Luk 16 | BSB | STEP | [Jesus] also said to [His] disciples, “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.

‏ Luke 16

The Parable of the Shrewd Manager

1 [Jesus] also said to [His] disciples, “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2 So 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.’ 3 The 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. 4 I know what I will do, so that after my removal from management, [people] will welcome me into their homes...’ 5 And 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] ^{▼▼Greek, A hundred baths, about 875 gallons or 3,200 liters} of olive oil,’ he answered. ‘Take your bill,’ said [the manager] . ‘Sit down quickly, [and] write fifty.’ 7 Then he asked another, ‘And how much {do} you owe?’ ‘A hundred [measures] ^{▼▼Greek, A hundred cors, approximately 1,100 bushels or 40,000 liters} of wheat,’ he replied. ‘Take your bill and write eighty,’ he told him. 8 The 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. 9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings. 10 Whoever [is] faithful with very little will also {be} faithful with much, and whoever [is] dishonest with very little will also {be} dishonest with much. 11 If, then, you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will entrust you [with] true [riches] ? 12 And if you have not been faithful with the [belongings] of another, who will give you belongings of your own? 13 No 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.”

The Law and the Prophets

14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all [of this] and were scoffing at [Jesus] . 15 So 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. 16 The 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. 17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for a single stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law. 18 Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another [woman] commits adultery, and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

19 Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor. 20 And a beggar named Lazarus lay at his gate, covered with sores 21 and longing to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came [and] licked his sores. 22 One day the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. And the rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up [and] saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So 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.’ 25 But 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 left to suffer. 26 And 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, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them so they will not also end up in this place of torment.’ 29 But 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.’ 31 Then [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.’”