Luke 16
The Parable of the Unjust Steward
1
He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich
man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to
him that this man was wasting his goods.
2 So he
called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about
you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no
longer be steward.’
3 “Then
the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For
my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I
cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.
4 I have
resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the
stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’
5 “So he
called every one of his master’s debtors to him,
and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
6 And he
said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ So 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?’ So he said,
‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take
your bill, and write eighty.’
8 So the
master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt
shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in
their generation than the sons of light.
9 “And I
say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous
mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an
everlasting home.
10 He who
is faithful in what is least is faithful
also in much; and he who is unjust in what is
least is unjust also in much.
11
Therefore if you have not been faithful in the
unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the
true riches?
12 And if
you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who
will give you what is your own?
13 “No
servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate
the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to
the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and
mammon.”The Law, the Prophets, and the
Kingdom
14
Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard
all these things, and they derided Him.
15 And He
said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves
before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is
highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight
of God.
16 “The
law and the prophets were until John. Since that
time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone
is pressing into it.
17 And it
is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one
title of the law to fail.
18
“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits
adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from
her husband commits adultery.The Rich
Man and Lazarus
19
“There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple
and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.
20 But
there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores,
who was laid at his gate,
21
desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the
rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his
sores. 22
So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the
angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and
was buried. 23
And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes
and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 “Then
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.’ 25
But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime
you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil
things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.
26 And
besides all this, between us and you there is a great
gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to
you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’
27 “Then
he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would
send him to my father’s house,
28 for I
have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest
they also come to this place of torment.’
29
Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets;
let them hear them.’
30 And he
said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from
the dead, they will repent.’
31 But he
said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the
prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise
from the dead.’”
