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. 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.’

“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. I know what I’ll do so that when I’m removed from management, people will welcome me into their homes.’

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

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

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

“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.’

“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] 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.

18 “Everyone(W) who divorces(X) his wife and marries another woman commits adultery,(Y) and everyone who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

19 “There was a rich man who would dress in purple and fine linen,(Z) feasting lavishly every day. 20 But a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, was lying at his gate.(AA) 21 He longed to be filled(AB) with what fell from the rich man’s table,(AC) but instead the dogs(AD) would come and lick his sores. 22 One day the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side.[d](AE) The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torment(AF) in Hades,(AG) he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off, with Lazarus at his side. 24 ‘Father Abraham!’(AH) he called out, ‘Have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony(AI) in this flame!’

25 “‘Son,’[e] Abraham said, ‘remember that during your life you received your good things,(AJ) just as Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here,(AK) while you are in agony. 26 Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that those who want to pass over from here to you cannot; neither can those from there cross over to us.’

27 “‘Father,’ he said, ‘then I beg you to send him to my father’s house— 28 because I have five brothers—to warn(AL) them, so that they won’t also come to this place of torment.’

29 “But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets;(AM) they should listen to them.’

30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said. ‘But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

31 “But he told him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’”(AN)

Footnotes

  1. 16:8 Lit own generation
  2. 16:9 Lit unrighteous money, also in v. 11
  3. 16:16 Or everyone is forcing his way into it
  4. 16:22 Or to Abraham’s bosom; lit to the fold of Abraham’s robe; Jn 13:23
  5. 16:25 Lit Child

The Parable of the Shrewd Manager

16 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.(A) So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

“The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’

“So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

“‘Nine hundred gallons[a] of olive oil,’ he replied.

“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’

“Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’

“‘A thousand bushels[b] of wheat,’ he replied.

“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’

“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world(B) are more shrewd(C) in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.(D) I tell you, use worldly wealth(E) to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.(F)

10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much,(G) and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth,(H) who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

13 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”(I)

14 The Pharisees, who loved money,(J) heard all this and were sneering at Jesus.(K) 15 He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves(L) in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts.(M) What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.

Additional Teachings

16 “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John.(N) Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached,(O) and everyone is forcing their way into it. 17 It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.(P)

18 “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.(Q)

The Rich Man and Lazarus

19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.(R) 20 At his gate was laid a beggar(S) named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table.(T) Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham,(U) have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’(V)

25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things,(W) but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.(X) 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them,(Y) so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses(Z) and the Prophets;(AA) let them listen to them.’

30 “‘No, father Abraham,’(AB) he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Footnotes

  1. Luke 16:6 Or about 3,000 liters
  2. Luke 16:7 Or about 30 tons