Luke 16

¹⁰As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve one another.

¹⁴For it is just like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted them with his possessions.

¹⁵To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent—each according to his own ability. And he went on his journey.

¹So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

²Now it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.

⁴²And the Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their portion at the proper time?

³And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.

⁷As God’s steward, an overseer must be above reproach—not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not greedy for money.

²³“Why are you doing these things?” Eli said to his sons. “I hear about your wicked deeds from all these people.

²⁴No, my sons; it is not a good report I hear circulating among the Lord’s people.

⁹Rejoice, O young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.

¹⁰So banish sorrow from your heart, and cast off pain from your body, for youth and vigor are fleeting.

¹²And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And books were opened, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their deeds, as recorded in the books.

⁵But they will have to give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

¹⁰For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.

²⁴The sins of some men are obvious, going ahead of them to judgment; but the sins of others do not surface until later.

²³Be sure to know the state of your flocks, and pay close attention to your herds;

²⁴for riches are not forever, nor does a crown endure to every generation.

³¹The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it so, but what will you do in the end?

⁴For a while he refused, but later he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect men,

¹¹For we hear that some of you are leading undisciplined lives, accomplishing nothing, but being busybodies.

²⁵The craving of the slacker kills him because his hands refuse to work.

²⁶All day long he covets more, but the righteous give without restraint.

¹³The slacker says, “A lion is in the road! A fierce lion roams the public square!”

¹⁴As a door turns on its hinges, so the slacker turns on his bed.

¹⁵Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.

²²“For My people are fools; they have not known Me. They are foolish children, without understanding. They are skilled in doing evil, but they know not how to do good.”

⁹Otherwise, I may have too much and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, profaning the name of my God.

⁴¹“Two men were debtors to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.

⁴²When they were unable to repay him, he forgave both of them. Which one, then, will love him more?”

²⁴As he began the settlements, a debtor owing ten thousand talents was brought to him.

¹⁰not stealing from them, but showing all good faith, so that in every respect they will adorn the teaching about God our Savior.

¹²And if you have not been faithful with the belongings of another, who will give you belongings of your own?

⁹I tell you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves so that when it is gone, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.

⁹Then He proceeded to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it out to some tenants, and went away for a long time.

¹²Then he sent a third, but they wounded him and threw him out.

¹¹Solomon had a vineyard in Baal-hamon. He leased it to the tenants. For its fruit, each was to bring a thousand shekels of silver.

¹²But my own vineyard is mine to give; the thousand shekels are for you, O Solomon, and two hundred are for those who tend its fruit.

⁵For you are all sons of the light and sons of the day; we do not belong to the night or to the darkness.

⁸For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,

³⁶While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of light.” After Jesus had spoken these things, He went away and was hidden from them.

⁶Walk in the manner of the ant, O slacker; observe its ways and become wise.

⁷Without a commander, without an overseer or ruler,

¹⁰Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.

¹⁰Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase even more; and if a war breaks out, they may join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.”

²¹Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

¹⁷Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.

¹⁸Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, and to be generous and ready to share,

²⁷Therefore, may my advice be pleasing to you, O king. Break away from your sins by doing what is right, and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed. Perhaps there will be an extension of your prosperity.”

²⁴No one can serve two masters: 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 both God and money.

¹⁷Kindness to the poor is a loan to the Lord, and He will repay the lender.

¹⁴and you will be blessed. Since they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

¹¹So if you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will entrust you with true riches?

¹²And if you have not been faithful with the belongings of another, who will give you belongings of your own?

²¹His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’

¹⁷His master replied, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, you shall have authority over ten cities.’

²³His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’

²He was faithful to the One who appointed Him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house.

³³Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves with purses that will not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.

¹⁸With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and righteousness.

¹⁹My fruit is better than gold, pure gold, and my harvest surpasses choice silver.

⁵Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?

⁸Though I am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

²²On hearing this, Jesus told him, “You still lack one thing: Sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

⁹I tell you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves so that when it is gone, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.

¹³Beforehand, he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Conduct business with this until I return,’ he said.

¹⁴But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’

²¹saying: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

¹⁴For it is just like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted them with his possessions.

¹⁵To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent—each according to his own ability. And he went on his journey.

¹⁴But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? For everything comes from You, and from Your own hand we have given to You.

¹⁵For we are foreigners and strangers in Your presence, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.

⁴and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you,

⁵who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

¹⁶You took some of your garments and made colorful high places for yourself, and on them you prostituted yourself. Such things should not have happened; never should they have occurred!

¹⁷You also took the fine jewelry of gold and silver I had given you, and you made male idols with which to prostitute yourself.

¹⁵Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

¹⁶For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.

²⁴No one can serve two masters: 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 both God and money.

⁴You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God.

⁵Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh; but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

⁶The mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace,

²⁶“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be My disciple.

¹⁵But if it is unpleasing in your sight to serve the Lord, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!”

³⁵The people stood watching, and the rulers sneered at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”

¹⁵And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

⁴⁷They defraud widows of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will receive greater condemnation.”

¹¹Like ravenous dogs, they are never satisfied. They are shepherds with no discernment; they all turn to their own way, each one seeking his own gain:

¹³Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.

¹⁰Therefore I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit.

²All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart.

⁷But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected him; the Lord does not see as man does. For man sees the outward appearance, but the Lord sees the heart.”

⁵Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

¹⁰I, the Lord, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.

⁵Everyone who is proud in heart is detestable to the Lord; be assured that he will not go unpunished.

⁸And God, who knows the heart, showed His approval by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as He did to us.

⁹What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.

¹⁰This is the one about whom it is written: ‘Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way before You.’

