Luke 16

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

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.’

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–

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

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

6“ ‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied. “The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.’

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

13“No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”

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

15He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight.

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 his way into it.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.’

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.

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

27“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house,

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

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

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

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.’ ”

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 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 SWAHSUV Tena, aliwaambia wanafunzi wake, Palikuwa na mtu mmoja, tajiri, aliyekuwa na wakili wake; huyu alishitakiwa kwake kuwa … Kiswahili