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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 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