Luke 16:1-12

English Standard Version

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?