Luke 16

The Unrighteous Manager

1Now He was also saying to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and this manager was 1reported to him as 2squandering his possessions. 2And he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ 3And the manager said to himself, ‘What am I to do, since my 3master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to 4dig; I am ashamed to beg. 4I know what I will do, so that when I am removed from the management people will welcome me into their homes.’ 5And he summoned each one of his 5master’s debtors, and he began saying to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6And he said, ‘A hundred 6jugs of oil.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘A hundred 7kors of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ 8And his 8master complimented the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of 9this age are more shrewd in relation to their own 10kind than the 11sons of light. 9And I say to you, 12make friends for yourselves by means of the 1314wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it 15is all gone, 16they will receive you into the eternal dwellings.

10“17The one who is faithful in a very little thing is also faithful in much; and the one who is unrighteous in a very little thing is also unrighteous in much. 11Therefore if you have not 18been faithful in the use of unrighteous 1920wealth, who will entrust the true wealth to you? 12And if you have not 21been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? 1322No 23servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and 2425wealth.”

14Now the Pharisees, who were 26lovers of money, were listening to all these things and 27were 28ridiculing Him. 15And He said to them, “You are the ones who 29justify yourselves in the sight of people, but 30God knows your hearts; because that which is highly esteemed among people is detestable in the sight of God.

16“31The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John came; since that time 32the gospel of the kingdom of God 33has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. 1734But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one 35stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.

18“36Everyone who 37divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries one who is 38divorced from a husband commits adultery.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

19“Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, enjoying himself in splendor every day. 20And a poor man named Lazarus 39was laid at his gate, covered with sores, 21and longing to be fed from the scraps which fell from the rich man’s table; not only that, the dogs also were coming and licking his sores. 22Now it happened that the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to 4041Abraham’s arms; and the rich man also died and was buried. 23And in 42Hades he raised his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his 43arms. 24And he cried out and said, ‘44Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus, so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in 45this flame.’ 25But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that 46during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. 26And 47besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set, so that those who want to go over from here to you will not be able, nor will any people cross over from there to us.’ 27And he said, ‘Then I request of you, father, that you send him to my father’s house-- 28for I have five brothers--in order that he may 48warn them, so that they will not come to this place of torment as well.’ 29But Abraham said, ‘They have 4950Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30But he said, ‘No, 51father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ 31But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”