Luke 16
New Testament · English Majority Text Version with Greek parallel
Luke chapter 16 is given here in full, verse by verse, in the English Majority Text Version (EMTV), with the Byzantine Majority Text set beneath each verse. The text follows the Byzantine textual tradition used in the Orthodox Church.
1 patristic excerpt is attached to this chapter, from Saint Augustine.
Luke 16
1He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a manager, and this manager was reported to him as squandering his possessions.Ἔλεγε δὲ καὶ πρὸς τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ, Ἄνθρωπός τις ἦν πλούσιος, ὃς εἶχεν οἰκονόμον· καὶ οὗτος διεβλήθη αὐτῷ ὡς διασκορπίζων τὰ ὑπάρχοντα αὐτοῦ.
2And calling him, he said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Render an account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’Καὶ φωνήσας αὐτὸν εἶπεν αὐτῷ, Τί τοῦτο ἀκούω περὶ σοῦ; Ἀπόδος τὸν λόγον τῆς οἰκονομίας σου· οὐ γὰρ δυνήσῃ ἔτι οἰκονομεῖν.
3“Then the manager said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is taking the management away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.Εἶπε δὲ ἐν ἑαυτῷ ὁ οἰκονόμος, Τί ποιήσω, ὅτι ὁ κύριός μου ἀφαιρεῖται τὴν οἰκονομίαν ἀπ᾽ ἐμοῦ; Σκάπτειν οὐκ ἰσχύω, ἐπαιτεῖν αἰσχύνομαι.
4I know what I will do, so that whenever I am removed from the management, they will receive me into their houses.’Ἔγνων τί ποιήσω, ἵνα, ὅταν μετασταθῶ τῆς οἰκονομίας, δέξωνταί με εἰς τοὺς οἴκους αὐτῶν.
5“And having summoned each one of his master's debtors to him, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’Καὶ προσκαλεσάμενος ἕνα ἕκαστον τῶν χρεωφειλετῶν τοῦ κυρίου ἑαυτοῦ, ἔλεγε τῷ πρώτῳ, Πόσον ὀφείλεις τῷ κυρίῳ μου;
6And he said, ‘A hundred baths of olive oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν, Ἑκατὸν βάτους ἐλαίου. Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ, Δέξαι σου τὸ γράμμα, καὶ καθίσας ταχέως γράψον πεντήκοντα.
7Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’Ἔπειτα ἑτέρῳ εἶπε, Σὺ δὲ πόσον ὀφείλεις; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν, Ἑκατὸν κόρους σίτου. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ, Δέξαι σου τὸ γράμμα, καὶ γράψον ὀγδοήκοντα.
8So the master praised the unrighteous manager because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this age are shrewder in their own generation than the sons of light.Καὶ ἐπῄνεσεν ὁ κύριος τὸν οἰκονόμον τῆς ἀδικίας ὅτι φρονίμως ἐποίησεν· ὅτι οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου φρονιμώτεροι ὑπὲρ τοὺς υἱοὺς τοῦ φωτὸς εἰς τὴν γενεὰν τὴν ἑαυτῶν εἰσι.
9“And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by the mammon of unrighteousness, so that whenever you fail, they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.Κἀγὼ ὑμῖν λέγω, Ποιήσατε ἑαυτοῖς φίλους ἐκ τοῦ μαμωνᾶ τῆς ἀδικίας, ἵνα, ὅταν ἐκλίπητε, δέξωνται ὑμᾶς εἰς τὰς αἰωνίους σκηνάς.
10He that is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in what is least is also unjust in much.Ὁ πιστὸς ἐν ἐλαχίστῳ καὶ ἐν πολλῷ πιστός ἐστι, καὶ ὁ ἐν ἐλαχίστῳ ἄδικος καὶ ἐν πολλῷ ἄδικός ἐστιν.
11Therefore if you were not faithful with the unrighteous mammon, who will entrust to you what is genuine?Εἰ οὖν ἐν τῷ ἀδίκῳ μαμωνᾷ πιστοὶ οὐκ ἐγένεσθε, τὸ ἀληθινὸν τίς ὑμῖν πιστεύσει;
12And if you were not faithful in what belongs to another, who will give to you what is yours?Καὶ εἰ ἐν τῷ ἀλλοτρίῳ πιστοὶ οὐκ ἐγένεσθε, τὸ ὑμέτερον τίς ὑμῖν δώσει;
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 the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”Οὐδεὶς οἰκέτης δύναται δυσὶ κυρίοις δουλεύειν· ἢ γὰρ τὸν ἕνα μισήσει, καὶ τὸν ἕτερον ἀγαπήσει· ἢ ἑνὸς ἀνθέξεται, καὶ τοῦ ἑτέρου καταφρονήσει. Οὐ δύνασθε Θεῷ δουλεύειν καὶ μαμωνᾷ.
14Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were hearing all these things, and they were mocking Him.Ἤκουον δὲ ταῦτα πάντα καὶ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι φιλάργυροι ὑπάρχοντες, καὶ ἐξεμυκτήριζον αὐτόν.
