And his lord, becoming angry, handed him over to the torturers until he would repay the whole debt.
The Lord, seeing the servant’s harshness and lack of mercy, responds with righteous anger. He withdraws the forgiveness he had granted him and hands the servant over to the torturers. The word “torturers” symbolizes the means of punishment, both in this world (for example, conscience, a sense of condemnation, loneliness) and in eternal judgment. Jesus does not detail the form of the torment, but he emphasizes that forgiveness that was not valued and did not bear fruit can turn into condemnation. Paying the debt down to the last detail is impossible here, which shows that the absence of mercy has serious spiritual consequences. This also prepares the teaching of the next, final, summarizing verse, 35.