Luke 16
16
The Story of the Clever Manager
1Jesus told his disciples another story. He said, “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting what the rich man owned. 2The rich man called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? Turn in your accounts, because you can’t be my manager anymore.’
3“The manager said to himself, ‘What am I going to do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m too ashamed to beg. 4I know—I’ll do something so that when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’
5“So he called in each person who owed his master something. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
6“ ‘I owe 900 gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.
“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and change it to 450 gallons.’
7“Then he asked the second one, ‘And how much do you owe?’
“ ‘I owe 1,000 bushels of wheat,’ he replied.
“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill and change it to 800 bushels.’
8“Even though the manager had not been honest, the master praised him for being clever. The people of this world are more clever in dealing with their own kind than God’s people are. 9I tell you, use the riches of this world to make friends for yourselves. Then when your riches are gone, you will be welcomed into an eternal home.
10“If you can be trusted with very little, then you can also be trusted with a lot. But if you aren’t honest with very little, then you also won’t be honest with a lot. 11If you aren’t trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with genuine riches? 12If you aren’t trustworthy in handling someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?
13“No one can serve two masters at the same time. Either you will hate the first and love the second, or you will be faithful to the first and dislike the second. You can’t serve God and money at the same time.”
14But when the Pharisees, who loved money, heard all that Jesus said, they sneered at him. 15Jesus told them, “You try to make yourselves look good in the eyes of other people, but God knows your hearts. There are things that people value highly that God can’t stand.
More Teachings
16“The Law and the Prophets were preached until John the Baptist came. Since then, the good news of God’s kingdom is being preached, and everyone is trying hard to enter the kingdom. 17It’s easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the smallest part of a letter to drop out of the Law.
18“Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and a man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
The Rich Man and Lazarus
19“Once there was a rich man who dressed in purple clothes and fine linen. He lived an easy life every day. 20A beggar named Lazarus used to sit at his gate. His body was covered with sores, 21and the dogs would come and lick them. Lazarus would have been happy just to eat what fell from the rich man’s table.
22“When the time came for the beggar to die, the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23In the land of the dead, the rich man was suffering terribly. He looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24So the rich man called out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me! Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I’m in terrible pain in this fire.’
25“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received good things, while Lazarus received bad things. Now he is comforted here while you are in terrible pain. 26Besides, a wide space has been placed between us and you, so that even if we want to, we can’t go from here to you, and no one can cross over from you to us.’
27“The rich man answered, ‘Then I beg you, father Abraham, send Lazarus to my family. 28I have five brothers. Let Lazarus warn them so that they won’t come to this place of terrible suffering.’
29“Abraham replied, ‘They have the teachings of Moses and the Prophets. Let your brothers listen to them.’
30“ ‘They won’t, father Abraham,’ he said. ‘But if someone from the dead goes to them, then they will turn away from their sins.’
31“Abraham said to him, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, they won’t be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”
Currently Selected:
Luke 16: RAD
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Radiate™ New Testament
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014, 2020 by Biblica, Inc.
Used with permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
