16
“There Was a Certain Rich Man, Who Had a Steward”
1 Jesus spoke to the disciples, too: “There was a certain rich man, who had a steward. This steward was accused of wasting the man’s possessions.
2 Summoning the steward, the man said to him, ‘What in the world is this I am hearing about ˢyou? Give me an account of how you’ve been handling my assets, for you can no longer be my steward.’
3 “ ‘What should I do,’ the steward thought to himself, ‘since my master is going to take my position away from me? Work the soil? That I’m not strong enough to do. Go about begging? That I am ashamed to do.
4 Ah, I know what I’ll do! Then when I’m removed from my position as steward, people will welcome me into their homes.’
5 And so calling in each person who was indebted to his master, he asked the first, ‘How much do ˢyou owe my master?’
6 “ ‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,’ the man replied.
“ ‘Here is ˢyour promissory note,’ the steward said to him. ‘Sit down and change it to four hundred. Quickly!’
7 “Then he said to the next person, ‘What about ˢyou? How much do you owe?”
“ ‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ the man answered.
“ ‘Here is ˢyour promissory note,’ the steward said to him. ‘Change it to eight hundred.’
8 “And so the master commended the unrighteous steward for acting with such good sense. For those who belong to this age are indeed more sensible, in dealing with people like themselves, than those who belong to the light.
9 I say this, too, to ᵖyou: Make friends for yourselves by showing kindness to people with the wealth of this age, the use of which is so often unrighteous, so that when it is gone, they will welcome ᵖyou into the tabernacles that endure forever into the ages.
10 If someone is trustworthy with very little, he is going to be trustworthy, too, with much. Similarly, if a person is unrighteous with little, that is precisely what he is going to be, too, with much.
11 If ᵖyou haven’t shown yourselves to be trustworthy, therefore, with the wealth of this age, which is so often used unrighteously, then what about true riches? Who in the world is going to entrust ᵖyou with them?
12 And if ᵖyou haven’t shown yourselves to be trustworthy indeed with property that belongs to someone else, then what about property of your own? Who in the world is going to give this to ᵖyou?
13 No household slave can be a slave of two masters. The slave would be expected to hate the one and love the other, you see, or to the one be fiercely loyal, and the other utterly despise. ᵖYou cannot be slaves of both God and money.”
14 The Pharisees, who were so fond of money, were listening to all these things and were sneering at Jesus.
15 He said to them, “ᵖYou are the ones who make yourselves appear righteous in the sight of men. God, however, knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among mere men is an abomination in the sight of God.
16 The Torah and the Prophets prophesied until John. Since then, the very gospel about the Kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is being strongly urged to enter it.
17 Yet it is truly easier for heaven and the earth to pass away, than for even the tiniest part of a letter in the Torah to fail.
18 If any man divorces his wife and marries another woman, he is guilty of committing adultery. In fact, a man is guilty of committing adultery even if he marries a woman divorced from her husband.
“There Was a Certain Rich Man Who Would Always Dress in Expensive Purple Clothing and Fine Linen, Living Each Day in Luxury”
19 “Now there was a certain rich man who would always dress in expensive purple clothing and fine linen, living each day in luxury.
20 A poor man named Lazarus, meanwhile, lay near the rich man’s gate, covered with sores,
21 and so hungry that he would have gladly filled his stomach with the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. And to top it all off, the dogs would come and lick his sores.
22 “Well, the time came when the poor man died and was led away by the angels to the place of honor at the table next to Abraham. The rich man died, too, and his body was placed in a tomb.
23 In Sheol, when he looked up, as he was in torment, he saw Abraham off in the distance and Lazarus at his side.
24 ‘Father Abraham,’ he called out, ‘have mercy on me and send Lazarus to at least dip his finger in some water and cool off my tongue, because I am in agony in these flames!’
25 “ ‘Son,’ replied Abraham, ‘think back to how ˢyou had it so good when you were still alive, and how Lazarus had it so difficult.
26 And besides all this, between us and ᵖyou there has been established a vast chasm, so that those who would like to cross over from here to where ᵖyou are cannot; and from there no one can cross over, likewise, to where we are.’
27 “ ‘I beg ˢyou, then, father,’ the rich man said, ‘to send him to my father’s home.
28 I have five brothers, you see. Please send Lazarus to warn them, so that they don’t end up in this place of torment themselves!’
29 “ ‘They have Moses and the Prophets,’ Abraham answered. ‘They must listen to them.’
30 “ ‘They won’t, father Abraham,’ the rich man replied. ‘If someone is sent to them, though, from the dead, they will repent.’
31 “ ‘If they refuse to listen to Moses and the Prophets,’ Abraham answered, ‘then they aren’t going to be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”