Luke 16

¹He seide also to hise disciplis, Ther was a riche man, that hadde a baili; and this was defamed to him, as he hadde wastid his goodis.

²And he clepide hym, and seide to hym, What here Y this thing of thee? yelde reckynyng of thi baili, for thou miyte not now be baili.

³And the baili seide with ynne him silf, What schal Y do, for my lord takith awei fro me the baili? delfe mai Y not, I schame to begge.

⁴Y woot what Y schal do, that whanne Y am remeued fro the baili, thei resseyue me in to her hous.

⁵Therfor whanne alle the dettours of his lord weren clepid togider, he seide to the firste, Hou myche owist thou to my lord?

⁶And he seide, An hundrid barelis of oyle. And he seide to hym, Take thi caucioun, and sitte soone, and write fifti.

⁷Aftirward he seide to another, And hou myche owist thou? Which answerde, An hundrid coris of whete. And he seide to hym, Take thi lettris, and write foure scoore.

⁸And the lord preiside the baili of wickydnesse, for he hadde do prudentli; for the sones of this world ben more prudent in her generacioun than the sones of liyt.

⁹And Y seie to you, make ye to you freendis of the ritchesse of wickidnesse, that whanne ye schulen fayle, thei resseyue you in to euerlastynge tabernaclis.

¹⁰He that is trewe in the leeste thing, is trewe also in the more; and he that is wickid in a litil thing, is wickid also in the more.

¹¹Therfor if ye weren not trewe in the wickid thing of ritchesse, who schal bitake to you that that is verry?

¹²And if ye weren not trewe in othere mennus thing, who schal yyue to you that that is youre?

¹³No seruaunt may serue to twei lordis; for ether he schal hate `the toon, and loue the tothir; ethir he schal drawe to `the toon, and schal dispise the tothir. Ye moun not serue to God and to ritchesse.

¹⁴But the Farisees, that weren coueytous, herden alle these thingis, and thei scorneden hym.

¹⁵And he seide to hem, Ye it ben, that iustifien you bifor men; but God hath knowun youre hertis, for that that is hiy to men, is abhomynacioun bifor God.

¹⁶The lawe and prophetis til to Joon; fro that tyme the rewme of God is euangelisid, and ech man doith violence in to it.

¹⁷Forsothe it is liyter heuene and erthe to passe, than that o titil falle fro the lawe.

¹⁸Euery man that forsakith his wijf, and weddith an other, doith letcherie; and he that weddith the wijf forsakun of the hosebonde, doith auowtrie.

¹⁹There was a riche man, and was clothid in purpur, and whit silk, and eete euery dai schynyngli.

²⁰And there was a begger, Lazarus bi name, that lai at his yate ful of bilis,

²¹and coueitide to be fulfillid of the crummes, that fellen doun fro the riche mannus boord, and no man yaf to hym; but houndis camen, and lickiden hise bilis.

²²And it was don, that the begger diede, and was borun of aungels in to Abrahams bosum.

²³And the riche man was deed also, and was biried in helle. And he reiside hise iyen, whanne he was in turmentis, and say Abraham afer, and Lazarus in his bosum.

²⁴And he criede, and seide, Fadir Abraham, haue merci on me, and sende Lazarus, that he dippe the ende of his fyngur in watir, to kele my tunge; for Y am turmentid in this flawme.

²⁵And Abraham seide to hym, Sone, haue mynde, for thou hast resseyued good thingis in thi lijf, and Lazarus also yuel thingis; but he is now coumfortid, and thou art turmentid.

²⁶And in alle these thingis a greet derk place is stablischid betwixe vs and you; that thei that wolen fro hennus passe to you, moun not, nethir fro thennus passe ouer hidur.

²⁷And he seide, Thanne Y preie thee, fadir, that thou sende hym in to the hous of my fadir.

²⁸For Y haue fyue britheren, that he witnesse to hem, lest also thei come in to this place of turmentis.

²⁹And Abraham seide to him, Thei han Moyses and the prophetis; here thei hem.

³⁰And he seide, Nay, fadir Abraham, but if ony of deed men go to hem, thei schulen do penaunce.

³¹And he seide to hym, If thei heren not Moises and prophetis, nethir if ony of deed men rise ayen, thei schulen bileue to hym.

Luke 16

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

²And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.

³Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot 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.

⁵So he called every one of his lord’s debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?

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

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

⁸And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.

⁹And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

¹⁰He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust 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 man’s, who shall 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 the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

¹⁴And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.

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

¹⁶The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.

¹⁷And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.

¹⁸Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.

¹⁹There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:

²⁰And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,

²¹And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

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

²³And in hell he lift 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 tormented in this flame.

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

²⁶And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

²⁷Then 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.

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

³⁰And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto 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, though one rose from the dead.