Luke 16

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Listen Standard · Dramatized Open in Biblight

1He 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.

2He 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.

4I know what I will do, so that when I am removed from management, they may receive me into their houses.’

5Calling each one of his lord’s debtors to him, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe to my lord?’

6He said, ‘A hundred batos of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’

7Then 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.

9I tell you, make for yourselves friends by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when you fail, they may receive you into the eternal tents.

10He 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.

11If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?

12If you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?

13No 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.”

14The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they scoffed at him.

15He 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.

16The law and the prophets were until John. From that time the Good News of the Kingdom of God is preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.

17But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one tiny stroke of a pen in the law to fall.

18Everyone 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.

20A certain beggar, named Lazarus, was laid at his gate, full of sores,

21and desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Yes, even the dogs came and licked his sores.

22The beggar died, and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died, and was buried.

23In Hades, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom.

24He 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 now here he is comforted and you are in anguish.

26Besides 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;

28for 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.’”

Commentary

16:1-12 Whatever we have, the property of it is God's; we have only the use of it, according to the direction of our great Lord, and for his honour. This steward wasted his lord's goods. And we are all liable to the same charge; we have not made due improvement of what God has trusted us with. The steward cannot deny it; he must make up his accounts, and be gone. This may teach us that death will come, and deprive us of the opportunities we now have. The steward will make friends of his lord's debtors or tenants, by striking off a considerable part of their debt to his lord. The lord referred to in this parable commended not the fraud, but the policy of the steward. In that respect alone is it so noticed. Worldly men, in the choice of their object, are foolish; but in their activity, and perseverance, they are often wiser than believers. The unjust steward is not set before us as an example in cheating his master, or to justify any dishonesty, but to point out the careful ways of worldly men. It would be well if the children of light would learn wisdom from the men of the world, and would as earnestly pursue their better object. The true riches signify spiritual blessings; and if a man spends upon himself, or hoards up what God has trusted to him, as to outward things, what evidence can he have, that he is an heir of God through Christ? The riches of this world are deceitful and uncertain. Let us be convinced that those are truly rich, and very rich, who are rich in faith, and rich toward God, rich in Christ, in the promises; let us then lay up our treasure in heaven, and expect our portion from thence.

16:1 And he said also to his disciples - Not only to the scribes and Pharisees to whom he had hitherto been speaking, but to all the younger as well as the elder brethren: to the returning prodigals who were now his disciples. A certain rich man had a steward - Christ here teaches all that are now in favour with God, particularly pardoned penitents, to behave wisely in what is committed to them.

"\nAnd he called him,.... By the prophets, sent one after another; by John the Baptist, by Christ himself, and by his apostles:\n\nand said unto him, how is it that I hear this of thee? of thy corrupting the word; of thy covetousness, rapine, and theft; of thy adultery and idolatry, and sad violation of the law; see Ro 2:21\n\ngive an account of thy stewardship: what improvement is made of thy gifts; what care has been taken of my vineyard, the Jewish church; and where are the fruits that might be expected to have been received at your hands:\n\nfor thou mayest be no longer steward. This was foretold by the prophets, that God would write a "Loammi" upon the people of the Jews; that he would cut off three shepherds in one month, and particularly lay aside the idol shepherd, by whom the Pharisees may be meant, Zec 11:8 and by John the Baptist, who declared the axe was laid to the root of the tree, and it was just ready to be cut down, Mt 3:10 and by Christ, that the kingdom of God should be taken from them, Mt 21:43 and by the apostles, who turned from them to the Gentiles, Ac 13:46.\n\n\n "

"\nThen the steward said within himself,.... As the Scribes and Pharisees were wont to do, Mt 3:9\n\nwhat shall I do? he does not say, what will become of me? I am undone, and what shall I do to be saved? or what shall I do for my Lord and Master I have so much injured? or what shall I do to make up matters with him? or what account shall I give? but what shall I do for a maintenance? how shall I live? what shall I do to please men, and gain their opinion and good will, and so be provided for by them? of this cast were the Pharisees, men pleasers, and self-seekers:\n\nfor my Lord taketh away from me the stewardship: the priesthood was changed, and there was a change also of the law; the ceremonial law was abrogated, and the ordinances of the former dispensation were shaken and removed; so that these men must of course turn out of their places and offices:\n\nI cannot dig; or "plough", as the Arabic version renders it; or do any part of husbandry, particularly that which lies in manuring and cultivating the earth; not but that he was able to do it; but he could not tell how to submit to such a mean, as well as laborious way of life; for nothing was meaner among the Jews than husbandry: they have a saying, that \u05d0\u05d9\u05df \u05dc\u05da \u05d0\u05d5\u05de\u05e0\u05d5\u05ea \u05e4\u05d7\u05d5\u05ea\u05d4 \u05de\u05df \u05d4\u05e7\u05e8\u05e7\u05e2, "you have no trade", or business, "lesser", or meaner "than husbandry" {g}:\n\nand to beg I am ashamed; for nothing could be more disagreeable, to one who had lived so well in his master's house, and in so much fulness and luxury, as the Scribes and Pharisees did.

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Translations8 · 5

AMHEVG ደግሞም ለደቀ መዛሙርቱ እንዲህ አለ፦ “መጋቢ የነበረው አንድ ባለ ጠጋ ሰው ነበረ፥ በእርሱ ዘንድ፦ ‘ይህ ሰው ያለህን ይበትናል፡’ ብለው ከሰሱት። አማርኛ ENGNIV Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. English BCV ኢየሱስ መሊሱ ንደቀ መዛሙርቱ ኸምዙይ በሎም፦ “መጋቢ ዝነበሮ፥ ሓደ ሃብታም ሰብኣይ ነበረ። ንእኡ ኸዓ ገንዘብካ ይብትነልካ ኣሎ፤ እናበሉ ነገርዎ። ትግርኛ GAZBIB Yesus bartoota isaatiin immoo, ?Namni sooressi tokko, qabeenya mana isaa hundumaa irratti kan gaafatamuuf, hojii adeems… Afaan Oromoo BCV GIZ ወይቤሎሙ እግዚእ ኢየሱስ ለአርዳኢሁ፦ “አሐዱ ብእሲ ባዕል ቦቱ መጋቢ ወአስተዋደይዎ ኀቤሁ ከመ ዘይዘሩ ሎቱ ንዋዮ። giz GAZGAZ Yesus bartoota isaatiin immoo, ?Namni sooressi tokko, qabeenya mana isaa hundumaa irratti kan gaafatamuuf, hojii adeems… Afaan Oromoo BCV aksum ኢየሱስ መሊሱ ንደቀ መዛሙርቱ ኸምዙይ በሎም፦ “መጋቢ ዝነበሮ፥ ሓደ ሃብታም ሰብኣይ ነበረ። ንእኡ ኸዓ ገንዘብካ ይብትነልካ ኣሎ፤ እናበሉ ነገርዎ። ትግርኛ AMHNIV ኢየሱስ ለደቀ መዛሙርቱ እንዲህ አለ፤ “አንድ ሀብታም ሰው አንድ መጋቢ ነበረው፤ ይኸው መጋቢ የሀብታሙን ሰው ንብረት እንደሚያባክን ለዚሁ ሀብታም ሰው ወሬ ደረሰው። አማርኛ