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16 And he said also unto the disciples, There was a certain rich man, who had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he was wasting his goods. And he called him, and said unto him, What is this that I hear of thee? render the account of thy stewardship; for thou canst be no longer steward. And the steward said within himself, What shall I do, seeing that my lord taketh away the stewardship from me? I have not strength to dig; to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. And calling to him each one of his lord’s debtors, he said to the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? And he said, A hundred [a]measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy [b]bond, and sit down quickly and write fifty. Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, A hundred [c]measures of wheat. He saith unto him, Take thy [d]bond, and write fourscore. And his lord commended [e]the unrighteous steward because he had done wisely: for the sons of this [f]world are for their own generation wiser than the sons of the light. And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends [g]by means of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when it shall fail, they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles. 10 He that is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much: and he that is unrighteous in a very little is unrighteous also in much. 11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is [h]your own? 13 No [i]servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 16:6 Greek baths, the bath being a Hebrew measure. See Ezek. 45:10, 11, 14.
  2. Luke 16:6 Greek writings.
  3. Luke 16:7 Greek cors, the cor being a Hebrew measure. See Ezek. 45:14.
  4. Luke 16:7 Greek writings.
  5. Luke 16:8 Greek the steward of unrighteousness.
  6. Luke 16:8 Or, age
  7. Luke 16:9 Greek out of.
  8. Luke 16:12 Some ancient authorities read our own.
  9. Luke 16:13 Greek household-servant.

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)

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Footnotes

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