⁴ they on their part acted with cunning and went and made ready provisions and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys, and wineskins, worn-out and torn and mended,

⁸ The master commended the dishonest manager for his ^(A)shrewdness. For ^(B)the sons of this world^[a] are ^(C)more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than ^(D)the sons of light.

³⁷ And no one puts new wine into old ^(A)wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. ³⁸ But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.

²² And no one puts new wine into old ^(A)wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”^[a]

Persecution Will Come

^16 (A)“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be ^(B)wise as serpents and ^(C)innocent as doves.

¹⁷ Neither is new wine put into old ^(A)wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”

³¹ And his servants said to him, “Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Let us ^(A)put sackcloth around our waists and ropes on our heads and go out to the king of Israel. Perhaps he will spare your life.” ³² So they ^(B)tied sackcloth around their waists and put ropes on their heads and went to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please, let me live.’” And he said, “Does he still live? He is my brother.” ³³ Now the men were watching for a sign, and they quickly took it up from him and said, “Yes, your brother Ben-hadad.” Then he said, “Go and bring him.” Then Ben-hadad came out to him, and he caused him to come up into the chariot.

¹³ The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah.