Luke 16
16
The Story of the Crooked Manager
1-2Jesus said to his disciples, “There was once a rich man who had a manager. He got reports that the manager had been taking advantage of his position by running up huge personal expenses. So he called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? You’re fired. And I want a complete audit of your books.’
3-4“The manager said to himself, ‘What am I going to do? I’ve lost my job as manager. I’m not strong enough for a laboring job, and I’m too proud to beg. . . . Ah, I’ve got a plan. Here’s what I’ll do . . . then when I’m turned out into the street, people will take me into their houses.’
5“Then he went at it. One after another, he called in the people who were in debt to his master. He said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
6“He replied, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’
“The manager said, ‘Here, take your bill, sit down here—quick now—write fifty.’
7“To the next he said, ‘And you, what do you owe?’
“He answered, ‘A hundred sacks of wheat.’
“He said, ‘Take your bill, write in eighty.’
8-9“Now here’s a surprise: The master praised the crooked manager! And why? Because he knew how to look after himself. Streetwise people are smarter in this regard than law-abiding citizens. They are on constant alert, looking for angles, surviving by their wits. I want you to be smart in the same way—but for what is right—using every adversity to stimulate you to creative survival, to concentrate your attention on the bare essentials, so you’ll live, really live, and not complacently just get by on good behavior.”
God Sees Behind Appearances
10-13Jesus went on to make these comments:
If you’re honest in small things,
you’ll be honest in big things;
If you’re a crook in small things,
you’ll be a crook in big things.
If you’re not honest in small jobs,
who will put you in charge of the store?
No worker can serve two bosses:
He’ll either hate the first and love the second
Or adore the first and despise the second.
You can’t serve both God and the Bank.
14-18When the Pharisees, a money-obsessed bunch, heard him say these things, they rolled their eyes, dismissing him as hopelessly out of touch. So Jesus spoke to them: “You are masters at making yourselves look good in front of others, but God knows what’s behind the appearance.
What society sees and calls monumental,
God sees through and calls monstrous.
God’s Law and the Prophets climaxed in John;
Now it’s all kingdom of God—the glad news
and compelling invitation to every man and woman.
The sky will disintegrate and the earth dissolve
before a single letter of God’s Law wears out.
Using the legalities of divorce
as a cover for lust is adultery;
Using the legalities of marriage
as a cover for lust is adultery.
The Rich Man and Lazarus
19-21“There once was a rich man, expensively dressed in the latest fashions, wasting his days in conspicuous consumption. A poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, had been dumped on his doorstep. All he lived for was to get a meal from scraps off the rich man’s table. His best friends were the dogs who came and licked his sores.
22-24“Then he died, this poor man, and was taken up by the angels to the lap of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell and in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his lap. He called out, ‘Father Abraham, mercy! Have mercy! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water to cool my tongue. I’m in agony in this fire.’
25-26“But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that in your lifetime you got the good things and Lazarus the bad things. It’s not like that here. Here he’s consoled and you’re tormented. Besides, in all these matters there is a huge chasm set between us so that no one can go from us to you even if he wanted to, nor can anyone cross over from you to us.’
27-28“The rich man said, ‘Then let me ask you, Father: Send him to the house of my father where I have five brothers, so he can tell them the score and warn them so they won’t end up here in this place of torment.’
29“Abraham answered, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets to tell them the score. Let them listen to them.’
30“‘I know, Father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but they’re not listening. If someone came back to them from the dead, they would change their ways.’
31“Abraham replied, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, they’re not going to be convinced by someone who rises from the dead.’”
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Luke 16: MSG
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.
Luke 16
16
The Parable of the Dishonest Manager
1 And he also said to the disciples, “A certain man was rich, who had a manager. And charges were brought to him that this person was squandering his possessions. 2And he summoned him and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“summoned”) has been translated as a finite verb said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give the account of your management, because you can no longer manage.’ 3And the manager said to himself, ‘What should I do, because my master is taking away the management from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg. 4I know what I should do, so that when I am removed from the management they will welcome me into their homes!’ 5And he summoned each one of his own master’s debtors and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“summoned”) has been translated as a finite verb said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6And he said, ‘A hundred measures of olive oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your promissory note and sit down quickly and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“sit down”) has been translated as a finite verb write fifty.’ 7Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your promissory note and write eighty.’ 8And the master praised the dishonest manager, because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this age are shrewder than the sons of light with regard to their own generation.#Or “kind” 9And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it runs out they will welcome you into the eternal dwellings.
10“The one who is faithful in very little is also faithful in much, and the one who is dishonest in very little is also dishonest in much. 11If then you have not been faithful with unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?#*The word “riches” is not in the Greek text but is implied 12And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you your own? 13No domestic slave is able to serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and will despise the other. You are not able to serve God and money.”
Hypocrisy, Law, and the Kingdom of God
14Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. 15And he said to them, “You are the ones who justify themselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts! For what is considered exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
16“The law and the prophets were until John; from that time on the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is urgently pressed#The verb is translated here as a passive; some English versions translate the verb as active (“forces their way into it”) into it. 17But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the law to become invalid.
On Divorce
18“Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and the one who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.
The Rich Man and Lazarus
19“Now a certain man was rich, and dressed in purple cloth and fine linen, feasting sumptuously every day. 20And a certain poor man named#Literally “by name” Lazarus, covered with sores, lay at his gate, 21and was longing to be filled with what fell from the table of the rich man. But even the dogs came and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“came”) has been translated as a finite verb licked his sores. 22Now it happened that the poor man died, and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side.#Literally “the bosom of Abraham” And the rich man also died and was buried. 23And in Hades he lifted up his eyes as he#*Here “as” is supplied as a component of the participle (“was”) which is understood as temporal was in torment and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“lifted up”) has been translated as a finite verb saw Abraham from a distance, and Lazarus at his side.#Literally “in his bosom” 24And he called out and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“called out”) has been translated as a finite verb said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he could dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am suffering pain in this flame!’ 25But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you received your good things during your life, and Lazarus likewise bad things. But now he is comforted here, but you are suffering pain. 26And in addition to all these things, a great chasm has been established between us and you, so that those who want to cross over from here to you are not able to do so,#*The words “to do so” are not in the Greek text but are implied nor can they cross over from there to us.’ 27So he said, ‘Then I ask you, father, that you send him to my father’s house, 28for I have five brothers, so that he could warn them, in order that they also should not come to this place of torment!’ 29But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they must listen to them.’ 30And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent!’ 31But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone rises from the dead.’ ”
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