Luke 16:1–31

Parable of the Unjust Servant

16He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was ¹wasting his goods. ²So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an ^aaccount of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’

³“Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. ⁴I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’

⁵“So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ ⁶And he said, ‘A hundred ²measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ ⁷Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred ³measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ ⁸So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than ^bthe sons of light.

⁹“And I say to you, ^cmake friends for yourselves by unrighteous ⁴mammon, that when ⁵you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. ^10dHe who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. ¹¹Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? ¹²And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your ^eown?

^13f“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

Christ Warns the Pharisees

¹⁴Now the Pharisees, ^gwho were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they ⁶derided Him. ¹⁵And He said to them, “You are those who ^hjustify yourselves ⁱbefore men, but ^jGod knows your hearts. For ^kwhat is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

^16l“The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it. ^17mAnd it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one ⁷tittle of the law to fail.

Christ Teaches on Divorce

¹⁸ⁿ“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery.

Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus

¹⁹“There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and ⁸fared sumptuously every day. ²⁰But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, ²¹desiring to be fed with ⁹the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. ²²So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to ^oAbraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. ²³And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

²⁴“Then 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 ^pcool my tongue; for I ^qam tormented in this flame.’ ²⁵But Abraham said, ‘Son, ^rremember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. ²⁶And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’

²⁷“Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, ²⁸for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ ²⁹Abraham said to him, ^s‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ ³⁰And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ ³¹But he said to him, ^t‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, ^uneither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ ”