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) 2} 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.’

³ “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— ⁴ I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’

⁵ “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

⁶ “‘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.’

⁷ “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.’

⁸ “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) 9} 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.’”

Sin, Faith, Duty

17 Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble^(AC) are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come.^{(AD) 2} It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones^(AE) to stumble.^{(AF) 3} So watch yourselves.

“If your brother or sister^[c] sins against you, rebuke them;^(AG) and if they repent, forgive them.^{(AH) 4} Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”^(AI)

⁵ The apostles^(AJ) said to the Lord,^(AK) “Increase our faith!”

⁶ He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed,^(AL) you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.^(AM)

⁷ “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? ⁸ Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me^(AN) while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? ⁹ Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? ¹⁰ So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”^(AO)

Jesus Heals Ten Men With Leprosy

¹¹ Now on his way to Jerusalem,^(AP) Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee.^{(AQ) 12} As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy^[d](AR) met him. They stood at a distance^{(AS) 13} and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master,^(AT) have pity on us!”

¹⁴ When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”^(AU) And as they went, they were cleansed.

¹⁵ One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God^(AV) in a loud voice. ¹⁶ He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.^(AW)

¹⁷ Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? ¹⁸ Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹ Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”^(AX)

The Coming of the Kingdom of God^(AY)

²⁰ Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come,^(AZ) Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, ²¹ nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’^(BA) because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”^[e]

²² Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man,^(BB) but you will not see it.^{(BC) 23} People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them.^{(BD) 24} For the Son of Man in his day^[f] will be like the lightning,^(BE) which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. ²⁵ But first he must suffer many things^(BF) and be rejected^(BG) by this generation.^(BH)

²⁶ “Just as it was in the days of Noah,^(BI) so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. ²⁷ People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

²⁸ “It was the same in the days of Lot.^(BJ) People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. ²⁹ But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

³⁰ “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.^{(BK) 31} On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything.^{(BL) 32} Remember Lot’s wife!^{(BM) 33} Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.^{(BN) 34} I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. ³⁵ Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.”^{(BO) [36] [g]}

³⁷ “Where, Lord?” they asked.

He replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.”^(BP)