Luke 16
1 And he said also to [his] disciples, There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and he was accused to him as wasting his goods.
Jesus said to his disciples: “There was a rich man who had a steward; and this steward was maliciously accused to him of wasting his estate.
2 And having called him, he said to him, What [is] this that I hear of thee? give the reckoning of thy stewardship, for thou canst be no longer steward.
So the master called him and said ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give in your accounts, for you cannot act as steward any longer.’
3 And the steward said within himself, What shall I do; for my lord is taking the stewardship from me? I am not able to dig; I am ashamed to beg.
‘What am I to do,’ the steward asked himself, ‘now that my master is taking the steward’s place away from me? I have not strength to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.
4 I know what I will do, that when I shall have been removed from the stewardship I may be received into their houses.
I know what I will do, so that, as soon as I am turned out of my stewardship, people may welcome me into their homes.’
5 And having called to [him] each one of the debtors of his own lord, he said to the first, How much owest thou to my lord?
One by one he called up his master’s debtors. ‘How much do you owe my master?’ he asked of the first.
6 And he said, A hundred baths of oil. And he said to him, Take thy writing and sit down quickly and write fifty.
‘Four hundred and forty gallons of oil,’ answered the man. ‘Here is your agreement,’ he said; ‘sit down at once and make it two hundred and twenty.’
7 Then he said to another, And thou, how much dost thou owe? And he said, A hundred cors of wheat. And he says to him, Take thy writing and write eighty.
And you, the steward said to the next, ‘how much do you owe?’ ‘Seventy quarters of wheat,’ he replied. ‘Here is your agreement,’ the steward said; ‘make it fifty-six.’
8 And the lord praised the unrighteous steward because he had done prudently. For the sons of this world are, for their own generation, more prudent than the sons of light. (aiōn g165)
His master complimented this dishonest steward on the shrewdness of his action. And indeed men of the world are shrewder in dealing with their fellow-men than those who have the Light. (aiōn g165)
9 And I say to you, Make to yourselves friends with the mammon of unrighteousness, that when it fails ye may be received into the eternal tabernacles. (aiōnios g166)
And I say to you ‘Win friends for yourselves with your dishonest money,’ so that, when it comes to an end, there may be a welcome for you into the Eternal Home. (aiōnios g166)
10 He that is faithful in the least is faithful also in much; and he that is unrighteous in the least is unrighteous also in much.
He who is trustworthy in the smallest matter is trustworthy in a great one also; and he who is dishonest in the smallest matter is dishonest in a great one also.
11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who shall entrust to you the true?
So, if you have proved untrustworthy with the ‘dishonest money,’ who will trust you with the true?
12 and if ye have not been faithful in that which is another's, who shall give to you your own?
And, if you have proved untrustworthy with what does not belong to us, who will give you what is really our own?
13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and will love the other, or he will cleave to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
No servant can serve two masters, for, either he will hate one and love the other, or else he will attach himself to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
14 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things, and mocked him.
All this was said within hearing of the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, and they began to sneer at Jesus.
15 And he said to them, Ye are they who justify themselves before men, but God knows your hearts; for what amongst men is highly thought of is an abomination before God.
“You,” said Jesus, “are the men who justify themselves before the world, but God can read your hearts; and what is highly esteemed among men may be an abomination in the sight of God.
16 The law and the prophets [were] until John: from that time the glad tidings of the kingdom of God are announced, and every one forces his way into it.
The Law and the Prophets sufficed until the time of John. Since then the Good News of the Kingdom of God has been told, and everybody has been forcing his way into it.
17 But it is easier that the heaven and the earth should pass away than that one tittle of the law should fail.
It would be easier for the heavens and the earth to disappear than for one stroke of a letter in the Law to be lost.
18 Every one who puts away his wife and marries another commits adultery; and every one that marries one put away from a husband commits adultery.
Every one who divorces his wife and marries another woman is an adulterer, and the man who marries a divorced woman is an adulterer.
19 Now there was a rich man and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, making good cheer in splendour every day.
There was once a rich man, who dressed in purple robes and fine linen, and feasted every day in great splendour.
20 And [there was] a poor man, by name Lazarus, [who] was laid at his gateway full of sores,
Near his gateway there had been laid a beggar named Lazarus, who was covered with sores,
21 and desiring to be filled with the crumbs which fell from the table of the rich man; but the dogs also coming licked his sores.
and who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the very dogs came and licked his sores.
22 And it came to pass that the poor man died, and that he was carried away by the angels into the bosom of Abraham. And the rich man also died and was buried.
After a time the beggar died, and was taken by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried.
23 And in hades lifting up his eyes, being in torments, he sees Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. (Hadēs g86)
In the Place of Death he looked up in his torment, and saw Abraham at a distance and Lazarus at his side. (Hadēs g86)
24 And he crying out said, Father Abraham, have compassion on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering in this flame.
So he called out ‘Pity me, Father Abraham, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering agony in this flame.’
25 But Abraham said, Child, recollect that thou hast fully received thy good things in thy lifetime, and likewise Lazarus evil things. But now he is comforted here, and thou art in suffering.
‘Child,’ answered Abraham, ‘remember that you in your lifetime received what you thought desirable, just as Lazarus received what was not desirable; but now he has his consolation here, while you are suffering agony.
26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm is fixed, so that those who desire to pass hence to you cannot, nor do they who [desire to cross] from there pass over unto us.
And not only that, but between you and us there lies a great chasm, so that those who wish to pass from here to you cannot, nor can they cross from there to us.’
27 And he said, I beseech thee then, father, that thou wouldest send him to the house of my father,
‘Then, Father,’ he said, ‘I beg you to send Lazarus to my father’s house —
28 for I have five brothers, so that he may earnestly testify to them, that they also may not come to this place of torment.
For I have five brothers to warn them, so that they may not come to this place of torture also.’
29 But Abraham says to him, They have Moses and the prophets: let them hear them.
‘They have the writings of Moses and the Prophets,’ replied Abraham; ‘let them listen to them.’
30 But he said, Nay, father Abraham, but if one from the dead should go to them, they will repent.
‘But, Father Abraham,’ he urged, ‘if some one from the dead were to go to them, they would repent.’
31 And he said to him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, not even if one rise from among [the] dead will they be persuaded.
‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets,’ answered Abraham, ‘they will not be persuaded, even if some one were to rise from the dead.’”
