The Parable of the Dishonest Steward

161 Now He was also saying to the disciples , "There was a rich man who had a manager , and this manager was reported to him as squandering his possessions . 2 "And he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management , for you can no longer be manager .' 3 "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 ; I am ashamed to beg . 4 'I know what I shall do , so that when I am removed from the management people will welcome me into their homes .' 5 "And he summoned each one of his master's debtors , and he began saying to the first , 'How much do you owe my master ?' 6 "And he said , 'A hundred measures of oil .' And he said to him, 'Take your bill , and sit down quickly and write fifty .' 7 "Then he said to another , 'And how much do you owe ?' And he said , 'A hundred measures of wheat .' He said to him, 'Take your bill , and write eighty .' 8 "And his master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly ; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light . 9 "And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness , so that when it fails , they will receive you into the eternal dwellings . 10 " He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much ; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much . 11 "Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth , who will entrust the true riches to you? 12 "And if you have not been faithful in the use of 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 be devoted to one and despise the other . You cannot e serve God and wealth ." 14 Now the Pharisees , who were lovers of money , were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him. 15 And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men , but God knows your hearts ; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God .

The Law and the Kingdom of God

16 " The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John ; since that time the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached , and everyone is forcing his way into it. 17 " But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail .

Jesus' Teaching on Divorce

18 " Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery , and he who marries one who is divorced from a husband commits adultery .

The Rich Man and Lazarus

19 "Now there was a rich man , and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen , joyously living in splendor every day . 20 "And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate , covered with sores , 21 and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man's table ; besides , even the dogs were coming and licking his sores . 22 "Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom ; and the rich man also died and was buried . 23 "In Hades he lifted up his eyes , being in torment , and saw Abraham far away e and Lazarus in his bosom . 24 "And he cried out and said , ' Father Abraham , have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue , for I am in agony in this flame .' 25 "But Abraham said , 'Child , remember that during your life you received your good things , and likewise Lazarus bad things ; but now he is being comforted here , and you are in agony . 26 'And besides all this , between us and you there is a great chasm fixed , so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able , and that none may cross over from there to us.' 27 "And he said , 'Then I beg you, father , that you send him to my father's house - 28 for I have five brothers -in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment .' 29 "But Abraham said , 'They have Moses and the Prophets ; let them hear them.' 30 "But he said , 'No , father Abraham , but if someone goes to them from the dead , they will repent !' 31 "But he said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets , they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead .' "