Luke 16:1-17

Christian Standard Bible

The Parable of the Dishonest Manager

16 Now he said to the disciples, “There was a rich^(A) man who received an accusation that his manager^(B) was squandering^(C) his possessions. ² So he called the manager in and asked, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management,^(D) because you can no longer be my manager.’

³ “Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do since my master is taking the management away from me? I’m not strong enough to dig; I’m ashamed to beg. ⁴ I know what I’ll do so that when I’m removed from management, people will welcome me into their homes.’

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

⁶ “‘A hundred measures of olive oil,’ he said.

“‘Take your invoice,’ he told him, ‘sit down quickly, and write fifty.’

⁷ “Next he asked another, ‘How much do you owe?’

“‘A hundred measures of wheat,’ he said.

“‘Take your invoice,’ he told him, ‘and write eighty.’

⁸ “The master praised the unrighteous manager^(E) because he had acted shrewdly. For the children of this age^(F) are more shrewd than the children of light^(G) in dealing with their own people.^{[a] 9} And I tell you, make friends^(H) for yourselves by means of worldly wealth^[b](I) so that when it fails, they may welcome you into eternal dwellings. ¹⁰ Whoever is faithful^(J) in very little^(K) is also faithful in much, and whoever is unrighteous in very little is also unrighteous in much. ¹¹ So if you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will trust you with what is genuine? ¹² And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to someone else, who will give you what is your own? ¹³ No^(L) servant can serve two masters, since either he will hate^(M) one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

Kingdom Values

¹⁴ The Pharisees, who were lovers of money,^(N) were listening to all these things and scoffing^(O) at him. ¹⁵ And he told them, “You are the ones who justify^(P) yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts.^(Q) For what is highly admired by people is revolting^(R) in God’s sight.

¹⁶ “The^(S) Law and the Prophets^(T) were until John; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God^(U) has been proclaimed, and everyone is urgently invited to enter it.^{[c] 17} But it is easier^(V) for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter in the law to drop out.