³²For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

²⁴Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have spoken, have proclaimed these days.

²⁵And you are sons of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers when He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all the families of the earth will be blessed.’

²and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

⁴⁵Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law, the One the prophets foretold—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

²⁶What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.

²⁷This is the one about whom it is written: ‘Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way before You.’

¹⁸For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

³³Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.

²⁵but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.

⁸The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”

³¹Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Certainly not! Instead, we uphold the law.

⁶Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth below; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and its people will die like gnats. But My salvation will last forever, and My righteousness will never fail.

⁹Now I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

¹¹So He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her.

¹²And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”

³¹It has also been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’

³²But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, brings adultery upon her. And he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

¹⁰To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband.

¹¹But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.

⁴The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife.

⁴⁹Now this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and complacent; they did not help the poor and needy.

²⁴Seeing the man’s sadness, Jesus said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!

²⁵Indeed, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

⁴You lie on beds inlaid with ivory, and lounge upon your couches. You dine on lambs from the flock and calves from the stall.

⁵You improvise songs on the harp like David and invent your own musical instruments.

¹Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you.

²Your riches have rotted and moths have eaten your clothes.

⁷Of embroidered fine linen from Egypt they made your sail, which served as your banner. Of blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah they made your awning.

¹Jesus also said to His disciples, “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.

²And a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those entering the temple courts.

⁵Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?

⁷So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and infected Job with terrible boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.

⁸He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap. He seats them among princes and bestows on them a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s, and upon them He has set the world.

¹⁹Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him from them all.

⁹The brother in humble circumstances should exult in his high position.

²⁷“Yes, Lord,” she said, “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

²⁸“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

¹²And when everyone was full, He said to His disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over, so that nothing will be wasted.”

¹¹To this very hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clothed, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.

²⁷in labor and toil and often without sleep, in hunger and thirst and often without food, in cold and exposure.

²⁴He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”

¹⁶Do not be afraid when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases.

¹⁷For when he dies, he will carry nothing away; his abundance will not follow him down.

¹³And I heard a voice from heaven telling me to write, “Blessed are the dead—those who die in the Lord from this moment on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors, for their deeds will follow them.”

¹¹For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its flower falls and its beauty is lost. So too, the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

¹⁰See that you do not look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven.

¹⁰Then too, I saw the burial of the wicked who used to go in and out of the holy place, and they were praised in the city where they had done so. This too is futile.

⁴For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them deep into hell, placing them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment;

²⁸for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also end up in this place of torment.’

³³You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape the sentence of hell?

⁹And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

¹⁰he too will drink the wine of God’s anger, poured undiluted into the cup of His wrath. And he will be tormented in fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.

¹¹And the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever. Day and night there is no rest for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”

¹⁷The wicked will return to Sheol—all the nations who forget God.

¹Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb

¹⁰Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

¹⁴But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”

¹⁶‘Never again will they hunger, and never will they thirst; nor will the sun beat down upon them, nor any scorching heat.’

¹⁷For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. ‘He will lead them to springs of living water,’ and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”

⁴¹Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

⁶The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

²⁴But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.

¹⁵Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

¹⁴from such men, O Lord, by Your hand—from men of the world whose portion is in this life. May You fill the bellies of Your treasured ones and satisfy their sons, so they leave their abundance to their children.

⁴⁵If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell.

¹⁹Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things.

⁷because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.

³⁶Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”

¹⁴Like sheep they are destined for Sheol. Death will be their shepherd. The upright will rule them in the morning, and their form will decay in Sheol, far from their lofty abode.

²²Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you:

¹⁸So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”

⁴That is why we boast among God’s churches about your perseverance and faith in the face of all the persecution and affliction you are enduring.

⁵All this is clear evidence of God’s righteous judgment. And so you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.

¹¹For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its flower falls and its beauty is lost. So too, the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

¹²Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.

⁴⁰With many other words he testified, and he urged them, “Be saved from this corrupt generation.”

¹²But a man, despite his wealth, cannot endure; he is like the beasts that perish.

¹³This is the fate of the foolish and their followers who endorse their sayings. Selah

⁶and no one should ever violate or exploit his brother in this regard, because the Lord will avenge all such acts, as we have already told you and solemnly warned you.

²³I only know that in town after town the Holy Spirit warns me that chains and afflictions await me.

²¹For Moses has been proclaimed in every city from ancient times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”

¹⁶The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the gospel of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.

²⁷And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was written in all the Scriptures about Himself.

¹⁵From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

¹⁶All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

¹⁹We also have the word of the prophets as confirmed beyond doubt. And you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

²⁰Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture comes from one’s own interpretation.

¹¹Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.

¹²As a result, many of them believed, along with quite a few prominent Greek women and men.

⁹And the people were scorched by intense heat, and they cursed the name of God, who had authority over these plagues. Yet they did not repent and give Him glory.

¹⁰And the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness, and men began to gnaw their tongues in anguish

²⁴So he cried out, ‘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 agony in this fire.’

⁸Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

⁵No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

³No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.

³And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.

²³So they set a day to meet with Paul, and many people came to the place he was staying. He expounded to them from morning to evening, testifying about the kingdom of God and persuading them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and the Prophets.

⁴³After Jesus had said this, He called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”

⁴⁴The man who had been dead came out with his hands and feet bound in strips of linen, and his face wrapped in a cloth. “Unwrap him and let him go,” Jesus told them.

⁸Then Paul went into the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.

¹⁰So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well,

¹¹for on account of him many of the Jews were deserting them and believing in Jesus.

¹¹Therefore, since we know what it means to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is clear to God, and I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.