The Parable of the Dishonest Manager

¹He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had ja manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. ²And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your kmanagement, for you can no longer be manager.’ ³And 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. ⁴I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ ⁵So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ ⁶He said, ‘A hundred measures1 of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ ⁷Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures2 of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ ⁸The master commended the dishonest manager for his lshrewdness. For mthe sons of this world3 are lmore shrewd in dealing with their own generation than nthe sons of light. ⁹And I tell you, omake friends for yourselves by means of punrighteous wealth,4 so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

¹⁰q“One who is rfaithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. ¹¹If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? ¹²And if you have not been faithful in sthat which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? ¹³pNo 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.”

The Law and the Kingdom of God

¹⁴tThe Pharisees, who were ulovers of money, heard all these things, and they vridiculed him. ¹⁵And he said to them, “You are those who wjustify yourselves before men, but xGod knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men yis an abomination in the sight of God.

¹⁶z“The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then athe good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and beveryone forces his way into it.5 ¹⁷But cit is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.

Divorce and Remarriage

¹⁸d“Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

¹⁹“There was a rich man who was clothed in epurple and fine linen and fwho feasted sumptuously every day. ²⁰And at his gate gwas laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, ²¹who desired to be fed with hwhat fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. ²²The poor man died and was carried by ithe angels jto Abraham's side.6 The rich man also died and was buried, ²³and in kHades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and lsaw Abraham far off and Lazarus jat his side. ²⁴And he called out, m‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and ncool my tongue, for oI am in anguish in this flame.’ ²⁵But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that pyou 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. ²⁶And 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.’ ²⁷And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house— ²⁸for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ ²⁹But Abraham said, ‘They have qMoses and the Prophets; rlet them hear them.’ ³⁰And he said, ‘No, sfather Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ ³¹He said to him, ‘If they do not hear qMoses and the Prophets, tneither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”

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Temptations to Sin

¹And he said to his disciples, u“Temptations to sin1 are vsure to come, but wwoe to the one through whom they come! ²xIt would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.2 ³Pay attention to yourselves! yIf your brother sins, zrebuke him, and if he repents, aforgive him, ⁴and if he sins against you bseven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

Increase Our Faith

⁵cThe apostles said to the Lord, d“Increase our faith!” ⁶And the Lord said, e“If you had faith like fa grain of mustard seed, you could say to this gmulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

Unworthy Servants

⁷“Will any one of you who has a servant3 plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? ⁸Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and hdress properly,4 and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? ⁹Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? ¹⁰So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are iunworthy servants;5 we have only done what was our duty.’”

Jesus Cleanses Ten Lepers

¹¹jOn the way to Jerusalem khe was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. ¹²And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers,6 lwho stood at a distance ¹³and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” ¹⁴When he saw them he said to them, “Go and mshow yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. ¹⁵Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, npraising God with a loud voice; ¹⁶and ohe fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was pa Samaritan. ¹⁷Then Jesus answered, “Were not qten cleansed? Where are the nine? ¹⁸Was no one found to return and rgive praise to God except this sforeigner?” ¹⁹And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; tyour faith has tmade you well.”7

The Coming of the Kingdom

²⁰Being asked by the Pharisees uwhen the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God vis not coming in ways that can be observed, ²¹nor wwill they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”8

²²And he said to the disciples, x“The days are coming when you will desire yto see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. ²³zAnd they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them. ²⁴aFor as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be bin his day.9 ²⁵But first che must suffer many things and cbe rejected by this generation. ²⁶dJust as it was in the days of eNoah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. ²⁷fThey were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. ²⁸Likewise, just as it was in the days of gLot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, ²⁹hbut on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all— ³⁰so will it be ion the day when the Son of Man is revealed. ³¹On that day, jlet the one who is on kthe housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. ³²lRemember Lot's wife. ³³mWhoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will nkeep it. ³⁴I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. ³⁵oThere will be two women pgrinding together. One will be taken and the other left.”10 ³⁷And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, q“Where the corpse11 is, there the vultures12 will gather.”

