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The Parable of the Unrighteous Steward

16 Now He was also saying to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a steward, and this steward was [a]reported to him as (A)squandering his possessions. And he called for him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’ And the steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my [b]master is taking the stewardship away from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg. I know what I shall do, so that when I am removed from the stewardship people will [c]take me into their homes.’ And he summoned each one of his [d]master’s debtors, and he began saying to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ And he said, ‘One hundred [e]baths of oil.’ And 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?’ And he said, ‘One hundred [f]kors of wheat.’ He *said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ And his [g]master praised the unrighteous steward because he had acted shrewdly, for the sons of (B)this age are more shrewd in relation to their own [h]kind than the (C)sons of light. And I say to you, (D)make friends for yourselves from the [i](E)wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, (F)they will [j]take you into the eternal dwellings.

10 (G)He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much, and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. 11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous [k](H)wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? 12 And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? 13 (I)No [l]servant can [m]serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot [n]serve God and [o](J)wealth.”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 16:1 Or accused
  2. Luke 16:3 Or lord
  3. Luke 16:4 Or receive
  4. Luke 16:5 Or lord’s
  5. Luke 16:6 A bath was approx. 6 gal. or 23 l
  6. Luke 16:7 A kor was approx. 6.5 bu. or 230 l
  7. Luke 16:8 Or lord
  8. Luke 16:8 Lit generation
  9. Luke 16:9 Gr mamonas (mammon); wealth personified as an object of worship
  10. Luke 16:9 Or receive
  11. Luke 16:11 Gr mamonas (mammon); wealth personified as an object of worship
  12. Luke 16:13 Or house-servant
  13. Luke 16:13 Or be a slave to
  14. Luke 16:13 Or be a slave to
  15. Luke 16:13 Gr mamonas (mammon); wealth personified as an object of worship

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. 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.’

“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. I know what I’ll do so that when I’m removed from management, people will welcome me into their homes.’

“So he summoned each one of his master’s debtors. ‘How much do you owe my master?’ he asked the first one.

“‘A hundred measures of olive oil,’ he said.

“‘Take your invoice,’ he told him, ‘sit down quickly, and write fifty.’

“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.’

“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] 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.”

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Footnotes

  1. 16:8 Lit own generation
  2. 16:9 Lit unrighteous money, also in v. 11