Luke 16:1-8

The Parable of the Dishonest Manager

1 He also said to the disciples, "There was a rich man who had 1a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions.
2 And he called him and said to him, 'What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your 2management, for you can no longer be manager.'
3 And the manager said to himself, 'What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.
4 I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.'
5 So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'
6 He said, 'A hundred measures[a] of oil.' He said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.'
7 Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?' He said, 'A hundred measures[b] of wheat.' He said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.'
8 The master commended the dishonest manager for his 3shrewdness. For 4the sons of this world[c] are 5more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than 6the sons of light.

Cross References 6

  • 1. Luke 12:42
  • 2. See 1 Corinthians 9:17
  • 3. See Matthew 25:2
  • 4. Luke 20:34; See Luke 10:6
  • 5. See Matthew 25:2
  • 6. John 12:36; 1 Thessalonians 5:5; [Ephesians 5:8]

Footnotes 3

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.