Luke 16-18

American Standard Version

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. ² 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. ³ 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. ⁴ I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. ⁵ And calling to him each one of his lord’s debtors, he said to the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? ⁶ 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. ⁷ 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. ⁸ 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. ⁹ 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.

¹⁴ And the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things; and they scoffed at him. ¹⁵ And he said unto them, Ye are they that justify yourselves in the sight of men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. ¹⁶ The law and the prophets were until John: from that time the ^[j]gospel of the kingdom of God is preached, and every man entereth violently into it. ¹⁷ But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one tittle of the law to fall.

¹⁸ Every one that putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and he that marrieth one that is put away from a husband committeth adultery.

¹⁹ Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, ^[k]faring sumptuously every day: ²⁰ and a certain beggar named Lazarus was laid at his gate, full of sores, ²¹ and desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table; yea, even the dogs came and licked his sores. ²² And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and that he was carried away by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: and the rich man also died, and was buried. ²³ And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. ²⁴ And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame. ²⁵ But Abraham said, ^[l]Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things: but now here he is comforted, and thou art in anguish. ²⁶ And ^[m]besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that they that would pass from hence to you may not be able, and that none may cross over from thence to us. ²⁷ And he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house; ²⁸ for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. ²⁹ But Abraham saith, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. ³⁰ And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one go to them from the dead, they will repent. ³¹ And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, if one rise from the dead.

17 And he said unto his disciples, It is impossible but that occasions of stumbling should come; but woe unto him, through whom they come! ² It were well for him if a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, rather than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble. ³ Take heed to yourselves: if thy brother sin, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. ⁴ And if he sin against thee seven times in the day, and seven times turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.

⁵ And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. ⁶ And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye would say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou rooted up, and be thou planted in the sea; and it would obey you. ⁷ But who is there of you, having a ^[n]servant plowing or keeping sheep, that will say unto him, when he is come in from the field, Come straightway and sit down to meat; ⁸ and will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? ⁹ Doth he thank the ^[o]servant because he did the things that were commanded? ¹⁰ Even so ye also, when ye shall have done all the things that are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable ^[p]servants; we have done that which it was our duty to do.

¹¹ And it came to pass, ^[q]as they were on the way to Jerusalem, that he was passing ^[r]along the borders of Samaria and Galilee. ¹² And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, who stood afar off: ¹³ and they lifted up their voices, saying, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. ¹⁴ And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go and show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, as they went, they were cleansed. ¹⁵ And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, with a loud voice glorifying God; ¹⁶ and he fell upon his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. ¹⁷ And Jesus answering said, Were not the ten cleansed? but where are the nine? ^18 [s]Were there none found that returned to give glory to God, save this ^[t]stranger? ¹⁹ And he said unto him, Arise, and go thy way: thy faith hath ^[u]made thee whole.

²⁰ And being asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God cometh, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: ²¹ neither shall they say, Lo, here! or, There! for lo, the kingdom of God is ^[v]within you.

²² And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. ²³ And they shall say to you, Lo, there! Lo, here! go not away, nor follow after them: ²⁴ for as the lightning, when it lighteneth out of the one part under the heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall the Son of man be ^[w]in his day. ²⁵ But first must he suffer many things and be rejected of this generation. ²⁶ And as it came to pass in the days of Noah, even so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. ²⁷ They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. ²⁸ Likewise even as it came to pass in the days of Lot; they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; ²⁹ but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all: ³⁰ after the same manner shall it be in the day that the Son of man is revealed. ³¹ In that day, he that shall be on the housetop, and his goods in the house, let him not go down to take them away: and let him that is in the field likewise not return back. ³² Remember Lot’s wife. ³³ Whosoever shall seek to gain his life shall lose it: but whosoever shall lose his life shall ^[x]preserve it. ³⁴ I say unto you, In that night there shall be two men on one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. ³⁵ There shall be two women grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.^{[y] 37} And they answering say unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Where the body is, thither will the ^[z]eagles also be gathered together.

18 And he spake a parable unto them to the end that they ought always to pray, and not to faint; ² saying, There was in a city a judge, who feared not God, and regarded not man: ³ and there was a widow in that city; and she came oft unto him, saying, ^[aa]Avenge me of mine adversary. ⁴ And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; ⁵ yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, ^[ab]lest she ^[ac]wear me out by her continual coming. ⁶ And the Lord said, Hear what ^[ad]the unrighteous judge saith. ⁷ And shall not God avenge his elect, that cry to him day and night, ^[ae]and yet he is longsuffering over them? ⁸ I say unto you, that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find ^[af]faith on the earth?

⁹ And he spake also this parable unto certain who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and set ^[ag]all others at nought: ¹⁰ Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a ^[ah]publican. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this ^[ai]publican. ¹² I fast twice in the week; I give tithes of all that I get. ¹³ But the ^[aj]publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote his breast, saying, God, ^[ak]be thou merciful to me ^[al]a sinner. ¹⁴ I say unto you, This man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled; but he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

¹⁵ And they were bringing unto him also their babes, that he should touch them: but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. ¹⁶ But Jesus called them unto him, saying, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for ^[am]to such belongeth the kingdom of God. ¹⁷ Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall in no wise enter therein.

¹⁸ And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? ¹⁹ And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, even God. ²⁰ Thou knowest the commandments, ^[an]Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor thy father and mother. ²¹ And he said, All these things have I observed from my youth up. ²² And when Jesus heard it, he said unto him, One thing thou lackest yet: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. ²³ But when he heard these things, he became exceeding sorrowful; for he was very rich. ²⁴ And Jesus seeing him said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! ²⁵ For it is easier for a camel to enter in through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. ²⁶ And they that heard it said, Then who can be saved? ²⁷ But he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. ²⁸ And Peter said, Lo, we have left ^[ao]our own, and followed thee. ²⁹ And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or wife, or brethren, or parents, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake, ³⁰ who shall not receive manifold more in this time, and in the ^[ap]world to come eternal life.

³¹ And he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all the things that are written through the prophets shall be accomplished unto the Son of man. ³² For he shall be ^[aq]delivered up unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and shamefully treated, and spit upon: ³³ and they shall scourge and kill him: and the third day he shall rise again. ³⁴ And they understood none of these things; and this saying was hid from them, and they perceived not the things that were said.

³⁵ And it came to pass, as he drew nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging: ³⁶ and hearing a multitude going by, he inquired what this meant. ³⁷ And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. ³⁸ And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. ³⁹ And they that went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried out the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. ⁴⁰ And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, ⁴¹ What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. ⁴² And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath ^[ar]made thee whole. ⁴³ And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.