The Unrighteous Manager

16 Now He was also saying to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and this manager was [a]reported to him as (A)squandering his possessions. And he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ And the manager said to himself, ‘What am I to do, since my [b]master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to [c]dig; I am ashamed to beg. I know what I will do, so that when I am removed from the management people will welcome me into their homes.’ And he summoned each one of his [d]master’s debtors, and he began saying to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ And he said, ‘A hundred [e]jugs of oil.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘A hundred [f]kors of wheat.’ He *said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ And his [g]master complimented the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of (B)this age are more shrewd in relation to their own [h]kind than the (C)sons of light. And I say to you, (D)make friends for yourselves by means of the [i](E)wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it [j]is all gone, (F)they will receive you into the eternal dwellings.

10 (G)The one who is faithful in a very little thing is also faithful in much; and the one who is unrighteous in a very little thing is also unrighteous in much. 11 Therefore if you have not [k]been faithful in the use of unrighteous [l](H)wealth, who will entrust the true wealth to you? 12 And if you have not [m]been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? 13 (I)No [n]servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and [o](J)wealth.”

14 Now the Pharisees, who were (K)lovers of money, were listening to all these things and (L)were [p]ridiculing Him. 15 And He said to them, “You are the ones who (M)justify yourselves in the sight of people, but (N)God knows your hearts; because that which is highly esteemed among people is detestable in the sight of God.

16 (O)The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John came; since that time (P)the gospel of the kingdom of God [q]has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. 17 (Q)But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one [r]stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.

18 (R)Everyone who [s]divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries one who is [t]divorced from a husband commits adultery.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

19 “Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, enjoying himself in splendor every day. 20 And a poor man named Lazarus (S)was laid at his gate, covered with sores, 21 and longing to be fed from the scraps which fell from the rich man’s table; not only that, the dogs also were coming and licking his sores. 22 Now it happened that the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to [u](T)Abraham’s arms; and the rich man also died and was buried. 23 And in (U)Hades he raised his eyes, being in torment, and *saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his [v]arms. 24 And he cried out and said, ‘(V)Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus, so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in (W)this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that (X)during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. 26 And [w]besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set, so that those who want to go over from here to you will not be able, nor will any people cross over from there to us.’ 27 And he said, ‘Then I request of you, father, that you send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—in order that he may (Y)warn them, so that they will not come to this place of torment as well.’ 29 But Abraham *said, ‘They have [x](Z)Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 But he said, ‘No, (AA)father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ 31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Footnotes

  1. Luke 16:1 Or accused
  2. Luke 16:3 Or lord
  3. Luke 16:3 I.e., do manual labor
  4. Luke 16:5 Or lord’s
  5. Luke 16:6 Lit baths, a Heb unit of measure equaling about 9 gallons or 34 liters
  6. Luke 16:7 One kor is about 7.7 cubic feet or 0.22 cubic meters
  7. Luke 16:8 Or lord
  8. Luke 16:8 Lit generation
  9. Luke 16:9 Gr mamonas, for Aramaic mamon (mammon); i.e., wealth, or money
  10. Luke 16:9 Or fails
  11. Luke 16:11 Or proved
  12. Luke 16:11 See note 1 v 9
  13. Luke 16:12 Or proved
  14. Luke 16:13 Or house servant
  15. Luke 16:13 See note 1 v 9
  16. Luke 16:14 Or sneering at
  17. Luke 16:16 Lit is preached
  18. Luke 16:17 I.e., projection of a letter (serif)
  19. Luke 16:18 Or sends away, the Heb term for divorce
  20. Luke 16:18 Or sent away
  21. Luke 16:22 Lit Abraham’s bosom; or lap; ancient Jewish terminology for the place of the righteous dead
  22. Luke 16:23 See note v 22
  23. Luke 16:26 Lit in all these things
  24. Luke 16:29 I.e., the books of Moses and the prophets, read aloud in the synagogues

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