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The Parable of the Persistent Widow

¹And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought ralways to pray and not slose heart. ²He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who tneither feared God nor respected man. ³And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ ⁴For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, u‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, ⁵yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” ⁶And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. ⁷And vwill not God give justice to whis elect, xwho cry to him day and night? yzWill he delay long over them? ⁸I tell you, he will give justice to them aspeedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, bwill he find faith on earth?”

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

⁹He also told this parable to some cwho trusted din themselves that they were righteous, eand treated others with contempt: ¹⁰“Two men fwent up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee, gstanding by himself, prayed1 hthus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹²iI fast twice a week; jI give tithes of all that I get.’ ¹³But the tax collector, gstanding far off, kwould not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but lbeat his breast, saying, ‘God, mbe merciful to me, a sinner!’ ¹⁴I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For neveryone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Let the Children Come to Me

¹⁵oNow they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they prebuked them. ¹⁶But Jesus called them to him, saying, q“Let the children come to me, and rdo not hinder them, qfor to such belongs the kingdom of God. ¹⁷sTruly, I say to you, whoever does not treceive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

The Rich Ruler

¹⁸uAnd a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to vinherit eternal life?” ¹⁹And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. ²⁰You know the commandments: w‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” ²¹And he said, x“All these I have kept from my youth.” ²²When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. ySell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have ztreasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” ²³aBut when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. ²⁴Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, b“How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter cthe kingdom of God! ²⁵For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter cthe kingdom of God.” ²⁶Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁷But he said, d“What is impossible with man is possible with God.” ²⁸And Peter said, “See, ewe have left our homes and followed you.” ²⁹And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, fthere is no one who has left house or wife or brothers2 or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, ³⁰who will not receive gmany times more hin this time, and in ithe age to come eternal life.”

Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time

³¹jAnd taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, kwe are going up to Jerusalem, and leverything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. ³²For he will be mdelivered over to the Gentiles and will be nmocked and shamefully treated and ospit upon. ³³And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on pthe third day he will rise.” ³⁴qBut they understood none of these things. rThis saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.

Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar

³⁵sAs he drew near to Jericho, ta blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. ³⁶And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. ³⁷They told him, u“Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” ³⁸And he cried out, “Jesus, vSon of David, have mercy on me!” ³⁹And those who were in front wrebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁰And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, ⁴¹x“What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” ⁴²And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; yyour faith has zmade you well.” ⁴³And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, aglorifying God. And ball the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

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Jesus and Zacchaeus

¹cHe entered Jericho and was passing through. ²And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. ³And dhe was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. ⁴So he ran on ahead and climbed up into ea sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. ⁵And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for fI must stay at your house today.” ⁶So he hurried and came down and greceived him joyfully. ⁷And when they saw it, they all hgrumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” ⁸And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods iI give to the poor. And if I have jdefrauded anyone of anything, I restore it kfourfold.” ⁹And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since lhe also is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰For mthe Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

The Parable of the Ten Minas

¹¹As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because nthey supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. ¹²He said therefore, o“A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. ¹³Calling pten of his servants,1 he gave them ten minas,2 and said to them, ‘Engage in business quntil I come.’ ¹⁴But rhis citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ ¹⁵When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. ¹⁶The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ ¹⁷And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant!3 Because you have been sfaithful in a very little, tyou shall have authority over ten cities.’ ¹⁸And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ ¹⁹And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ ²⁰Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in ua handkerchief; ²¹for I was afraid of you, because you are va severe man. You take wwhat you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ ²²He said to him, x‘I will condemn you with your own words, yyou wicked servant! You knew that I was va severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? ²³Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ ²⁴And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ ²⁵And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ ²⁶‘I tell you that zto everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ²⁷But ras for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and aslaughter them before me.’”

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