Luke 16:1-18

The Parable of the Dishonest Manager

1 He also said to the disciples: "There was a rich man who received an accusation that his manager was squandering his possessions.
2 So he called the manager in and asked, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you can no longer be [my] manager.'
3 "Then the manager said to himself, 'What should I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I'm not strong enough to dig; I'm ashamed to beg.
4 I know what I'll do so that when I'm removed from management, people will welcome me into their homes.'
5 "So he summoned each one of his master's debtors. 'How much do you owe my master?' he asked the first one.
6 " 'A hundred measures of oil,' he said. " 'Take your invoice,' he told him, 'sit down quickly, and write 50.'
7 "Next he asked another, 'How much do you owe?' " 'A hundred measures of wheat,' he said. " 'Take your invoice,' he told him, 'and write 80.'
8 "The master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted astutely. For the sons of this age are more astute than the sons of light [in dealing] with their own people. [a]
9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of the unrighteous money so that when it fails, [b] they may welcome you into eternal dwellings.
10 Whoever is faithful in very little is also faithful in much, and whoever is unrighteous in very little is also unrighteous in much.
11 So if you have not been faithful with the unrighteous money, who will trust you with what is genuine?
12 And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to someone else, who will give you what is your own?
13 No household slave can be the slave of two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can't be slaves to both God and money."

Kingdom Values

14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and scoffing at Him.
15 And He told them: "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly admired by people is revolting in God's sight.
16 "The Law and the Prophets were [c] until John; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is strongly urged to enter it.
17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter in the law to drop out.
18 "Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and everyone who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

Footnotes 4

  • [a]. Lit own generation
  • [b]. Other mss read when you fail or pass away
  • [c]. Perhaps were proclaimed, or were in effect
  • [d]. Or everyone is forcing his way into it
Holman Christian Standard Bible ® Copyright © 2003, 2002, 2000, 1999 by Holman Bible Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.