Sign in for free

Luke 16

King James Version

1 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. 2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. 3 Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. 4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. 5 So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? 6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. 7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. 8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. 9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. 10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. 11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 14 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him. 15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. 16 The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. 17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail. 18 Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery. 19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: 20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. 27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: 28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. 29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. 30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. 31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. 

King James Bible (1769). Public Domain.
Please note the following exceptions for use and publication in the United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press

Luke 16

English Standard Version



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 wasting his possessions. (Lu 12:42) 2 And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ (1Co 9:17) 3 And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ 5 So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He said, ‘A hundred measures[1] of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures[2] of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ 8 The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world[3] are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. (Mt 25:2; Lu 10:6; Lu 20:34; Joh 12:36; Eph 5:8; 1Th 5:5) 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth,[4] so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. (Mt 6:20; Mt 6:24; Mt 19:21; Lu 12:33; Lu 16:11; Lu 16:13; 1Ti 6:10; 1Ti 6:17) 10 “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. (Mt 25:21; Mt 25:23; Lu 19:17) 11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? (1Ch 29:14; 1Ch 29:16) 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.” (Lu 16:9) 



14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. (Lu 11:39; Lu 20:47; Lu 23:35; 1Ti 6:10; 2Ti 3:2) 15 And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. (1Sa 16:7; 1Ch 28:9; Pr 16:5; Pr 21:2; Lu 10:29) 16 “The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it.[5] (Mt 11:12; Lu 4:43; Lu 15:1) 17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void. (Mt 5:18) 



18 “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery. (Mt 5:32) 



19 “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. (Es 8:15; Jas 5:5; Re 18:16) 20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, (Ac 3:2) 21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. (Mt 15:27) 22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side.[6] The rich man also died and was buried, (Mt 18:10; Lu 12:8; Lu 15:10; Joh 13:23; Ac 12:15; Heb 1:13) 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. (Mt 8:11; Mt 11:23; Lu 16:22) 24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ (Isa 66:24; Zec 14:12; Mt 25:41; Lu 16:30; Joh 8:33; Joh 8:39; Joh 8:53) 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. (Job 21:13; Ps 17:14; Lu 6:24) 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ 27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ (Lu 16:31; Lu 24:27; Joh 5:45; Ac 26:22; Ac 28:23) 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ (Lu 16:24) 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’” (Mt 28:11; Lu 16:29; Joh 12:10) 

The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.

The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved.