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.”

Rebuilding the Wall

3 Then ^(A)Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built ^(B)the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and ^(C)set its doors. They consecrated it as far as the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the ^(D)Tower of Hananel. ² And next to him ^(E)the men of Jericho built. And next to them^[a] Zaccur the son of Imri built.

³ The sons of Hassenaah built ^(F)the Fish Gate. ^(G)They laid its beams and ^(H)set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. ⁴ And next to them ^(I)Meremoth the son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz repaired. And next to them ^(J)Meshullam the son of Berechiah, son of Meshezabel repaired. And next to them Zadok the son of Baana repaired. ⁵ And next to them ^(K)the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord.^[b]

⁶ Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah ^(L)repaired the Gate of Yeshanah.^{[c] (M)}They laid its beams and ^(N)set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. ⁷ And next to them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, the seat of ^(O)the governor of the province Beyond the River. ⁸ Next to them Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, goldsmiths, repaired. Next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, repaired, and they restored Jerusalem as far as ^(P)the Broad Wall. ⁹ Next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, ^(Q)ruler of half the district of^[d] Jerusalem, repaired. ¹⁰ Next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph repaired opposite his house. And next to him Hattush the son of Hashabneiah repaired. ¹¹ Malchijah the son of Harim and Hasshub the son of Pahath-moab repaired another section and ^(R)the Tower of the Ovens. ¹² Next to him Shallum the son of Hallohesh, ^(S)ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired, he and his daughters.

¹³ Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired ^(T)the Valley Gate. They rebuilt it and ^(U)set its doors, its bolts, and its bars, and repaired a thousand cubits^[e] of the wall, as far as ^(V)the Dung Gate.

¹⁴ Malchijah the son of Rechab, ruler of the district of ^(W)Beth-haccherem, repaired ^(X)the Dung Gate. He rebuilt it and ^(Y)set its doors, its bolts, and its bars.

¹⁵ And Shallum the son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah, repaired ^(Z)the Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it and covered it and ^(AA)set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. And he built the wall of ^(AB)the Pool of Shelah of ^(AC)the king's garden, as far as ^(AD)the stairs that go down from the city of David. ¹⁶ After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, ruler of half the district of Beth-zur, repaired to a point opposite ^(AE)the tombs of David, as far as ^(AF)the artificial pool, and as far as the house of the mighty men. ¹⁷ After him the Levites repaired: Rehum the son of Bani. Next to him Hashabiah, ruler of half the district of Keilah, repaired for his district. ¹⁸ After him their brothers repaired: Bavvai the son of Henadad, ruler of half the district of Keilah. ¹⁹ Next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section opposite the ascent to the armory at ^(AG)the buttress.^{[f] 20} After him Baruch the son of Zabbai repaired^[g] another section from the buttress to the door of the house of ^(AH)Eliashib the high priest. ²¹ After him ^(AI)Meremoth the son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz repaired another section from the door of the house of Eliashib to the end of the house of Eliashib. ²² After him the priests, the men of ^(AJ)the surrounding area, repaired. ²³ After them Benjamin and Hasshub repaired opposite their house. After them Azariah the son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah repaired beside his own house. ²⁴ After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah to the buttress and to ^(AK)the corner. ²⁵ Palal the son of Uzai repaired opposite the buttress and the tower projecting from the upper house of the king at ^(AL)the court of the guard. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh ^26 (AM)and the temple servants living on ^(AN)Ophel repaired to a point opposite ^(AO)the Water Gate on the east and the projecting tower. ²⁷ After him ^(AP)the Tekoites repaired another section opposite the great projecting tower as far as the wall of Ophel.

²⁸ Above ^(AQ)the Horse Gate the priests repaired, each one opposite his own house. ²⁹ After them Zadok the son of Immer repaired opposite his own house. After him Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, repaired. ³⁰ After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph repaired another section. After him ^(AR)Meshullam the son of Berechiah repaired opposite ^(AS)his chamber. ³¹ After him Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, repaired as far as the house of the temple servants and of the merchants, opposite the Muster Gate,^[h] and to the upper chamber of the corner. ³² And between the upper chamber of the corner and ^(AT)the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and the merchants repaired.

I Love the Lord

The Lord's Faithfulness Endures Forever