Luke 16 :: New International Version (NIV)

The Parable of the Shrewd Manager

Luk 16:1Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.

Luk 16:2So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

Luk 16:3

Luk 16:3“The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg—

Luk 16:4

Luk 16:4I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’

Luk 16:5

Luk 16:5“So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

Luk 16:6

Luk 16:6“ ‘Nine hundred gallons[fn] of olive oil,’ he replied. “The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’

Luk 16:7

Luk 16:7“Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’ “ ‘A thousand bushels[fn] of wheat,’ he replied. “He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’

Luk 16:8

Luk 16:8“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.

Luk 16:9

Luk 16:9I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

Luk 16:10

Luk 16:10“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.

Luk 16:11

Luk 16:11So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?

Luk 16:12

Luk 16:12And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

Luk 16:13

Luk 16:13“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

Luk 16:14

Luk 16:14The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus.

Luk 16:15

Luk 16:15He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.

Additional Teachings

Luk 16:16

Luk 16:16“The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing their way into it.

Luk 16:17

Luk 16:17It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.

Luk 16:18

Luk 16:18“Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

Luk 16:19

Luk 16:19“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.

Luk 16:20

Luk 16:20At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores

Luk 16:21

Luk 16:21and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

Luk 16:22

Luk 16:22“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.

Luk 16:23

Luk 16:23In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.

Luk 16:24

Luk 16:24So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

Luk 16:25

Luk 16:25“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.

Luk 16:26

Luk 16:26And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

Luk 16:27

Luk 16:27“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family,

Luk 16:28

Luk 16:28for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

Luk 16:29

Luk 16:29“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

Luk 16:30

Luk 16:30“ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

Luk 16:31

Luk 16:31“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”

See the NIV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

NIV Footnotes

(16:6)

Or about 3,000 liters

(16:7)

Or about 30 tons

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