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16 Also [Jesus] said to the disciples, There was a certain rich man who had a [a]manager of his estate, and accusations [against this man] were brought to him, that he was squandering his [master’s] possessions.

And he called him and said to him, What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management [of my affairs], for you can be [my] manager no longer.

And the manager of the estate said to himself, What shall I do, seeing that my master is taking the management away from me? I am not able to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.

I have come to know what I will do, so that they [my master’s debtors] may accept and welcome me into their houses when I am put out of the management.

So he summoned his master’s debtors one by one, and he said to the first, How much do you owe my master?

He said, A hundred measures [about 900 gallons] of oil. And he said to him, Take back your written acknowledgement of [b]obligation, and sit down quickly and write fifty [about 450 gallons].

After that he said to another, And how much do you owe? He said, A hundred measures [about 900 bushels] of wheat. He said to him, Take back your written acknowledgement of [c]obligation, and write eighty [about 700 bushels].

And [his] master praised the dishonest (unjust) manager for acting [d]shrewdly and [e]prudently; for the sons of this age are shrewder and more prudent and wiser in [[f]relation to] their own generation [to their own age and [g]kind] than are the sons of light.

And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon ([h]deceitful riches, money, possessions), so that when it fails, they [those you have favored] may receive and welcome you into the everlasting habitations (dwellings).

10 He who is faithful in a very little [thing] is faithful also in much, and he who is dishonest and unjust in a very little [thing] is dishonest and unjust also in much.

11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the [case of] unrighteous mammon ([i]deceitful riches, money, possessions), who will entrust to you the true riches?

12 And if you have not proved faithful in that which belongs to another [whether God or man], who will give you that which is your own [that is, [j]the true riches]?

13 No servant is able to serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (riches, or [k]anything in which you trust and on which you rely).

14 Now the Pharisees, who were covetous and lovers of money, heard all these things [taken together], and they began to sneer at and ridicule and scoff at Him.

15 But He said to them, You are the ones who declare yourselves just and upright before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted and highly thought of among men is detestable and abhorrent (an abomination) in the sight of God.(A)

16 Until John came, there were the Law and the Prophets; since then the good news (the Gospel) of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone strives violently to go in [would force his [l]own way rather than God’s way into it].

17 Yet it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to fail and become void.

18 Whoever divorces (dismisses and repudiates) his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman who is divorced from her husband commits adultery.

19 There was a certain rich man who [habitually] clothed himself in purple and fine linen and [m]reveled and feasted and made merry in splendor every day.

20 And at his gate there [n]was [carelessly] dropped down and left a certain [o]utterly destitute man named Lazarus, [reduced to begging alms and] covered with [[p]ulcerated] sores.

21 He [eagerly] desired to be satisfied with what fell from the rich man’s table; moreover, the dogs even came and licked his sores.

22 And it occurred that the man [reduced to] begging died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.

23 And in Hades (the realm of the dead), being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24 And he cried out and said, Father Abraham, have pity and mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.

25 But Abraham said, Child, remember that you in your lifetime fully received [what is due you in] comforts and delights, and Lazarus in like manner the discomforts and distresses; but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish.

26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who want to pass from this [place] to you may not be able, and no one may pass from there to us.

27 And [the man] said, Then, father, I beseech you to send him to my father’s house—

28 For I have five brothers—so that he may give [solemn] testimony and warn them, lest they too come into this place of torment.

29 But Abraham said, They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear and listen to them.

30 But he answered, No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent ([q]change their minds for the better and heartily amend their ways, with abhorrence of their past sins).

31 He said to him, If they do not hear and listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded and convinced and believe [even] if someone should rise from the dead.

Footnotes

  1. Luke 16:1 James Moulton and George Milligan, The Vocabulary.
  2. Luke 16:6 John Wycliffe, The Wycliffe Bible.
  3. Luke 16:7 John Wycliffe, The Wycliffe Bible.
  4. Luke 16:8 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
  5. Luke 16:8 John Wycliffe, The Wycliffe Bible.
  6. Luke 16:8 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
  7. Luke 16:8 William Tyndale, The Tyndale Bible.
  8. Luke 16:9 Alexander Souter, Pocket Lexicon.
  9. Luke 16:11 Alexander Souter, Pocket Lexicon.
  10. Luke 16:12 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
  11. Luke 16:13 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
  12. Luke 16:16 Gerrit Verkuyl, The Berkeley Version in Modern English.
  13. Luke 16:19 Alexander Souter, Pocket Lexicon.
  14. Luke 16:20 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
  15. Luke 16:20 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
  16. Luke 16:20 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
  17. Luke 16:30 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.

The Parable of the Shrewd Manager

16 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.(A) So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

“The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’

“So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

“‘Nine hundred gallons[a] of olive oil,’ he replied.

“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’

“Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’

“‘A thousand bushels[b] of wheat,’ he replied.

“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’

“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world(B) are more shrewd(C) in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.(D) I tell you, use worldly wealth(E) to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.(F)

10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much,(G) and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth,(H) who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

13 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”(I)

14 The Pharisees, who loved money,(J) heard all this and were sneering at Jesus.(K) 15 He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves(L) in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts.(M) What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.

Additional Teachings

16 “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John.(N) Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached,(O) and everyone is forcing their way into it. 17 It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.(P)

18 “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.(Q)

The Rich Man and Lazarus

19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.(R) 20 At his gate was laid a beggar(S) named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table.(T) Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham,(U) have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’(V)

25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things,(W) but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.(X) 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them,(Y) so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses(Z) and the Prophets;(AA) let them listen to them.’

30 “‘No, father Abraham,’(AB) he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Footnotes

  1. Luke 16:6 Or about 3,000 liters
  2. Luke 16:7 Or about 30 tons