²⁴ Just as the king began to get his accounts in order, his assistants called his attention to a slave who owed a huge sum to him—what a laborer might make in 500 lifetimes.^{[a] 25} The slave, maybe an embezzler, had no way to make restitution, so the king ordered that he, his wife, their children, and everything the family owned be sold on the auction block; the proceeds from the slave sale would go toward paying back the king. ²⁶ Upon hearing this judgment, the slave fell down, prostrated himself before the king, and begged for mercy: “Have mercy on me, and I will somehow pay you everything.”