Luke 16:8-18

8 "And his master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of ¹this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the ²sons of light.

9 "And I say to you, ³make friends for yourselves by means of the ⁴wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, ⁵they will receive you into the eternal dwellings.

10 "⁶He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.

11 "Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous ⁷wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?

12 "And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?

13 "⁸No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot * serve God and ⁹wealth."

14 Now the Pharisees, who were ¹⁰lovers of money, were listening to all these things and ¹¹were scoffing at Him.

15 And He said to them, "You are those who ¹²justify yourselves in the sight of men, but ¹³God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.

16 "¹⁴The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since that time ¹⁵the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.

17 "¹⁶But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.

18 "¹⁷Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries one who is divorced from a husband commits adultery.

Cross References

• 1. Matthew 12:32; Luke 20:34
• 2. John 12:36; Ephesians 5:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:5
• 3. Matthew 19:21; Luke 11:41; Luke 12:33
• 4. Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:11, 13
• 5. Luke 16:4
• 6. Matthew 25:21, 23
• 7. Luke 16:9
• 8. Matthew 6:24
• 9. Luke 16:9
• 10. 2 Timothy 3:2
• 11. Luke 23:35
• 12. Luke 10:29; Luke 18:9, 14
• 13. 1 Samuel 16:7; Proverbs 21:2; Acts 1:24; Romans 8:27
• 14. Matthew 11:12
• 15. Matthew 4:23
• 16. Matthew 5:18
• 17. Matthew 5:32; 1 Corinthians 7:10, 11

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "lord"
• [b]. Lit "generation"
• [c]. Gr "mamonas," for Aram "mamon" (mammon); i.e. wealth, etc., personified as an object of worship
• [d]. Gr "mamonas," for Aram "mamon" (mammon); i.e. wealth, etc., personified as an object of worship
• [e]. Or "house-servant"
• [f]. Gr "mamonas," for Aram "mamon" (mammon); i.e. wealth, etc., personified as an object of worship
• [g]. Lit "before"
• [h]. Lit "before"
• [i]. Lit "is preached"
• [j]. I.e. projection of a letter (serif)
• [k]. Or "sends away"
• [l]. Or "sent away"