The Parable of the Dishonest Manager

16 He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had (A)a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your (B)management, for you can no longer be manager.’ And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures[a] of oil.’ 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?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures[b] of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ The master commended the dishonest manager for his (C)shrewdness. For (D)the sons of this world[c] are (E)more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than (F)the sons of light. And I tell you, (G)make friends for yourselves by means of (H)unrighteous wealth,[d] so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 16:6 About 875 gallons or 3,200 liters
  2. Luke 16:7 Between 1,000 and 1,200 bushels or 37,000 to 45,000 liters
  3. Luke 16:8 Greek age
  4. Luke 16:9 Greek mammon, a Semitic word for money or possessions; also verse 11; rendered money in verse 13

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