16
1 He
also said to
his disciples,
“There was a
certain rich man
who had a
manager. An accusation
was made to
him that this
man was wasting
his possessions.
2 He called him,
and said to
him, ‘What is
this that I
hear about you?
Give an
accounting of
your management,
for you can
no longer be
manager.’
3 “The manager
said within
himself, ‘What
will I do,
seeing that my
lord is taking away
the management position
from me? I don’t
have strength to
dig. I am ashamed
to beg.
4 I know what
I will do,
so that when
I am removed
from management,
they may receive
me into their
houses.’
5 Calling each
one of his
lord’s debtors
to him, he
said to the
first, ‘How much
do you owe
to my lord?’
6 He said, ‘A
hundred batos
of oil.’ He
said to him, ‘Take
your bill, and
sit down quickly
and write fifty.’
7 Then he said
to another, ‘How
much do you
owe?’ He said,
‘A hundred cors
of wheat.’ He
said to him, ‘Take
your bill, and
write eighty.’
8 “His lord
commended the dishonest
manager because
he had done
wisely, for the
children of
this world are,
in their own
generation, wiser
than the
children of the
light.
9 I tell you,
make for
yourselves friends
by means
of unrighteous mammon,
so that when
you fail, they
may receive you
into the eternal
tents.
10 He who is
faithful in a
very little is
faithful also in
much. He who
is dishonest in
a very little
is also dishonest
in much.
11 If therefore
you have not
been faithful in
the unrighteous mammon,
who will commit
to your trust
the true riches?
12 If you have
not been
faithful in that
which is
another’s, 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 else
he will hold to
one and despise
the other.
You aren’t able
to serve God
and Mammon.”
14 The
Pharisees, who
were lovers of
money, also heard
all these things,
and they scoffed
at him.
15 He
said to them,
“You are those
who justify
yourselves in
the sight of
men, but God
knows your
hearts. For that
which is exalted
among men is
an abomination in
the sight of
God.
16 “The law and
the prophets
were until John.
From that time
the Good News
of God’s Kingdom
is preached, and
everyone is forcing
his way into
it.
17 But it is
easier for
heaven and earth
to pass away
than for one tiny
stroke of a pen
in the law
to fall.
18 “Everyone who divorces
his wife and
marries another
commits adultery.
He who marries
one who
is divorced from
a husband commits
adultery.
19 “Now there was
a certain rich
man, and he
was clothed in
purple and fine
linen, living
in luxury every
day.
20 A certain
beggar, named
Lazarus, was taken
to his gate, full
of sores,
21 and desiring to
be fed with
the crumbs that
fell from the
rich man’s table.
Yes, even the
dogs came
and licked his
sores.
22 The beggar died,
and he was
carried away by
the angels to Abraham’s
bosom. The rich
man also died
and was buried.
23 In Hades,
he lifted up
his eyes, being
in torment, and
saw Abraham far
off, and Lazarus
at his bosom.
24 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
in anguish in
this flame.’
25 “But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that
you, in your
lifetime, received your
good things, and
Lazarus, in the
same way, bad
things. But here
he is now
comforted and
you are
in anguish.
26 Besides all
this, between us
and you there
is a great
gulf fixed, that
those who want
to pass from
here to you
are not able,
and that no
one may cross
over from there
to us.’
27 “He said, ‘I
ask 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, so
they won’t also
come into this
place of torment.’
29 “But Abraham said
to him, ‘They
have Moses and
the prophets.
Let them listen
to them.’
30 “He said, ‘No,
father Abraham, but
if one goes
to them from
the dead, they
will repent.’
31 “He said to
him, ‘If
they don’t
listen to Moses
and the prophets,
neither will
they be
persuaded if
one rises from
the dead.’ ”