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The Parable of the Clever Steward

¹ Jesus also said to the disciples, "There was a rich man who was informed of accusations that his manager was wasting his assets. ² So he called the manager in and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Turn in the account of your administration, because you can no longer be my manager.' ³ Then the manager said to himself, ‘What should I do, since my master is taking my position away from me? I'm not strong enough to dig, and I'm too ashamed to beg. ⁴ I know what to do so that when I am put out of management, people will welcome me into their homes.' ⁵ So he contacted his master's debtors one by one. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?' ⁶ The man replied, ‘A hundred measures of olive oil.' The manager said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write fifty.' ⁷ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?' The second man replied, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.' The manager said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.' ⁸ The master commended the dishonest manager because he acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their contemporaries than the people of light. ⁹ And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by how you use worldly wealth, so that when it runs out you will be welcomed into the eternal homes.

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 If then you haven't been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will entrust you with the true riches? ¹² And if you haven't been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you 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."

More Warnings about the Pharisees

¹⁴ The Pharisees (who loved money) heard all this and ridiculed him. ¹⁵ But Jesus said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in men's eyes, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly prized among men is utterly detestable in God's sight.

¹⁶ "The law and the prophets were in force until John; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is urged to enter it. ¹⁷ But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tiny stroke of a letter in the law to become void.

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

The Rich Man and Lazarus

¹⁹ "There was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. ²⁰ But at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus whose body was covered with sores, ²¹ who longed to eat what fell from the rich man's table. In addition, the dogs came and licked his sores.

²² "Now 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 hell, as he was 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 anguish in this fire.' ²⁵ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus likewise bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish. ²⁶ Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us, so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.' ²⁷ So the rich man said, ‘Then I beg you, father—send Lazarus to my father's house ²⁸ (for I have five brothers) to warn them so that they don't come into this place of torment.' ²⁹ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they must respond to them.' ³⁰ Then the rich man said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' ³¹ He replied to him, ‘If they do not respond to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'"