The In-Dept Study of the Bible
Luke 16
1 He also said to his disciples, “There was
a certain rich man who had a manager. An
accusation was made to him that this man
was wasting his possessions.
2 He called him, and said to him, ‘What
is this that I hear about you? Give an
accounting of your management, for you
can no longer be manager.’
3 “The manager said within himself,
‘What will I do, seeing that my lord
is taking away the management position from
me? I don’t have strength to dig. I am
ashamed to beg.
4 I know what I will do, so that when I
am removed from management, they may
receive me into their houses.’
5 Calling each one of his lord’s debtors to
him, he said to the first, ‘How much do you
owe to my lord?’
6 He said, ‘A hundred batos† of oil.’ He
said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down
quickly and write fifty.’
7 Then he said to another, ‘How much
do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred cors‡ of
wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and
write eighty.’
8 “His lord commended the dishonest
manager because he had done wisely, for
the children of this world are, in their own
generation, wiser than the children of the
light.
9 I tell you, make for yourselves friends
by means of unrighteous mammon, so that
when you fail, they may receive you into
the eternal tents.
10 He who is faithful in a very little is
faithful also in much. He who is dishonest
in a very little is also dishonest in much.
11 If therefore you have not been faithful
in the unrighteous mammon, who will
commit to your trust the true riches?
12 If you have not been faithful in that
which is another’s, who will give you that
which is your own?
13 No servant can serve two masters, for
either he will hate the one and love the
other; or else he will hold to one and
despise the other. You aren’t able to serve
God and Mammon.Ӥ
14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of
money, also heard all these things, and
they scoffed at him.
15 He said to them, “You are those who
justify yourselves in the sight of men, but
God knows your hearts. For that which is
exalted among men is an abomination in
the sight of God.
16 “The law and the prophets were until
John. From that time the Good News of
God’s Kingdom is preached, and everyone
is forcing his way into it.
17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to
pass away than for one tiny stroke of a pen
in the law to fall.
18 “Everyone who divorces his wife and
marries another commits adultery. He
who marries one who is divorced from a
husband commits adultery.
19 “Now there was a certain rich man,
and he was clothed in purple and fine
linen, living in luxury every day.
20 A certain beggar, named Lazarus, was
taken to his gate, full of sores,
21 and desiring to be fed with the crumbs
that fell from the rich man’s table. Yes,
even the dogs came and licked his sores.