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.
He also said to his disciples, “There was a certain rich man who had a manager. An accusation was made to him that this man was wasting his possessions.
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 him, and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’
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].’
“The manager said within himself, ‘What will I do, seeing that my lord is taking away the management position from me? I don’t have strength to dig. I am ashamed to beg.
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 removed from management, 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?’
Calling each one of his lord’s debtors to him, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe to my lord?’
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]!’
He said, ‘A hundred batos of oil.’ 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].
Then he said to another, ‘How much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred cors of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’
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)
“His lord commended the dishonest manager because he had done wisely, for the children of this world are, in their own generation, wiser than the children 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)
I tell you, make for yourselves friends by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when you fail, they may receive you into the eternal tents. (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].
He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much. He who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in 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 commit to your trust 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]
If you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which 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 servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to one and despise the other. You aren’t able to serve God and Mammon.”
14 There were some Pharisees [there]. They loved [to acquire] money. When they heard Jesus say that, they ridiculed him.
The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they scoffed 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 who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts. For that which is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight 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 prophets were until John. From that time the Good News of God’s Kingdom is preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.
17 [All of God’s] laws, [even those that seem] insignificant, are more permanent than heaven and earth.
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tiny stroke of a pen in the law to fall.
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.”
“Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery. He who marries one who is divorced from a 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, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, living in luxury every day.
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.
A certain beggar, named Lazarus, was taken to his gate, full of sores,
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.
and desiring 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}.
The beggar died, and he was carried away by the angels to 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)
In Hades, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at 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!’
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 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.
“But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that you, in your lifetime, received your good things, and Lazarus, in the same way, bad things. But here he is now 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.’
Besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that those who want to pass from here to you are not able, and that no one may cross over from there 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.
“He said, ‘I ask you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house—
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!’
for I have five brothers—that he may testify to them, so they won’t also come into 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 to him, ‘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.’
“He said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if one goes to them from the dead, they will 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].’”
“He said to him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if one rises from the dead.’”
