Luke 16:13

Luke 16:13 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
• New International Version (NIV)“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money."
• New King James Version (NKJV)“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

Context of Luke 16:13

11So if you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will trust you with what is genuine? 12And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to someone else, who will give you what is your own? No servant can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” 14The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and scoffing at him. 15And he told them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly admired by people is revolting in God’s sight.

Luke 16:13 word by word

Οὐδεὶς οἰκέτης δύναται δυσὶν κυρίοις δουλεύειν· ἢ γὰρ τὸν ἕνα μισήσει καὶ τὸν ἕτερον ἀγαπήσει, ἢ ἑνὸς ἀνθέξεται καὶ τοῦ ἑτέρου καταφρονήσει. οὐ δύνασθε θεῷ δουλεύειν καὶ μαμωνᾷ.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Noοὐδείςoudeis · noneG3762
• servantοἰκέτηςoiketēs · slaveG3610
• canδύναμαιdunamai · be ableG1410
• serveδουλεύωdouleuō · be a slaveG1398
• twoδύοduo · twoG1417
• mastersκύριοςkurios · lord: masterG2962
• forγάρgar · forG1063
• eitherἤē · orG2228
• he will hateμισέωmiseō · to hateG3404
• the oneὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the oneεἷςheis · oneG1520
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• loveἀγαπάωagapaō · to loveG25
• the otherἕτεροςheteros · otherG2087
• he will hold toἀντέχωantechomai · to cling toG472
• despiseκαταφρονέωkataphroneō · to despiseG2706
• Ye cannotοὐou · noG3756
• Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• mammonμαμμωνᾶςmammōnas · wealthG3126

Cross-references for Luke 16:13

• Luke 9:50“Don’t stop him,” Jesus told him, “because whoever is not against you is for you.”
• Luke 11:23Anyone who is not with me is against me, and anyone who does not gather with me scatters.
• Joshua 24:15But if it doesn’t please you to worship the Lord, choose for yourselves today: Which will you worship — the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living? As for me and my family, we will worship the Lord.”
• Matthew 4:10Then Jesus told him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”
• Matthew 6:24“No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
• Romans 6:16Don’t you know that if you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of that one you obey — either of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness?
• Romans 8:5For those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their minds set on the things of the Spirit.
• James 4:4You adulterous people! Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the friend of the world becomes the enemy of God.
• 1 John 2:15Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
• Luke 14:26“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters — yes, and even his own life — he cannot be my disciple.

Commentaries on Luke 16:13

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13No servant can serve two masters - The heart will be either wholly taken up with God, or wholly engrossed with the world. See on Matthew 6:24; (note).Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13See the notes at Matthew 6:24.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-18Verses 13-18 To this parable our Lord added a solemn warning. Ye cannot serve God and the world, so divided are the two interests. When our Lord spoke thus, the covetous Pharisees treated his instructions with contempt. But he warned them, that what they contended for as the law, was a wresting of its meaning: this our Lord showed in a case respecting divorce. There are many covetous sticklers for the forms of godliness, who are the bitterest enemies to…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 13No servant can serve two masters: Complete love and devotion can be given only to one master.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1313. can serve--be entirely at the command of; and this is true even where the services are not opposed. hate ... love--showing that the two here intended are in uncompromising hostility to each other: an awfully searching principle!Read the comment

Topics related to Luke 16:13

• Consistency
• Decision
• Hypocrisy
• Jesus, the Christ
• Mammon
• Rich, the
• Servant
• Worldliness

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Account
• Beg
• Beside
• Cool
• Deride
• Dig
• Fare
• Idolatry

Commentaries on Luke 16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings