Luke 16:12

Easy-to-Read Version

And if you cannot be trusted with the things that belong to someone else, you will not be given anything of your own.

Parallel Translations

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And yf ye have not bene faithfull in another manes busines: who shall geve you youre awne?

Hebrew Names Version
If you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?

International Standard Version
And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to foreigners, who will give you what is your own?

New American Standard Bible
"And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?

New Century Version
And if you cannot be trusted with things that belong to someone else, who will give you things of your own?

Update Bible Version
And if you haven't been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?

Webster's Bible Translation
And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who will give you that which is your own?

Amplified Bible
"And if you have not been faithful in the use of that [earthly wealth] which belongs to another [whether God or man, and of which you are a trustee], who will give you that which is your own?

English Standard Version
And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?

World English Bible
If you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And if ye have not been fauthful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?

Weymouth's New Testament
And if you have not been faithful in dealing with that which is not your own, who will give you that which is your own?

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And if ye weren not trewe in othere mennus thing, who schal yyue to you that that is youre?

English Revised Version
And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?

Berean Standard Bible
And if you have not been faithful with the belongings of another, who will give you belongings of your own?

Contemporary English Version
And if you cannot be trusted with what belongs to someone else, who will give you something that will be your own?

American Standard Version
And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?

Bible in Basic English
And if you have not been true in your care of the property of other people, who will give you that which is yours?

Complete Jewish Bible
And if you haven't been trustworthy with what belongs to someone else, who will give you what ought to belong to you?

Darby Translation
and if ye have not been faithful in that which is another's, who shall give to you your own?

Etheridge Translation
And if in that which is not yours you are not found faithful, your own who will give to you ?

Murdock Translation
And if ye have not been found faithful in that which is not yours, who will give to you that which is yours?

King James Version (1611)
And if ye haue not bene faithful in that which is another mans, who shall giue you that which is your owne?

New Living Translation
And if you are not faithful with other people's things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?

New Life Bible
If you have not been faithful in that which belongs to another person, who will give you things to have as your own?

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

Geneva Bible (1587)
And if ye haue not bene faithfull in another mans goods, who shall giue you that which is yours?

George Lamsa Translation
And if you are not found faithful with that which is not your own, who will give you that which is your own?

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, if, in what was another's, ye proved unfaithful, your own, who will give unto you?

Douay-Rheims Bible
And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?

Revised Standard Version
And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And yf ye haue not ben faythfull in another mans businesse, who shall geue you that which is your owne?

Good News Translation
And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to someone else, who will give you what belongs to you?

Christian Standard Bible®
And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to someone else, who will give you what is your own?

King James Version
And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?

Lexham English Bible
And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you your own?

Literal Translation
And if you were not faithful in that of another, who will give to you that which is yours?

Young's Literal Translation
and if in the other's ye became not faithful -- your own, who shall give to you?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And yf ye haue not bene faithfull in anothers mans busynesse, who wil geue you that which is youre awne?

Mace New Testament (1729)
if you have imbezel'd what another gave you in trust, how can he give you an estate in perpetuity?

New English Translation
And if you haven't been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you your own?

New King James Version
And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own?

Simplified Cowboy Version
If you can't take care of other people's things, why should you be given more things of your own?

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?

Legacy Standard Bible
And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?

Contextual Overview

¹ Jesus said to his followers, "Once there was a rich man. He hired a manager to take care of his business. Later, he learned that his manager was cheating him. ² So he called the manager in and said to him, ‘I have heard bad things about you. Give me a report of what you have done with my money. You can't be my manager anymore.' ³ "So, the manager thought to himself, ‘What will I do? My master is taking my job away from me. I am not strong enough to dig ditches. I am too proud to beg. ⁴ I know what I will do! I will do something to make friends, so that when I lose my job, they will welcome me into their homes.' ⁵ "So the manager called in each person who owed the master some money. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe my master?' ⁶ He answered, ‘I owe him 100 jars of olive oil.' The manager said to him, ‘Here is your bill. Hurry! Sit down and make the bill less. Write 50 jars.' ⁷ "Then the manager asked another one, ‘How much do you owe my master?' He answered, ‘I owe him 100 measures of wheat.' Then the manager said to him, ‘Here is your bill; you can make it less. Write 80 measures.' ⁸ "Later, the master told the dishonest manager that he had done a smart thing. Yes, worldly people are smarter in their business with each other than spiritual people are. ⁹ "I tell you, use the worldly things you have now to make ‘friends' for later. Then, when those things are gone, you will be welcomed into a home that lasts forever. ¹⁰ Whoever can be trusted with small things can also be trusted with big things. Whoever is dishonest in little things will be dishonest in big things too.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

in: Luke 19:13-26, 1 Chronicles 29:14-16, Job 1:21, Ezekiel 16:16-21, Hosea 2:8, Matthew 25:14-29

that which is your: Luke 10:42, Colossians 3:3, Colossians 3:4, 1 Peter 1:4, 1 Peter 1:5

Reciprocal: Proverbs 8:18 - durable Luke 16:6 - Take Luke 16:10 - faithful in 2 Corinthians 6:10 - and

Cross-References

Genesis 16:5
Then Sarai said to Abram, "My slave girl now hates me, and I blame you for this. I gave her to you, and she became pregnant. Then she began to feel that she is better than I am. I want the Lord to judge which of us is right."

Genesis 16:8
The angel said, "Hagar, Sarai's slave girl, why are you here? Where are you going?" Hagar said, "I am running away from Sarai."

Genesis 21:20
God continued to be with the boy while he grew up. Ishmael lived in the desert and became a hunter. He learned to shoot a bow very well.

Genesis 27:40
You will have to fight to live, and you will be a slave to your brother. But when you fight to be free, you will break away from his control."

Job 11:12
A wild donkey cannot give birth to a man, and a stupid person will never become wise.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's,.... Which is not a man's own, but what is committed to him by another; בממון אחרים, "with the mammon of others a", to speak in the language of the Jews; and of mammon, our Lord is speaking, and here of another man's, of which they were only stewards, as he in the preceding parable was: hence we read b of

שומרי ממון, "keepers of mammon", who were intrusted with another's substance; and such are here supposed, which, if unfaithful in,

who shall give you that which is your own? that is, should you unjustly detain, or make an ill use of another man's substance lodged in your hands, how can you expect but that you will be dealt with in like manner by others, who will not pay you yours, they have in their possession, but convert it to their own use? A like distinction of another's and a man's own, may be observed among the Jews:

"there are (say they c,) four sorts of men in respect of giving alms; he that would give, but would not have others give, his eye is evil, בשל אחרים, "in that which is other men's" (i.e. as the commentator observes d, lest the goods of others should be increased, and they get a good name); he that would that others should give, but he will not give himself, his eye is evil, בשלו, "in that which is his own"; he that gives, and would have others give, he is a "good man"; he that neither gives, nor would have others give, he is an "ungodly man";''

see Romans 5:7. Interpreters generally understand by "that which is another man's", in the first clause, the things of this world, which men are possessed of, because these are not of themselves, but from another, from God; and they are but stewards, rather than proprietors of them; and they are for the good of others, and not for themselves; and are not lasting, but in a little while will pass from them to others: and by "that which is your own", they understand the good things of grace and glory, which, when once bestowed on man, are his own property, and for his own use, and will never be alienated from him, but will always abide with him: but if he is unfaithful in the former, how should he expect the latter to be given to him?

a Jarchi in Pirke Abot, c. 5, sect. 13. b T. Hieros. Succa, fol. 53. 1. c Pirke Abot, c. 5. sect. 13. d Jarchi in ib.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Another man’s - The word “man’s” is not in the original. It is, “If ye have been unfaithful managers for another.” It refers, doubtless, to “God.” The wealth of the world is “his.” It is committed to us as his stewards. It is uncertain and deceitful, and at any moment he can take it away from us. It is still “his;” and if, while intrusted with “this,” we are unfaithful, we cannot expect that he will confer on us the rewards of heaven.

That which is your own - The riches of heaven, which, if once given to us, may be considered as “ours” - that is, it will be permanent and fixed, and will not be taken away “as if” at the pleasure of another. We may “calculate” on it, and look forward with the assurance that it will “continue” to be “ours” forever, and will not be taken away like the riches of this world, “as if” they were not ours. The meaning of the whole parable is, therefore, thus expressed: If we do not use the things of this world as we ought - with honesty, truth, wisdom, and integrity, we cannot have evidence of piety, and shall not be received into heaven. If we are true to that which is least, it is an evidence that we are the children of God, and he will commit to our trust that which is of infinite importance, even the eternal riches and glory of heaven.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Luke 16:12. That which is another man's — Or rather another's, τω αλλοτριω. That is, worldly riches, called another's:

1. Because they belong to God, and he has not designed that they should be any man's portion.

2. Because they are continually changing their possessors, being in the way of commerce, and in providence going from one to another. This property of worldly goods is often referred to by both sacred and profane writers. See a fine passage in Horace, Sat. l. ii. s. 2. v. 129.

Nam propriae telluris herum natura neque illum,

Nec me, nec quemquam statuit.

Nature will no perpetual heir assign,

Nor make the farm his property, or mine.

FRANCIS.

And the following in one of our own poets: -

"Who steals my purse steals trash; 'tis something, nothing;

'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands."

That which is your own? — Grace and glory, which God has particularly designed for you; which are the only proper satisfying portion for the soul, and which no man can enjoy in their plenitude, unless he be faithful to the first small motions and influences of the Divine Spirit.