Luke 16 — AAB

The Parable of the Shrewd Manager

16Verse 1Jesus also said to His disciples, “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.^{Verse 2}So he called him in to ask, ‘What is this I hear about you? Turn in an account of your management, for you cannot be manager any longer.’^{Verse 3}The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking away my position? I am too weak to dig and too ashamed to beg.^{Verse 4}I know what I will do so that after my removal from management, people will welcome me into their homes.’^{Verse 5}And he called in each one of his master’s debtors. ‘How much do you owe my master?’ he asked the first.^{Verse 6}‘A hundred measures of olive oil,’⁺he answered.
‘Take your bill,’ said the manager, ‘sit down quickly, and write fifty.’^{Verse 7}Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’
‘A hundred measures of wheat,’⁺he replied.
‘Take your bill and write eighty,’ he told him.^{Verse 8}The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the sons of light.^{Verse 9}I tell you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves so that when it is gone, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.^{Verse 10}Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.^{Verse 11}So if you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will entrust you with true riches?^{Verse 12}And if you have not been faithful with the belongings of another, who will give you belongings of your own?^{Verse 13}No servant can serve two masters. 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 both God and money.”

The Law and the Prophets

^{Verse 14}The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all of this and were scoffing at Jesus.^{Verse 15}So He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is prized among men is detestable before God.^{Verse 16}The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the gospel of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.^{+Verse 17}But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for a single stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.^{Verse 18}Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

^{Verse 19}Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor.^{Verse 20}And a beggar named Lazarus lay at his gate, covered with sores^{Verse 21}and longing to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.^{Verse 22}One day the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side.⁺And the rich man also died and was buried.^{Verse 23}In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side.^{Verse 24}So he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am in agony in this fire.’^{Verse 25}But Abraham answered, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things. But now he is comforted here, while you are in agony.^{Verse 26}And besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that even those who wish cannot cross from here to you, nor can anyone cross from there to us.’^{Verse 27}‘Then I beg you, father,’ he said, ‘send Lazarus to my father’s house,^{Verse 28}for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also end up in this place of torment.’^{Verse 29}But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let your brothers listen to them.’^{Verse 30}‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone is sent to them from the dead, they will repent.’^{Verse 31}Then Abraham 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.’”