The Parable of the Dishonest Manager

16 He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had ^(A)a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. ² And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your ^(B)management, for you can no longer be manager.’ ³ And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. ⁴ I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ ⁵ So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ ⁶ He said, ‘A hundred measures^[a] of oil.’ 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?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures^[b] of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ ⁸ The master commended the dishonest manager for his ^(C)shrewdness. For ^(D)the sons of this world^[c] are ^(E)more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than ^(F)the sons of light. ⁹ And I tell you, ^(G)make friends for yourselves by means of ^(H)unrighteous wealth,^[d] so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

^10 (I)“One who is ^(J)faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. ¹¹ If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? ¹² And if you have not been faithful in ^(K)that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? ^13 (L)No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

The Law and the Kingdom of God

^14 (M)The Pharisees, who were ^(N)lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ^(O)ridiculed him. ¹⁵ And he said to them, “You are those who ^(P)justify yourselves before men, but ^(Q)God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men ^(R)is an abomination in the sight of God.

^16 (S)“The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then ^(T)the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and ^(U)everyone forces his way into it.^{[e] 17} But ^(V)it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.

Divorce and Remarriage

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

The Rich Man and Lazarus

¹⁹ “There was a rich man who was clothed in ^(X)purple and fine linen and ^(Y)who feasted sumptuously every day. ²⁰ And at his gate ^(Z)was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, ²¹ who desired to be fed with ^(AA)what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. ²² The poor man died and was carried by ^(AB)the angels ^(AC)to Abraham's side.^[f] The rich man also died and was buried, ²³ and in ^(AD)Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and ^(AE)saw Abraham far off and Lazarus ^(AF)at his side. ²⁴ And he called out, ^(AG)‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and ^(AH)cool my tongue, for ^(AI)I am in anguish in this flame.’ ²⁵ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that ^(AJ)you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. ²⁶ And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ ²⁷ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house— ²⁸ for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ ²⁹ But Abraham said, ‘They have ^(AK)Moses and the Prophets; ^(AL)let them hear them.’ ³⁰ And he said, ‘No, ^(AM)father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ ³¹ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear ^(AN)Moses and the Prophets, ^(AO)neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”

Temptations to Sin

17 And he said to his disciples, ^(AP)“Temptations to sin^[g] are ^(AQ)sure to come, but ^(AR)woe to the one through whom they come! ^2 (AS)It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.^{[h] 3} Pay attention to yourselves! ^(AT)If your brother sins, ^(AU)rebuke him, and if he repents, ^(AV)forgive him, ⁴ and if he sins against you ^(AW)seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

Increase Our Faith

^5 (AX)The apostles said to the Lord, ^(AY)“Increase our faith!” ⁶ And the Lord said, ^(AZ)“If you had faith like ^(BA)a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this ^(BB)mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

Unworthy Servants

⁷ “Will any one of you who has a servant^[i] plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? ⁸ Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and ^(BC)dress properly,^[j] and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? ⁹ Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? ¹⁰ So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are ^(BD)unworthy servants;^[k] we have only done what was our duty.’”

Jesus Cleanses Ten Lepers

^11 (BE)On the way to Jerusalem ^(BF)he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. ¹² And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers,^{[l] (BG)}who stood at a distance ¹³ and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” ¹⁴ When he saw them he said to them, “Go and ^(BH)show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. ¹⁵ Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, ^(BI)praising God with a loud voice; ¹⁶ and ^(BJ)he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was ^(BK)a Samaritan. ¹⁷ Then Jesus answered, “Were not ^(BL)ten cleansed? Where are the nine? ¹⁸ Was no one found to return and ^(BM)give praise to God except this ^(BN)foreigner?” ¹⁹ And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; ^(BO)your faith has ^(BP)made you well.”^[m]

The Coming of the Kingdom

²⁰ Being asked by the Pharisees ^(BQ)when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God ^(BR)is not coming in ways that can be observed, ²¹ nor ^(BS)will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”^[n]

²² And he said to the disciples, ^(BT)“The days are coming when you will desire ^(BU)to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. ^23 (BV)And they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them. ^24 (BW)For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be ^(BX)in his day.^{[o] 25} But first ^(BY)he must suffer many things and ^(BZ)be rejected by this generation. ^26 (CA)Just as it was in the days of ^(CB)Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. ^27 (CC)They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. ²⁸ Likewise, just as it was in the days of ^(CD)Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, ^29 (CE)but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all— ³⁰ so will it be ^(CF)on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. ³¹ On that day, ^(CG)let the one who is on ^(CH)the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. ^32 (CI)Remember Lot's wife. ^33 (CJ)Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will ^(CK)keep it. ³⁴ I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. ^35 (CL)There will be two women ^(CM)grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.”^{[p] 37} And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, ^(CN)“Where the corpse^[q] is, there the vultures^[r] will gather.”

Laws Concerning Warfare

20 “When you go out to war against your enemies, and see ^(A)horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is ^(B)with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. ² And when you draw near to the battle, ^(C)the priest shall come forward and speak to the people ³ and shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel, today you are drawing near for battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread of them, ⁴ for the Lord your God is he who goes with you ^(D)to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.’ ⁵ Then the officers shall speak to the people, saying, ‘Is there any man who has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man dedicate it. ⁶ And is there any man who has planted a vineyard and has not ^(E)enjoyed its fruit? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man enjoy its fruit. ^7 (F)And is there any man who has betrothed a wife and has not taken her? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man take her.’ ⁸ And the officers shall speak further to the people, and say, ^(G)‘Is there any man who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go back to his house, lest he make the heart of his fellows melt like his own.’ ⁹ And when the officers have finished speaking to the people, then commanders shall be appointed at the head of the people.

¹⁰ “When you draw near to a city to fight against it, ^(H)offer terms of peace to it. ¹¹ And if it responds to you peaceably and it opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall do forced labor for you and shall serve you. ¹² But if it makes no peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it. ¹³ And when the Lord your God gives it into your hand, ^(I)you shall put all its males to the sword, ^14 (J)but the women and the little ones, the livestock, and everything else in the city, all its spoil, you ^(K)shall take as plunder for yourselves. And ^(L)you shall enjoy the spoil of your enemies, which the Lord your God has given you. ¹⁵ Thus you shall do to all the cities that are very far from you, which are not cities of the nations here. ¹⁶ But ^(M)in the cities of these peoples that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that breathes, ¹⁷ but ^(N)you shall devote them to complete destruction,^[a] the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as the Lord your God has commanded, ¹⁸ that ^(O)they may not teach you to do according to all their abominable practices that they have done for their gods, and so you ^(P)sin against the Lord your God.

¹⁹ “When you besiege a city for a long time, making war against it in order to take it, ^(Q)you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them. You may eat from them, but you shall not cut them down. Are the trees in the field human, that they should be besieged by you? ²⁰ Only the trees that you know are not trees for food you may destroy and cut down, that you may build siegeworks against the city that makes war with you, until it falls.

Why Should I Fear in Times of Trouble?

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of ^(A)the Sons of Korah.