Montgomery - Luke - 16

16:1  To his disciples he said. "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and this steward was accused to him of wasting his property.

16:2  "He called to him to him and said. "‘What is this that I hear about you? Render an account of your stewardship; for you can no longer be steward.’

16:3  "Now the steward said to himself. ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking away my stewardship? I am not strong enough to dig, to beg I am ashamed.

16:4  "‘I know what I will do, so that when I am put out of my stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’

16:5  "So he called to him each of his master’s debtors and said to the first, ‘How much money do you owe my master?’

16:6  "‘A hundred measures of oil,’ he answered. "He said to him, ‘Take your bill and sit down quickly and write fifty."

16:7  "To a second he said, ‘How much do you owe?’ "The man answered, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ "‘Here is you bill,’ he said, ‘change it to eighty measures.’

16:8  "And the master praised the unjust steward because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this world are in relation to their own generation wiser than the sons of the light.

16:9  "And to you I say, Use mammon, dishonest as it is, to make yourselves friends, so that when it shall fail they will welcome you to the eternal tabernacles.

16:10  "The man who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much, and he who is unjust in a very little, is unjust also as much.

16:11  "If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will trust to you the true riches?

16:12  "And if you are not faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own?

16:13  "No one can be a household servants to two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will cling to the one and despise the other. You cannot be the slave of God and of Mammon."

16:14  Now the Pharisees who loved money listened to all this and they jeered at him.

16:15  He said to them. "You are those that justify themselves in the eyes of men; but God knows you hearts; for that which is lofty in the eyes of men is abomination in the eyes of God.

16:16  "The Law and the Prophet lasted until John; since then the gospel of the kingdom of God is preached, and any one presses in.

16:17  "Yet it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away then for one title of the law to fail.

16:18  "Every man who divorces his wife and marries some one else, commits adultery; and he who marries one who is put away by her husband commits adultery.

16:19  "Now there was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and made merry every day in splendor.

16:20  "And a certain beggar named Lazarus was thrown at his door.

16:21  "He was full of sores, and longingly desired to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Yes! even the dogs came and licked his sores.

16:22  "But in the course of time the beggar died; and he was carried by angels into Abraham’s bosom.

16:23  "The rich man also died, and was buried. And as he was tormented in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom.

16:24  "And he cried out and said, ‘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 anguish in this flame.’

16:25  "‘Remember my son.’ said Abraham, ‘that you had in your lifetime all your good things, and in the same way Lazarus his evil things; but now here he is comforted, and you are in anguish.

16:26  "But besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who want to cross from here to you cannot, nor can those who would cross from you to us.’

16:27  "‘I beg you then, father,’ he said, ‘send him to my fathers house. For I have five brothers.

16:28  "‘Let him earnestly warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment.’

16:29  "But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets, let them listen to them.’

16:30  "‘Nay, Father Abraham,’ he said ‘but if some one went to them from the dead they would repent.’

16:31  "‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets,’ said Father Abraham, ‘neither will they be persuaded if one should rise from the dead.’"