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.

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)

Warnings from Jesus

17 He^(AO) said to his disciples, “Offenses will certainly come,^[f] but woe^(AP) to the one through whom they come!^{(AQ) 2} It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to stumble.^{(AR) 3} Be^(AS) on your guard. If your brother sins,^[g] rebuke^(AT) him, and if he repents, forgive^(AU) him. ⁴ And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and comes back to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

Faith and Duty

⁵ The^(AV) apostles^(AW) said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”^(AX)

⁶ “If you have faith the size of^[h] a mustard seed,”^(AY) the Lord said, “you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

⁷ “Which one of you having a servant tending sheep or plowing will say to him when he comes in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? ⁸ Instead, will he not tell him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, get ready, and serve me while I eat and drink; later you can eat and drink’?^{(AZ) 9} Does he thank that servant because he did what was commanded?^{[i] 10} In the same way, when you have done all that you were commanded, you should say, ‘We are unworthy ^(BA) servants; we’ve only done our duty.’”

Ten Men Healed

¹¹ While traveling to Jerusalem,^(BB) he passed between^[j] Samaria and Galilee.^{(BC) 12} As he entered a village, ten men with leprosy^[k](BD) met him. They stood at a distance ¹³ and raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master,^(BE) have mercy on us!”

¹⁴ When he saw them, he told them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.”^(BF) And while they were going, they were cleansed.

¹⁵ But one of them, seeing that he was healed, returned and, with a loud voice, gave glory to God.^{(BG) 16} He fell facedown^(BH) at his feet, thanking him. And he was a Samaritan.^(BI)

¹⁷ Then Jesus said, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? ¹⁸ Didn’t any return to give glory to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹ And he told him, “Get up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you.”^[l](BJ)

The Coming of the Kingdom

²⁰ When he was^(BK) asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come,^(BL) he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming with something observable; ²¹ no one will say,^[m] ‘See here!’ or ‘There!’ For you see, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”^[n]

²² Then he told the disciples, “The days are coming^(BM) when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you won’t see it.^{(BN) 23} They will say to you,^(BO) ‘See there!’ or ‘See here!’ Don’t follow or run after them.^{(BP) 24} For as the lightning flashes from horizon to horizon and lights up the sky, so the Son of Man will be in his day.^{(BQ) 25} But first it is necessary that he suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.^(BR)

²⁶ “Just as it was in the days of Noah,^(BS) so it will be in the days of the Son of Man: ²⁷ People went on eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage^(BT) until the day Noah boarded the ark,^(BU) and the flood came and destroyed them all. ²⁸ It will be the same as it was in the days of Lot:^(BV) People went on eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building. ²⁹ But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed^(BW) them all. ³⁰ It^(BX) will be like that on the day the Son of Man is revealed.^{(BY) 31} On that day, a man on the housetop, whose belongings are in the house, must not come down to get them. Likewise the man who is in the field must not turn back. ³² Remember Lot’s wife!^{(BZ) 33} Whoever tries to make his life secure^[o][p] will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.^{(CA) 34} I tell you, on that night^(CB) two will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left. ³⁵ Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.”^[q]

³⁷ “Where, Lord?” ^(CC) they asked him.

He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there also the vultures^(CD) will be gathered.”

Lazarus Dies at Bethany

11 Now a man was sick—Lazarus from Bethany,^(A) the village of Mary and her sister Martha.^{(B) 2} Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair,^(C) and it was her brother Lazarus who was sick. ³ So the sisters sent a message to him: “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

⁴ When Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God,^(D) so that the Son of God^(E) may be glorified through it.” ⁵ Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. ⁶ So when he heard that he was sick, he stayed two more days in the place where he was. ⁷ Then after that, he said to the disciples, “Let’s go to Judea^(F) again.”

⁸ “Rabbi,”^(G) the disciples told him, “just now the Jews tried to stone you,^(H) and you’re going there again?”

