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.
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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.
Jesus said to his disciples,
A rich man had a steward, who was accused of wasting 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.
So he called the steward and said to him,
What's this I hear about you? You're fired.
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.
The steward said to himself,
I can't work and I'm ashamed to beg.
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?
So he called his master's debtors, and said to one,
How much do you owe my master?
6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.
The debtor said, "One hundred measures of oil."
The steward said, "Take your bill and right 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.
To another debtor, and said, "How much do you owe?"
He said, "A hundred measures of wheat."
The steward said, "Take your bill and right eighty."
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.
And his master commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely.
For the people of this world are wiser than the children of the light. [1]
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.
Make friends with unrighteous wealthy people,
so that when you fail they'll provide you with an everlasting home.
11If 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?
If you can't be trusted with unrighteous wealth,
who will trust you with true riches?
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.
You can't serve two masters.
You'll hate one and love the other.
You can't serve God and money.
14 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.
The Pharisees heard what Jesus said, and derided him for it.
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.
Jesus said to them,
You try to justify yourselves to men. But whatever people highly esteem is an abomination to God. [2]
16The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.
The law and the prophets applied until John (the Baptist),
but since then the kingdom of God is preached. [3]
17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.
It's easier for heaven and earth to pass away than one tittle of the law to fail. [4]
18Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.
Whoever divorces his wife and remarries, commits adultery.
And whoever marries a divorced wife commits adultery. [5]
19There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
20And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
Jesus said,
There once was a poor beggar named Lazarus,
who lived at a rich man's gate.
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.
He ate the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table,
and was filled with sores that the dogs licked.
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;
When the beggar died, he was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom.
Sometime later, 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.
While the rich man was being tormented in hell, he saw Lazarus in Abraham's bosom, and he cried out to him, saying,
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.
Send Lazarus to dip his finger in some water to cool my tongue, for I'm being tortured 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.
Abraham said,
You got all the good things in life, while Lazarus got evil things. So now he's comforted and you're 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.
Besides, there's a barrier between you that can't be passed.
27Then 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.
The rich man said,
Okay, but could you send Lazarus to warn my family about this place of torment?
29Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
Abraham said,
They have Moses and the prophets to warn them.
30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
The rich man said,
No they won't listen to them.
But if someone came back from the dead, they'd 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.
Abraham said,
If they won't listen to Moses and the prophets, they wouldn't listen to someone who came back from the dead.
Who are wiser, the children of this world or the children of light?
Things that people value most highly (love, wisdom, honesty, courage, truth, beauty, etc.) are abominations to God.
Jesus says that the Old Testament laws applied only until the time of John the Baptist. But then he contradicts himself immediately in the next verse.
In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man goes to hell because he had a good life on earth and so now he will be tormented forever in hell. Whereas Lazarus, who was miserable on earth, is now in heaven. This seems fair to Jesus.
What the Bible says about rich people and Hell