15And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. Because that which is exalted among men is an abomination before God.Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, Ὑμεῖς ἐστε οἱ δικαιοῦντες ἑαυτοὺς ἐνώπιον τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ὁ δὲ Θεὸς γινώσκει τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν· ὅτι τὸ ἐν ἀνθρώποις ὑψηλὸν βδέλυγμα ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ.
16“The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone enters forcibly into it.Ὁ νόμος καὶ οἱ προφῆται ἕως Ἰωάννου· ἀπὸ τότε ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ Θεοῦ εὐαγγελίζεται, καὶ πᾶς εἰς αὐτὴν βιάζεται.
17And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail.Εὐκοπώτερον δέ ἐστι τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν παρελθεῖν, ἢ τοῦ νόμου μίαν κεραίαν πεσεῖν.
18“Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and everyone who marries a woman who is divorced from her husband commits adultery.Πᾶς ὁ ἀπολύων τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ καὶ γαμῶν ἑτέραν μοιχεύει· καὶ πᾶς ὁ ἀπολελυμένην ἀπὸ ἀνδρὸς γαμῶν μοιχεύει.
19“Now there was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen, enjoying himself splendidly every day.Ἄνθρωπος δέ τις ἦν πλούσιος, καὶ ἐνεδιδύσκετο πορφύραν καὶ βύσσον, εὐφραινόμενος καθ᾽ ἡμέραν λαμπρῶς.
20But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores, who had been placed at his gate,Πτωχὸς δέ τις ἦν ὀνόματι Λάζαρος, ὃς ἐβέβλητο πρὸς τὸν πυλῶνα αὐτοῦ ἡλκωμένος
21and longing to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. And even the dogs came and would lick his sores.καὶ ἐπιθυμῶν χορτασθῆναι ἀπὸ τῶν ψιχίων τῶν πιπτόντων ἀπὸ τῆς τραπέζης τοῦ πλουσίου· ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ κύνες ἐρχόμενοι ἀπέλειχον τὰ ἕλκη αὐτοῦ.
22And it came to pass that the beggar died, and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.Ἐγένετο δὲ ἀποθανεῖν τὸν πτωχόν, καὶ ἀπενεχθῆναι αὐτὸν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀγγέλων εἰς τὸν κόλπον Ἁβραάμ· ἀπέθανε δὲ καὶ ὁ πλούσιος, καὶ ἐτάφη.
23And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham from afar, and Lazarus in his bosom.Καὶ ἐν τῷ ᾍδῃ ἐπάρας τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ, ὑπάρχων ἐν βασάνοις, ὁρᾷ τὸν Ἁβραὰμ ἀπὸ μακρόθεν, καὶ Λάζαρον ἐν τοῖς κόλποις αὐτοῦ.
24“Then he cried 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 my tongue; for I am suffering in this flame.’Καὶ αὐτὸς φωνήσας εἶπε, Πάτερ Ἁβραάμ, ἐλέησόν με, καὶ πέμψον Λάζαρον, ἵνα βάψῃ τὸ ἄκρον τοῦ δακτύλου αὐτοῦ ὕδατος, καὶ καταψύξῃ τὴν γλῶσσάν μου· ὅτι ὀδυνῶμαι ἐν τῇ φλογὶ ταύτῃ.
25But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things, but now here he is comforted and you are suffering.Εἶπε δὲ Ἁβραάμ, Τέκνον, μνήσθητι ὅτι ἀπέλαβες σὺ τὰ ἀγαθά σου ἐν τῇ ζωῇ σου, καὶ Λάζαρος ὁμοίως τὰ κακά· νῦν δὲ ὧδε παρακαλεῖται, σὺ δὲ ὀδυνᾶσαι.
26And besides all this, between us and you a great gulf has been fixed, so that those who desire to cross over from here to you are not able, nor may those from there cross over to us.’Καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσι τούτοις, μεταξὺ ἡμῶν καὶ ὑμῶν χάσμα μέγα ἐστήρικται, ὅπως οἱ θέλοντες διαβῆναι ἔνθεν πρὸς ὑμᾶς μὴ δύνωνται, μηδὲ οἱ ἐκεῖθεν πρὸς ἡμᾶς διαπερῶσιν.
27“Then he said, ‘Therefore I beseech you, father, that you would send him to my father's house,Εἶπε δέ, Ἐρωτῶ οὖν σε, πάτερ, ἵνα πέμψῃς αὐτὸν εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ πατρός μου,
28for I have five brothers, so that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ἔχω γὰρ πέντε ἀδελφούς, ὅπως διαμαρτύρηται αὐτοῖς, ἵνα μὴ καὶ αὐτοὶ ἔλθωσιν εἰς τὸν τόπον τοῦτον τῆς βασάνου.
29Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’Λέγει αὐτῷ Ἁβραάμ, Ἔχουσι Μωσέα καὶ τοὺς προφήτας· ἀκουσάτωσαν αὐτῶν.
30And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if someone from the dead should go to them, they will repent.’Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν, Οὐχί, πάτερ Ἁβραάμ· ἀλλ᾽ ἐάν τις ἀπὸ νεκρῶν πορευθῇ πρὸς αