Luke 16:1-13
Disciples’ Literal New Testament
The Unrighteous Steward: Use Earthly Money For Heavenly Gain
16 And He was also saying to the disciples, “There was a certain rich man who had a steward[a]. And this one was accused to him as squandering his possessions. 2 And having called him, he said to him, ‘What is this I am hearing about you? Render the account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward’. 3 And the steward said within himself, ‘What should I do, because my master is taking-away the stewardship[b] from me? I am not strong-enough to dig. I am ashamed to beg. 4 I know what I will do so that they will welcome me into their houses when I am removed from the stewardship’. 5 And having summoned each one of the debtors of his master, he was saying to the first, ‘How much do you owe to my master?’ 6 And the one said, ‘A hundred baths[c] of olive-oil’. And the one said to him, ‘Take your writings[d], and having sat-down quickly, write fifty’. 7 Then he said to another, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’ And the one said, ‘A hundred cor[e] of wheat’. He says to him, ‘Take your writings, and write eighty’. 8 And the master praised the unrighteous steward because he acted shrewdly[f]. Because the sons of [g] this age are more shrewd in-relation-to their own kind than the sons of the light. 9 And I say to you— make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails[h] they[i] will welcome you into the eternal dwellings. 10 The one trustworthy[j] in a very-little thing is also trustworthy in much. And the one unrighteous in a very little thing is also unrighteous in much. 11 Therefore if you did not prove-to-be trustworthy with unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true[k] thing to you? 12 And if you did not prove-to-be trustworthy with the thing belonging to another[l], who will give you your own thing? 13 No household-servant can be serving[m] two masters. For either he will hate[n] the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and disregard the other. You cannot be serving God and wealth[o]”.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Luke 16:1 Or, household manager, administrator.
- Luke 16:3 That is, position of management responsibility.
- Luke 16:6 A bath was a liquid measure ranging from 5 to 10 gallons (21-39 liters).
- Luke 16:6 Or more specifically, records, receipts, accounts.
- Luke 16:7 This dry measure ranged from 6 to 11 bushels (50-90 gallons; 220-393 liters).
- Luke 16:8 The point is that he used the resources his master entrusted to him to create a new life for himself. We are to do likewise with regard to our coming heavenly life, v 9.
- Luke 16:8 That is, belonging to.
- Luke 16:9 Or, gives-out, comes-to-an-end.
- Luke 16:9 That is, the ones affected by your generosity who have passed on before you; or, God’s angels.
- Luke 16:10 Or, faithful.
- Luke 16:11 Or, genuine, real.
- Luke 16:12 That is, God. Our present things are God’s resources entrusted to us.
- Luke 16:13 That is, be serving-as-slave to.
- Luke 16:13 hate... disregard. See Mt 6:24.
- Luke 16:13 Or, property, money.
Disciples' Literal New Testament: Serving Modern Disciples by More Fully Reflecting the Writing Style of the Ancient Disciples, Copyright © 2011 Michael J. Magill. All Rights Reserved. Published by Reyma Publishing