4 ¹ Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, for you know that you also have a Master in heaven.

⁸ knowing that whatever good we do, we will receive the same again from the Lord, whether we are enslaved or free.

⁹ And, masters,^[a] do the same to them. Stop threatening them, for you know that both of you have the same Lord^[b] in heaven, and with him there is no partiality.^(A)

The Whole Armor of God

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power; ¹¹ put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, ¹² for our^[c] struggle is not against blood and flesh but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present^[d] darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.^{[e](B) 13} Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on the evil day and, having prevailed against everything, to stand firm.^{(C) 14} Stand, therefore, and belt your waist with truth and put on the breastplate of righteousness^{(D) 15} and lace up your sandals in preparation for the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ With all of these,^[f] take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.^{(E) 17} Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.^{(F) 18} Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.^{(G) 19} Pray also for me, so that when I speak a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,^{[g](H) 20} for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.^(I)

¹⁴ they will wage war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”^(A)

¹³ For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.^(A)

¹⁴ “You shall not withhold the wages of poor and needy laborers, whether other Israelites or aliens who reside in your land in one of your towns.^{(A) 15} You shall pay them their wages daily before sunset, because they are poor and their livelihood depends on them; otherwise they might cry to the Lord against you, and you would incur guilt.^(B)

The Parable of the Dishonest Manager

16 Then Jesus^[a] said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property.^{(A) 2} So he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management because you cannot be my manager any longer.’ ³ Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. ⁴ I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.’ ⁵ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ ⁶ He answered, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.’ ⁷ Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘A hundred containers of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and make it eighty.’ ⁸ And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly, for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.^{(B) 9} And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth^[b] so that when it is gone they may welcome you into the eternal homes.^[c](C)

¹⁰ “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much, and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much.^{(D) 11} If, then, you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth,^[d] who will entrust to you the true riches?^{(E) 12} And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? ¹³ No slave can serve two masters, for a slave will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”^[e](F)

⁴⁸ But if that wicked slave says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ ⁴⁹ and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eats and drinks with drunkards, ⁵⁰ the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know. ⁵¹ He will cut him in pieces^[a] and put him with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.^(A)

⁸ If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and right, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them.^(A)

³⁹ “If any who are dependent on you become so impoverished that they sell themselves to you, you shall not make them serve as slaves.^{(A) 40} They shall remain with you as hired or bound laborers. They shall serve with you until the year of the Jubilee. ⁴¹ Then they and their children with them shall go out from your authority; they shall go back to their own family and return to their ancestral property.^{(B) 42} For they are my servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves are sold. ⁴³ You shall not rule over them with harshness but shall fear your God.^(C)