The Unjust Steward (Manager)

16 Now Jesus was also saying to the disciples, “There was a certain rich man who had a manager [of his estate], and accusations [against this man] were brought to him, that this man was squandering his [master’s] possessions. ² So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management [of my affairs], for you can no longer be [my] manager.’ ³ The manager [of the estate] said to himself, ‘What will I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig [for a living], and I am ashamed to beg. ⁴ I know what I will do, so that when I am removed from the management, people [who are my master’s debtors] will welcome me into their homes.’ ⁵ So he summoned his master’s debtors one by one, and he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ ⁶ He said, ‘A hundred ^[a]measures of [olive] oil.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write ^[b]fifty.’ ⁷ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred ^[c]measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ ⁸ And his master commended the unjust manager [not for his misdeeds, but] because he had acted shrewdly [by preparing for his future unemployment]; for the sons of this age [the non-believers] are shrewder in relation to their own kind [that is, to the ways of the secular world] than are the sons of light [the believers]. ⁹ And I tell you [learn from this], make friends for yourselves [for eternity] by means of the ^[d]wealth of unrighteousness [that is, use material resources as a way to further the work of God], so that when it runs out, they will welcome you into the eternal dwellings.

¹⁰ “He who is faithful in a very little thing is also faithful in much; and he who is dishonest in a very little thing is also dishonest in much. ¹¹ Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of earthly wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? ¹² And if you have not been faithful in the use of that [earthly wealth] which belongs to another [whether God or man, and of which you are a trustee], who will give you that which is your own? ¹³ No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand devotedly by the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon [that is, your earthly possessions or anything else you trust in and rely on instead of God].”

¹⁴ Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were sneering and ridiculing Him. ¹⁵ So He said to them, “You are the ones who declare yourselves just and upright in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts [your thoughts, your desires, your secrets]; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.^(A)

¹⁶ “The Law and the [writings of the] Prophets were proclaimed until John; since then the gospel of the kingdom of God has been and continues to be preached, and everyone tries forcefully to go into it. ¹⁷ Yet it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for a single stroke of a letter of the Law to fail and become void.

¹⁸ “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries one who is divorced from her husband commits adultery.^(B)

The Rich Man and Lazarus

¹⁹ “Now there was a certain rich man who was habitually dressed in expensive purple and fine linen, and celebrated and lived joyously in splendor every day. ²⁰ And a poor man named Lazarus, was laid at his gate, covered with sores. ²¹ He [eagerly] longed to eat the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. ²² Now it happened that the poor man died and his spirit was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s ^[e]bosom (paradise); and the rich man also died and was buried. ²³ In Hades (the realm of the dead), being in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom (paradise). ²⁴ And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in severe agony in this flame.’ ²⁵ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things [all the comforts and delights], and Lazarus likewise bad things [all the discomforts and distresses]; but now he is comforted here [in paradise], while you are in severe agony. ²⁶ And besides all this, between us and you [people] a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to come over from here to you will not be able, and none may cross over from there to us.’ ²⁷ So the rich man said, ‘Then, father [Abraham], I beg you to send Lazarus to my father’s house— ²⁸ for I have five brothers—in order that he may solemnly warn them and witness to them, so that they too will not come to this place of torment.’ ²⁹ But Abraham said, ‘They have [the Scriptures given by] Moses and the [writings of the] Prophets; let them listen to them.’ ³⁰ He replied, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent [they will change their old way of thinking and seek God and His righteousness].’ ³¹ And he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to [the messages of] Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Instructions

17 Jesus said to His disciples, “Stumbling blocks [temptations and traps set to lure one to sin] are sure to come, but woe (judgment is coming) to him through whom they come!^{(C) 2} It would be better for him if a millstone [as large as one turned by a donkey] were hung around his neck and he were hurled into the sea, than for him to cause one of these ^[f]little ones to stumble [in sin and lose faith].^{(D) 3} Pay attention and always be on guard [looking out for one another]! If your brother sins and disregards God’s precepts, solemnly warn him; and if he repents and changes, forgive him. ⁴ Even if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times and says, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him [that is, give up resentment and consider the offense recalled and annulled].”

⁵ The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith [our ability to confidently trust in God and in His power].” ⁶ And the Lord said, “If you ^[g]have [confident, abiding] faith in God [even as small] as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree [which has very strong roots], ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea’; and [if the request was in agreement with the will of God] it would have obeyed you.^(E)

⁷ “Which of you who has a servant plowing or tending sheep will say to him when he comes in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat?’ ⁸ Will he not instead say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, and appropriately clothe yourself [for service] and serve me while I eat and drink; then afterward you may eat and drink?’ ⁹ He does not thank the servant just because he did what he was ordered to do, does he? ¹⁰ So you too, when you have done everything that was assigned and commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants [undeserving of praise or a reward, for we have not gone beyond our obligation]; we have merely done what we ought to do.’”