Luke 16

¹ He also said to the disciples, "There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his possessions.

² So he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you can no longer be manager.'

³ The manager said to himself, 'What should I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I'm not strong enough to dig, and I'm ashamed to beg.

⁴ I know what I'll do, so that when I'm removed from management, people will welcome me into their homes.'

⁵ So he summoned each one of his master's debtors. He said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'

⁶ He said, 'A hundred measures of olive oil.' He said to him, 'Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write fifty.'

⁷ Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?' He said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.' He said to him, 'Take your bill and write eighty.'

⁸ And the master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the children of light.

⁹ And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails, they may welcome you into the eternal dwellings.

¹⁰ "The one who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and the one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.

¹¹ So if you have not been faithful with unrighteous wealth, who will entrust you with the true riches?

¹² And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own?

¹³ No servant can serve two masters. For 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 God and money."

¹⁴ The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things and were ridiculing him.

¹⁵ And he said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before people, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among people is an abomination before God.

¹⁶ "The Law and the Prophets were until John. Since then the good news of the kingdom of God is being proclaimed, and everyone is forcing their way into it.

¹⁷ But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter in the Law to drop out.

¹⁸ "Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and the one who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

¹⁹ "There was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen, feasting sumptuously every day.

²⁰ And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores,

²¹ longing to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs would come and lick his sores.

²² The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried.

²³ And in Hades, being in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far off, with Lazarus at his side.

²⁴ So he called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy 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 flame.'

²⁵ But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and Lazarus likewise bad things. But now he is comforted here, and you are in agony.

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

²⁷ He said, 'Then I beg you, father, send him to my father's house,

²⁸ for I have five brothers — so that he may warn them, lest they also come to this place of torment.'

²⁹ But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'

³⁰ But he said, 'No, father Abraham! But if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.'

³¹ He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'"