Christian Graces; Final Greetings

4 Masters,^(A) give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

^8 (A)knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.

⁹ And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that ^[a]your own ^(B)Master also is in heaven, and ^(C)there is no partiality with Him.

The Whole Armor of God

¹⁰ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ^11 (D)Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the ^[b]wiles of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against ^(E)principalities, against powers, against ^(F)the rulers of ^[c]the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. ^13 (G)Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand ^(H)in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

¹⁴ Stand therefore, ^(I)having girded your waist with truth, ^(J)having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ^15 (K)and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ above all, taking ^(L)the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. ¹⁷ And ^(M)take the helmet of salvation, and ^(N)the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; ^18 (O)praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, ^(P)being watchful to this end with all perseverance and ^(Q)supplication for all the saints— ¹⁹ and for me, that utterance may be given to me, ^(R)that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which ^(S)I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

^14 (A)These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will ^(B)overcome them, ^(C)for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; ^(D)and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”

¹³ For ^(A)judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown ^(B)no ^(C)mercy. ^(D)Mercy triumphs over judgment.

¹⁴ “You shall not ^(A)oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether one of your brethren or one of the aliens who is in your land within your gates. ¹⁵ Each day ^(B)you shall give him his wages, and not let the sun go down on it, for he is poor and has set his heart on it; ^(C)lest he cry out against you to the Lord, and it be sin to you.

The Parable of the Unjust Steward

16 He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was ^[a]wasting his goods. ² So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an ^(A)account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’

³ “Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. ⁴ I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’

⁵ “So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ ⁶ And he said, ‘A hundred ^[b]measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ ⁷ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred ^[c]measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ ⁸ So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than ^(B)the sons of light.

⁹ “And I say to you, ^(C)make friends for yourselves by unrighteous ^[d]mammon, that when ^[e]you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. ^10 (D)He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. ¹¹ Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? ¹² And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your ^(E)own?

^13 (F)“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

⁴⁸ But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master ^(A)is delaying ^[a]his coming,’ ⁴⁹ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, ⁵⁰ the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is ^(B)not aware of, ⁵¹ and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. ^(C)There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The Vanity of Gain and Honor

⁸ If you ^(A)see the oppression of the poor, and the violent ^[a]perversion of justice and righteousness in a province, do not marvel at the matter; for ^(B)high official watches over high official, and higher officials are over them.

The Law Concerning Slavery

³⁹ ‘And if one of your brethren who dwells by you becomes poor, and sells himself to you, you shall not compel him to serve as a slave. ⁴⁰ As a hired servant and a sojourner he shall be with you, and shall serve you until the Year of Jubilee. ⁴¹ And then he shall depart from you—he and his children ^(A)with him—and shall return to his own family. He shall return to the possession of his fathers. ⁴² For they are ^(B)My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. ^43 (C)You shall not rule over him ^(D)with ^[a]rigor, but you ^(E)shall fear your God.