Luke 16
1 [Jesus] also said to his disciples, “Once there was a rich man who had a household manager. [One day] he was told {[someone] told him} that [the manager] was managing the rich man’s money badly.
To his disciples he said. "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and this steward was accused to him of wasting his property.
2 So he summoned [his manager] and said to him, ‘(It is terrible what they are saying about you [(sg)]!/Is it true what they are saying about you [(sg)] [RHQ]?) Give me a written account of [the funds] you have been managing, because you can no longer be my [household] manager!’
"He called to him to him and said. "‘What is this that I hear about you? Render an account of your stewardship; for you can no longer be steward.’
3 Then the manager thought to himself, ‘My master is going to fire me, so (I do not know what to do./what shall I do [RHQ]?) I am not strong enough to [work by] digging ditches, and I am ashamed to beg [for money].’
"Now the steward said to himself. ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking away my stewardship? I am not strong enough to dig, to beg I am ashamed.
4 [Suddenly he had an idea]. ‘I know what I will do, so that people will take me into their houses [and provide for me] after I am dismissed {after my master dismisses me} from my work!’
"‘I know what I will do, so that when I am put out of my stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’
5 So [one by one] he summoned the people who owed his master money. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you [(sg)] owe my master?’
"So he called to him each of his master’s debtors and said to the first, ‘How much money do you owe my master?’
6 The man replied, ‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil.’ The manager said to him, ‘Take your bill and sit down and quickly change it to 400 [gallons]!’
"‘A hundred measures of oil,’ he answered. "He said to him, ‘Take your bill and sit down quickly and write fifty."
7 He said to another man, ‘How much do you owe?’ The man replied, ‘A thousand bushels of wheat.’ The manager said to him, ‘Take your bill and change it to 800 [bushels]!’ [He did similar things for the others who owed his master money].
"To a second he said, ‘How much do you owe?’ "The man answered, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ "‘Here is you bill,’ he said, ‘change it to eighty measures.’
8 When his master [heard what the manager had done], he admired the dishonest manager for the clever thing he had done. [The truth] is that the ungodly people in this world act more wisely toward other people than godly people [MET] act. (aiōn g165)
"And the master praised the unjust steward because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this world are in relation to their own generation wiser than the sons of the light. (aiōn g165)
9 [So] I tell you [(pl)] this: Use the money that you have [here] on earth to help others so that they will become your friends. Then when [you die and] you cannot [take] any money with you, [God and his angels] will welcome you into a home [in heaven] that will last forever. (aiōnios g166)
"And to you I say, Use mammon, dishonest as it is, to make yourselves friends, so that when it shall fail they will welcome you to the eternal tabernacles. (aiōnios g166)
10 People who faithfully manage small [matters] will also faithfully manage important [matters]. People who are dishonest in [the way they handle] small [matters] will be dishonest [in the way they handle] important [matters].
"The man who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much, and he who is unjust in a very little, is unjust also as much.
11 So if you have not faithfully handled the money that [God has given you here] on earth, (he will certainly not allow you to possess the true [spiritual] riches [in heaven!]/would he allow you to possess the true [spiritual] riches [in heaven]?) [RHQ]
"If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will trust to you the true riches?
12 And if you have not faithfully managed things that belong to other people, ([God] will certainly not allow you to receive [treasures in heaven that] would belong to you!/would God allow you to receive [treasures in heaven that] would belong to you?) [RHQ]
"And if you are not faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own?
13 No servant is able to serve two [different] bosses [at the same time. If he tried to do that], he would prefer one of them more than the other one; he would be loyal to one of them and despise the other one. [Similarly], you cannot [devote your life] to worshipping God and [worshipping] money and material goods [at the same time].”
"No one can be a household servants to two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will cling to the one and despise the other. You cannot be the slave of God and of Mammon."
14 There were some Pharisees [there]. They loved [to acquire] money. When they heard Jesus say that, they ridiculed him.
Now the Pharisees who loved money listened to all this and they jeered at him.
15 But he said to them, “You try to make other people think that you are righteous, but God knows your (inner beings/hearts). [So he will reject you. Keep in mind that many] things that people think are important, God thinks are detestable.
He said to them. "You are those that justify themselves in the eyes of men; but God knows you hearts; for that which is lofty in the eyes of men is abomination in the eyes of God.
