Luke 16

¹And he said also unto the disciples, There was a certain rich man, who had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he was wasting his goods.

²And he called him, and said unto him, What is this that I hear of thee? render the account of thy stewardship; for thou canst be no longer steward.

³And the steward said within himself, What shall I do, seeing that my lord taketh away the stewardship from me? I have not strength to dig; to beg I am ashamed.

⁴I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.

⁵And calling to him each one of his lord’s debtors, he said to the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?

⁶And he said, A hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bond, and sit down quickly and write fifty.

⁷Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, A hundred measures of wheat. He saith unto him, Take thy bond, and write fourscore.

⁸And his lord commended the unrighteous steward because he had done wisely: for the sons of this world are for their own generation wiser than the sons of the light.

⁹And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends by means of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when it shall fail, they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles.

¹⁰He that is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much: and he that is unrighteous in a very little is unrighteous also in much.

¹¹If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?

¹²And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?

¹³No 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. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

¹⁴And the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things; and they scoffed at him.

¹⁵And he said unto them, Ye are they that justify yourselves in the sight of men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

¹⁶The law and the prophets were until John: from that time the gospel of the kingdom of God is preached, and every man entereth violently into it.

¹⁷But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one tittle of the law to fall.

¹⁸Every one that putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and he that marrieth one that is put away from a husband committeth adultery.

¹⁹Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, faring sumptuously every day:

²⁰and a certain beggar named Lazarus was laid at his gate, full of sores,

²¹and desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table; yea, even the dogs came and licked his sores.

²²And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and that he was carried away by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: and the rich man also died, and was buried.

²³And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

²⁴And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame.

²⁵But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things: but now here he is comforted, and thou art in anguish.

²⁶And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that they that would pass from hence to you may not be able, and that none may cross over from thence to us.

²⁷And he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house;

²⁸for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

²⁹But Abraham saith, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.

³⁰And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one go to them from the dead, they will repent.

³¹And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, if one rise from the dead.

Luke 16

¹Jesus also said to His disciples, “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.

²So 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.’

³The 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.

⁴I know what I will do, so that after my removal from management, people will welcome me into their homes.’

⁵And he called in each one of his master’s debtors. ‘How much do you owe my master?’ he asked the first.

⁶‘A hundred measures of olive oil,’ he answered. ‘Take your bill,’ said the manager. ‘Sit down quickly, and write fifty.’

⁷Then 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.

⁸The 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.

⁹I tell you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.

¹⁰Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.

¹¹So if you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will entrust you with true riches?

¹²And if you have not been faithful with the belongings of another, who will give you belongings of your own?

¹³No 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.”

¹⁴The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all of this and were scoffing at Jesus.

¹⁵So 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.

¹⁶The 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.

¹⁷But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for a single stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.

¹⁸Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

¹⁹Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor.

²⁰And a beggar named Lazarus lay at his gate, covered with sores

²¹and longing to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

²²One day the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. And the rich man also died and was buried.

²³In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side.

²⁴So 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.’

²⁵But 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.

²⁶And 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.’

²⁷‘Then I beg you, father,’ he said, ‘send Lazarus to my father’s house,

²⁸for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also end up in this place of torment.’

²⁹But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let your brothers listen to them.’

³⁰‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone is sent to them from the dead, they will repent.’

³¹Then 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.’”