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. 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.’ 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. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures[a] of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 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.’ 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. 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.”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 16:6 About 875 gallons or 3,200 liters
  2. Luke 16:7 Between 1,000 and 1,200 bushels or 37,000 to 45,000 liters
  3. Luke 16:8 Greek age
  4. Luke 16:9 Greek mammon, a Semitic word for money or possessions; also verse 11; rendered money in verse 13

The Parable about a Dishonest Manager

16 Now Jesus[a] was saying to the disciples, “A rich man had a servant manager who was accused of wasting his assets. So he called for him and asked him, ‘What’s this I hear about you? You can’t be my manager any longer. Now give me a report about your management!’

“Then the servant manager told himself, ‘What should I do? My master is taking my position away from me. I’m not strong enough to plow, and I’m ashamed to beg. I know what I’ll do so that people[b] will welcome me into their homes when I’m dismissed from my job.’

“So he called for each of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ The man replied, ‘A hundred jars of olive oil.’ The manager[c] told him, ‘Get your bill. Sit down quickly and write “50.”’ Then he asked another debtor,[d] ‘How much do you owe?’ The man replied, ‘A hundred containers of wheat.’ The manager[e] told him, ‘Get your bill and write “80.”’ The master praised the dishonest servant manager for being so clever, because worldly people[f] are more clever than enlightened people[g] in dealing with their own.[h]

“I’m telling you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails, they will welcome you into eternal homes.[i] 10 Whoever is faithful with very little is also faithful with a lot, and whoever is dishonest with very little is also dishonest with a lot. 11 So if you haven’t been faithful with unrighteous wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? 12 And if you haven’t been faithful with what belongs to foreigners, who will give you what is your own?

13 “No servant can serve two masters, because either he will hate one and love the other, or be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and wealth!”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 16:1 Lit. he
  2. Luke 16:4 Lit. they
  3. Luke 16:6 Lit. He
  4. Luke 16:7 The Gk. lacks debtor
  5. Luke 16:7 Lit. He
  6. Luke 16:8 Lit. the sons of this age
  7. Luke 16:8 Lit. the sons of light
  8. Luke 16:8 Lit. own generation
  9. Luke 16:9 Lit. tents