Luke 16
King James Version
16 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.
2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.
3 Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.
4 I am 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 lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?
6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.
7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.
8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.
10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?
13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
14 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.
15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
16 The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.
17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.
18 Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.
19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:
28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
Luke 16
Modern English Version
The Parable of the Dishonest Steward
16 He told His disciples: “There was a rich man who had a steward who was accused to the man of wasting his resources. 2 So he called him and said, ‘How is it that I hear this about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you may no longer be steward.’
3 “Then the steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do, for my master is taking away the stewardship from me? I cannot dig. I am ashamed to beg. 4 I know what to do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, others may receive me into their houses.’
5 “So he called each of his master’s debtors, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
6 “He said, ‘Eight hundred gallons[a] of oil.’
“He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write four hundred.’
7 “Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’
“He said, ‘One thousand bushels[b] of wheat.’
“He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eight hundred.’
8 “The master commended the dishonest steward, because he had acted prudently. For the sons of this world are wiser in their own generation than the sons of light. 9 I say to you, make friends for yourself by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when you fall short, they may receive you into eternal dwellings.
10 “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much. And he who is dishonest in the least is dishonest also in much. 11 So if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who will give you that which is your own?
13 “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
The Law and the Kingdom of God(A)
14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things and derided Him. 15 He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For that which is highly esteemed before men is an abomination before God.
16 “The Law and the Prophets were preached until John. Since then the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it. 17 It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of the law to fail.
18 “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and whoever marries her who is divorced by her husband commits adultery.
The Rich Man and Lazarus
19 “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20 There was also a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores, who had been placed at his gate, 21 desiring to be fed the crumbs falling from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 “It came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s presence. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham from a distance and Lazarus in his presence. 24 So he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am tormented in this flame.’
25 “But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things. But now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf, so that those who would pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’
27 “He said, ‘Then I pray you, father, to send him to my father’s house, 28 for I have five brothers, to testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’
29 “Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets. Let them hear them.’
30 “He said, ‘No, father Abraham. But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.’ ”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.