Luke 16:1-9

Contemporary English Version

A Dishonest Manager

16 Jesus said to his disciples:

A rich man once had a manager to take care of his business. But he was told that his manager was wasting money. ² So the rich man called him in and said, “What is this I hear about you? Tell me what you have done! You are no longer going to work for me.”

³ The manager said to himself, “What shall I do now that my master is going to fire me? I can't dig ditches, and I'm ashamed to beg. ⁴ I know what I'll do, so that people will welcome me into their homes after I've lost my job.”

⁵ Then one by one he called in the people who were in debt to his master. He asked the first one, “How much do you owe my master?”

⁶ “A hundred barrels of olive oil,” the man answered.

So the manager said, “Take your bill and sit down and quickly write ‘50.’ ”

⁷ The manager asked someone else who was in debt to his master, “How much do you owe?”

“A thousand sacks^[a] of wheat,” the man replied.

The manager said, “Take your bill and write ‘800.’ ”

⁸ The master praised his dishonest manager for looking out for himself so well. That's how it is! The people of this world look out for themselves better than the people who belong to the light.

^9 (A) My disciples, I tell you to use wicked wealth to make friends for yourselves. Then when it is gone, you will be welcomed into an eternal home.