16 The laws that [God gave Moses] and what the prophets [MTY] [wrote] were ([in effect/what you needed to obey]) until John [the Baptizer] came. Since then [I] have been preaching about how God wants to [rule people’s lives in a new way], and many people are [accepting that message and] very eagerly asking God to control [their lives. But that does not mean that God has abolished the laws that he established previously].
"The Law and the Prophet lasted until John; since then the gospel of the kingdom of God is preached, and any one presses in.
17 [All of God’s] laws, [even those that seem] insignificant, are more permanent than heaven and earth.
"Yet it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away then for one title of the law to fail.
18 [For example, because God considers that a marriage lasts until either the husband or the wife dies, he considers that] any man who divorces his wife and marries another woman is committing adultery. He also [considers that] any man who marries a woman who has been divorced by her husband {whose husband has divorced her} is [also] committing adultery.”
"Every man who divorces his wife and marries some one else, commits adultery; and he who marries one who is put away by her husband commits adultery.
19 [Jesus also said] [MET], “Once there was a rich man who wore [expensive] purple linen [garments]. He ate luxuriously every day.
"Now there was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and made merry every day in splendor.
20 And every day a poor man whose name was Lazarus was laid {[some people also] laid a poor man whose name was Lazarus} at the gate of the rich man’s [house]. Lazarus’ body was covered with sores.
"And a certain beggar named Lazarus was thrown at his door.
21 He [was so hungry that he] wanted to eat the scraps [of food] that fell from the table where the rich man [ate]. Furthermore, [to make things worse], dogs came and licked his sores.
"He was full of sores, and longingly desired to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Yes! even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 [Eventually] the poor man died. Then he was taken by the angels {the angels took him} to [start feasting] next to his [ancestor] Abraham. The rich man also died, and his body was buried {[some people] buried his body}.
"But in the course of time the beggar died; and he was carried by angels into Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died, and was buried.
23 In the place where dead people wait [for God to judge them], he was suffering great pain. He looked up and saw Abraham far away, and he saw Lazarus sitting close to Abraham. (Hadēs g86)
"And as he was tormented in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom. (Hadēs g86)
24 So he shouted, ‘Father Abraham, I am suffering very much in this fire! So [please] pity me, and send Lazarus [here] so that he can dip his finger in water [and touch] my tongue to cool it!’
"And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham have mercy on me; and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’
25 But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that while you [(sg)] were alive [on earth] you enjoyed [many] good things. But Lazarus was miserable. Now [it is fair that] he is happy here, and you are suffering.
"‘Remember my son.’ said Abraham, ‘that you had in your lifetime all your good things, and in the same way Lazarus his evil things; but now here he is comforted, and you are in anguish.
26 Besides that, there is a huge ravine between you [(sg)] and us. So those who want to go from here to where you [(sg)] are, are not able to. Furthermore, no one can cross from there to where we [(exc)] are.’
"But besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who want to cross from here to you cannot, nor can those who would cross from you to us.’
27 Then the rich man said, ‘If that is so, father [Abraham], I ask you [(sg)] to send [Lazarus] to my father’s house.
"‘I beg you then, father,’ he said, ‘send him to my fathers house. For I have five brothers.
28 I have five brothers [who live there]. Tell him to warn them [to turn away from their sinful behavior so that] they do not also come to this place, where [we(exc)] suffer great pain!’
"‘Let him earnestly warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment.’
29 But Abraham replied, ‘[No, I will not do that, because your brothers] are able to [go to the Jewish meeting places where the priests] read what Moses and the prophets [wrote]. They should listen to what Moses and the prophets [MTY] [wrote]!’
"But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets, let them listen to them.’
30 But the rich man replied, ‘No, father Abraham, [that will not be enough] But if someone from those who have died goes back to them [and warns them], they will turn from their sinful behavior.’
"‘Nay, Father Abraham,’ he said ‘but if some one went to them from the dead they would repent.’
31 [Abraham] said to him, ‘No! If they do not listen to [what] [MTY] Moses and the prophets [MTY] [wrote], even if someone would become alive again [and go and warn them], they would not be convinced {he could not convince them} [that they should turn from their sinful behavior].’”
"‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets,’ said Father Abraham, ‘neither will they be persuaded if one should rise from the dead.’"
