Luke 16

The Parable of the Clever Steward

1 Jesust also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who was informed of accusationst that his managers was wastingt his assets.2 Sot he called the managert in and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you?s Turn in the account of your administration,t because you can no longer be my manager.’3 Thent the manager said to himself, ‘What should I do, since my master is taking my positiont away from me? I’m not strong enough to dig,t and I’m too ashamedts to beg.4 I knowt what to do so that when I am put out of management, people will welcome me into their homes.’s5 Sot he contactedt his master’s debtors one by one. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’6 The mant replied, ‘A hundred measuress of olive oil.’ The managert said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write fifty.’s7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ The second mant replied, ‘A hundred measuress of wheat.’ The managert said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’s8 Thet master commended the dishonests manager because he acted shrewdly.s For the peoplet of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their contemporariest than the peoplet of light.

9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by how you use worldly wealth,t so that when it runs out you will be welcomeds into the eternal homes.t
10 “The one who is faithful in a very littles is also faithful in much, and the one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.11 If then you haven’t been trustworthyt in handling worldly wealth,t who will entrust you with the true riches?s12 And if you haven’t been trustworthyt with someone else’s property,t who will give you your ownt?

13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hates the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despiset the other. You cannot serve God and money.”ts

More Warnings about the Pharisees

14 The Phariseess (who loved money) heard all this and ridiculedt him.

15 Butt Jesust said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in men’s eyes,t but God knows your hearts. For what is highly prizedt among men is utterly detestablet in God’s sight.
16 “The law and the prophets were in forcet until John;s since then,s the good news of the kingdom of Gods has been proclaimed, and everyone is urged to enter it.t

17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tiny stroke of a lettert in the law to become void.t

18 “Everyone who divorces his wife and marriess someone else commits adultery, and the one who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

19 “There was a rich man who dressed in purples and fine linen and who feasted sumptuouslyt every day.20 But at his gate layt a poor man named Lazaruss whose body was covered with sores,t

21 who longed to eatt what fell from the rich man’s table. In addition, the dogst came and lickeds his sores.
22 “Nowt the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side.t Thet rich man also died and was buried.s23 And in hell,s as he was in torment,s he looked upt and saw Abraham far off with Lazarus at his side.t24 Sot he called out,t ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazaruss to dip the tip of his fingers in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguisht in this fire.’s25 But Abraham said, ‘Child,t remember that in your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus likewise bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish.t26 Besides all this,t a great chasms has been fixed between us,t so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’27 Sot the rich mant said, ‘Then I beg you, father – send Lazarust to my father’s house28 (for I have five brothers) to warns them so that they don’t comet into this place of torment.’29 But Abraham said,t ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they must respond tot them.’30 Thent the rich mant said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the deads goes to them, they will repent.’

31 Het replied to him, ‘If they do not respond tot Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”s

LUKE 16

A Dishonest Manager

1 Jesus said to his disciples:
A rich man once had a manager to take care of his business. But he was told that his manager was wasting money.

2 So the rich man called him in and said, “What is this I hear about you? Tell me what you have done! You are no longer going to work for me.”
3 The manager said to himself, “What shall I do now that my master is going to fire me? I can't dig ditches, and I'm ashamed to beg.

4 I know what I'll do, so that people will welcome me into their homes after I've lost my job.”

5 Then one by one he called in the people who were in debt to his master. He asked the first one, “How much do you owe my master?”

6 “A hundred barrels of olive oil,” the man answered.
So the manager said, “Take your bill and sit down and quickly write ‘50.’ ”

7 The manager asked someone else who was in debt to his master, “How much do you owe?”
“A thousand sackst of wheat,” the man replied.
The manager said, “Take your bill and write ‘800.’ ”

8 The master praised his dishonest manager for looking out for himself so well. That's how it is! The people of this world look out for themselves better than the people who belong to the light.
9  t My disciples, I tell you to use wicked wealth to make friends for yourselves. Then when it is gone, you will be welcomed into an eternal home. 10 Anyone who can be trusted in little matters can also be trusted in important matters. But anyone who is dishonest in little matters will be dishonest in important matters. 11 If you cannot be trusted with this wicked wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? 12 And if you cannot be trusted with what belongs to someone else, who will give you something that will be your own?

13 t You cannot be the slave of two masters. You will like one more than the other or be more loyal to one than to the other. You cannot serve God and money.

Some Sayings of Jesus

(Matthew 11.12,13; 5.31,32; Mark 10.11,12)

15 But Jesus told them:
You are always making yourselves look good, but God sees what is in your heart. The things that most people think are important are worthless as far as God is concerned.
16  t Until the time of John the Baptist, people had to obey the Law of Moses and the Books of the Prophets.t But since God's kingdom has been preached, everyone is trying hard to get in.

17 t Heaven and earth will disappear before the smallest letter of the Law does.

18  t It is a terrible sint for a man to divorce his wife and marry another woman. It is also a terrible sin for a man to marry a divorced woman.

Lazarus and the Rich Man

22 t The poor man died, and angels took him to the place of honor next to Abraham.t
The rich man also died and was buried. 23 t He went to hellt and was suffering terribly. When he looked up and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side,

24 he said to Abraham, “Have pity on me! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water and touch my tongue. I'm suffering terribly in this fire.”
25 Abraham answered, “My friend, remember that while you lived, you had everything good, and Lazarus had everything bad. Now he is happy, and you are in pain.

26 And besides, there is a deep ditch between us, and no one from either side can cross over.”
27 But the rich man said, “Abraham, then please send Lazarus to my father's home.

28 Let him warn my five brothers, so they won't come to this horrible place.”

29 Abraham answered, “Your brothers can read what Moses and the prophetst wrote. They should pay attention to that.”

30 Then the rich man said, “No, that's not enough! If only someone from the dead would go to them, they would listen and turn to God.”
31 So Abraham said, “If they won't pay attention to Moses and the prophets, they won't listen even to someone who comes back from the dead.”