⁹ “Aren’t there twelve hours in a day?” Jesus answered. “If anyone walks during the day, he doesn’t stumble, because he sees the light of this world.^{(I) 10} But if anyone walks during the night,^(J) he does stumble, because the light is not in him.”

¹¹ He said this, and then he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep,^(K) but I’m on my way to wake him up.”

¹² Then the disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will get well.”

¹³ Jesus, however, was speaking about his death, but they thought he was speaking about natural sleep. ¹⁴ So Jesus then told them plainly, “Lazarus has died. ¹⁵ I’m glad for you that I wasn’t there so that you may believe. But let’s go to him.”

¹⁶ Then Thomas^(L) (called “Twin”^[a]) said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go too so that we may die with him.”

The Resurrection and the Life

¹⁷ When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb^(M) four days. ¹⁸ Bethany was near Jerusalem^(N) (less than two miles^[b] away). ¹⁹ Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother.

²⁰ As soon as Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him, but Mary remained seated in the house. ²¹ Then Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. ²² Yet even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”

²³ “Your brother will rise^(O) again,” Jesus told her.

²⁴ Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”^(P)

²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am^(Q) the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me,^(R) even if he dies, will live.^{(S) 26} Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.^(T) Do you believe this?”

²⁷ “Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe you are the Messiah,^(U) the Son^(V) of God, who comes into the world.”^(W)

Jesus Shares the Sorrow of Death

²⁸ Having said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.”

²⁹ As soon as Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him.^{(X) 30} Jesus had not yet come into the village but was still in the place where Martha had met him. ³¹ The Jews who were with her in the house consoling her saw that Mary got up quickly and went out. They followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb^(Y) to cry there.

³² As soon as Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet^(Z) and told him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died!”

³³ When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, he was deeply moved^[c] in his spirit^(AA) and troubled. ³⁴ “Where have you put him?” he asked.

“Lord,” they told him, “come and see.”

³⁵ Jesus wept.^(AB)

³⁶ So the Jews said, “See how he loved^(AC) him!” ³⁷ But some of them said, “Couldn’t he who opened the blind man’s eyes^(AD) also have kept this man from dying?”

The Seventh Sign: Raising Lazarus from the Dead

³⁸ Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.^{(AE) 39} “Remove the stone,” Jesus said.

Martha, the dead man’s sister, told him, “Lord, there is already a stench because he has been dead four days.”

⁴⁰ Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory^(AF) of God?”^(AG)

⁴¹ So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank^(AH) you that you heard me.^{(AI) 42} I know that you always hear me, but because of the crowd standing here I said this, so that they may believe you sent^(AJ) me.” ⁴³ After he said this, he shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴ The dead man came out bound hand and foot with linen strips and with his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him and let him go.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

⁴⁵ Therefore, many of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what he did believed in him.^{(AK) 46} But some of them went to the Pharisees^(AL) and told them what Jesus had done.

⁴⁷ So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin^(AM) and were saying, “What are we going to do since this man is doing many signs? ⁴⁸ If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans^(AN) will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

⁴⁹ One of them, Caiaphas,^(AO) who was high priest^(AP) that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all! ⁵⁰ You’re not considering that it is to your^[d] advantage that one man should die for the people rather than the whole nation perish.”^{(AQ) 51} He did not say this on his own, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was going to die^(AR) for the nation, ⁵² and not for the nation only, but also to unite the scattered children^(AS) of God. ⁵³ So from that day on they plotted to kill him.^(AT)

⁵⁴ Jesus therefore no longer walked openly^(AU) among the Jews but departed from there to the countryside near the wilderness,^(AV) to a town called Ephraim, and he stayed there with the disciples.

⁵⁵ Now the Jewish Passover^(AW) was near, and many went up to Jerusalem^(AX) from the country to purify themselves before the Passover. ⁵⁶ They were looking for Jesus and asking one another as they stood in the temple,^(AY) “What do you think? He won’t come to the festival,^(AZ) will he?” ⁵⁷ The chief priests^(BA) and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should report it so that they could arrest him.