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.+’ ”