Luke 16

1 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 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 “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 I know what I will do, so that when I am removed from management, they may receive me into their houses.’

5 Calling each one of his lord’s debtors to him, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe to my lord?’

6 He said, ‘A hundred batos of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’

7 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 “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.

9 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.

10 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 If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?

12 If you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?

13 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 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they scoffed at him.

15 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 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 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 “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery. He who marries one who is divorced from a husband commits adultery.

19 “Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, living in luxury every day.

20 A certain beggar, named Lazarus, was taken to his gate, full of sores,

21 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 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 Hades, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom.

24 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 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 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 “He said, ‘I ask you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house—

28 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 said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.’

30 “He said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’

31 “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.’”

Around Luke 16

Book context

LukeEditorial draft

Luke begins with a short preface: many had already written accounts, and the author, having traced everything carefully, writes an orderly account for “most excellent Theophilus” so that he may know the certainty of what he was taught (1:1 to 4). The Gospel pays close attention to people others overlooked and sums up Jesus’ mission as seeking and saving the lost (19:10). The author is not named; church tradition attributes the book to Luke, a companion of Paul. Acts is also addressed to Theophilus (Acts 1:1), and the two books are widely read as one work in two parts.

Why we say this

HisFullGlory editorial · common interpretation · not yet reviewed by a theological reader

From the text itself

Sources

Notes summarise their sources in our own words. Where Christians or scholars disagree, the note says so. Notes are not original-language evidence and do not replace the text.

AI explanation

Luke 16 · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this chapter says

A rich man is about to lose his manager, who has been accused of wasting his possessions. The manager has no strength to dig and is ashamed to beg, so he acts. He calls in his master’s debtors one by one and cuts what each owes, hoping they will take him in. Strangely, the master commends him for his shrewdness. Jesus adds sayings about using worldly wealth, being faithful in little things, and this: “You aren’t able to serve God and Mammon”.

The Pharisees, who love money, scoff. Jesus says God knows their hearts. He speaks of the law and the prophets until John, says it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for a stroke of the law to fall, and gives a short saying about divorce.

Then he tells of a rich man who lives in luxury every day and a beggar named Lazarus at his gate. Both die. Lazarus is comforted, and the rich man is in torment. Abraham says a great gulf is fixed, and that the rich man’s brothers have Moses and the prophets.

Background

The parable of the manager is one of the most debated in the Gospels. Readers differ on whether the master praises the manager’s dishonesty or his foresight, and on what the changes to the bills were. The word mammon is an Aramaic word for wealth. The story of the rich man and Lazarus is told as a parable, and Lazarus is the only person named in any of Jesus’s parables. Hades here is the place of the dead, and Christians differ on how this story relates to teaching about the afterlife and judgment.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 29 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

Report a mistake

CommunityVoices, not sources

Readers share what this chapter means to them in the app.

See what readers say about Luke 16

World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes