Luke 16
New King James Version
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.”
The Law, the Prophets, and the Kingdom
14 Now the Pharisees, (G)who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they [f]derided Him. 15 And He said to them, “You are those who (H)justify yourselves (I)before men, but (J)God knows your hearts. For (K)what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
16 (L)“The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it. 17 (M)And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one [g]tittle of the law to fail.
18 (N)“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery.
The Rich Man and Lazarus
19 “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and [h]fared sumptuously every day. 20 But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21 desiring to be fed with [i]the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to (O)Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 “Then 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 (P)cool my tongue; for I (Q)am tormented in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Son, (R)remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus 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 fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’
27 “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, 28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ 29 Abraham said to him, (S)‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 But he said to him, (T)‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, (U)neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ ”
Footnotes
- Luke 16:1 squandering
- Luke 16:6 Gr. batos, same as Heb. bath; 8 or 9 gallons each
- Luke 16:7 Gr. koros, same as Heb. kor; 10 or 12 bushels each
- Luke 16:9 Lit., in Aram., wealth
- Luke 16:9 NU it fails
- Luke 16:14 Lit. turned up their nose at
- Luke 16:17 The smallest stroke in a Heb. letter
- Luke 16:19 lived in luxury
- Luke 16:21 NU what fell
Luke 16
International Standard Version
The Parable about a Dishonest Manager
16 Now Jesus[a] was saying to the disciples, “A rich man had a servant manager who was accused of wasting his assets. 2 So he called for him and asked him, ‘What’s this I hear about you? You can’t be my manager any longer. Now give me a report about your management!’
3 “Then the servant manager told himself, ‘What should I do? My master is taking my position away from me. I’m not strong enough to plow, and I’m ashamed to beg. 4 I know what I’ll do so that people[b] will welcome me into their homes when I’m dismissed from my job.’
5 “So he called for each of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 The man replied, ‘A hundred jars of olive oil.’ The manager[c] told him, ‘Get your bill. Sit down quickly and write “50.”’ 7 Then he asked another debtor,[d] ‘How much do you owe?’ The man replied, ‘A hundred containers of wheat.’ The manager[e] told him, ‘Get your bill and write “80.”’ 8 The master praised the dishonest servant manager for being so clever, because worldly people[f] are more clever than enlightened people[g] in dealing with their own.[h]
9 “I’m telling you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails, they will welcome you into eternal homes.[i] 10 Whoever is faithful with very little is also faithful with a lot, and whoever is dishonest with very little is also dishonest with a lot. 11 So if you haven’t been faithful with unrighteous wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? 12 And if you haven’t been faithful with what belongs to foreigners, who will give you what is your own?
13 “No servant can serve two masters, because either he will hate one and love the other, or be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and wealth!”
The Law and the Kingdom of God(A)
14 Now the Pharisees, who love money, had been listening to all this and began to ridicule Jesus.[j] 15 So he told them, “You try to justify yourselves in front of people, but God knows your hearts, because what is highly valued by people is detestable to God.
16 “The Law and the Prophets were fulfilled[k] with John. Since then, the good news about the kingdom of God is being proclaimed, and everybody enters it enthusiastically.[l] 17 However, it is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for one stroke of a letter in the Law to be dropped. 18 Any man who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.”
The Rich Man and Lazarus
19 “Once there was a rich man who used to dress in purple and fine linen and live in great luxury every day. 20 A beggar named Lazarus, who was covered with sores, was brought to his gate. 21 He was always trying to satisfy his hunger with what fell[m] from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs used to come and lick his sores.
22 “One day, the beggar died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In the afterlife,[n] where he was in constant torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus by his side. 24 So he shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me! Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water to cool off my tongue, because I am suffering in this fire.’
25 “But Abraham said, ‘My child, remember that during your lifetime you received blessings,[o] while Lazarus received hardships.[p] But now he is being comforted here, while you suffer. 26 Besides all this, a wide chasm has been fixed between us, so that those who want to cross from this side to you cannot do so, nor can they cross from your side to us.’
27 “The rich man[q] said, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus[r] to my father’s house— 28 because I have five brothers—to warn them, so that they won’t end up in this place of torture, too.’
29 “Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets. They should listen to them!’
30 “But the rich man[s] replied, ‘No, father Abraham! But if someone from the dead went to them, they would repent.’
31 “Then Abraham[t] told him, ‘If your brothers[u] do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded, even if someone were to rise from the dead.’”
Footnotes
- Luke 16:1 Lit. he
- Luke 16:4 Lit. they
- Luke 16:6 Lit. He
- Luke 16:7 The Gk. lacks debtor
- Luke 16:7 Lit. He
- Luke 16:8 Lit. the sons of this age
- Luke 16:8 Lit. the sons of light
- Luke 16:8 Lit. own generation
- Luke 16:9 Lit. tents
- Luke 16:14 Lit. him
- Luke 16:16 The Gk. lacks were fulfilled
- Luke 16:16 Or forcefully; Lit. everybody forces their way into it
- Luke 16:21 Other mss. read the scraps that fell
- Luke 16:23 Lit. Hades, i.e. the realm of the dead
- Luke 16:25 Lit. good things
- Luke 16:25 Lit. and Lazarus in like manner evil things
- Luke 16:27 Lit. He
- Luke 16:27 Lit. him
- Luke 16:30 Lit. he
- Luke 16:31 Lit. he
- Luke 16:31 Lit. If they
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
