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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.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 16:6 About 875 gallons or 3,000 litres
  2. Luke 16:7 Between 1,000 and 1,200 bushels or 28,000 to 35,000 litres
  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 of the Shrewd Manager

16 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.(A) So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

“The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’

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

“‘Nine hundred gallons[a] of olive oil,’ he replied.

“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’

“Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’

“‘A thousand bushels[b] of wheat,’ he replied.

“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’

“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world(B) are more shrewd(C) in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.(D) I tell you, use worldly wealth(E) to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.(F)

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 16:6 Or about 3,000 liters
  2. Luke 16:7 Or about 30 tons