifferent to wealth. ἡμίσεια is the reading of אBL. In classic Greek it is a fem. sing. but was used by later writers as a neut. plural.

δίδωμι. I now propose to give; a purpose not a past habit.

εἵ τινός τι ἐσυκοφάντησα. ‘Whatever I wrongfully exacted.’ The εἴ τι for ὅ, τι a little softens the bitterness of the confession. For the verb see Luke 3:14.

τετραπλοῦν. Far more therefore than was required by the Mosaic Law, which only demanded the restitution of a fifth part beyond the principal, Numbers 5:7; 1 Samuel 12:3 (but comp. Exodus 22:1). The words neither deny nor affirm that any part of his wealth had been thus dishonestly gained.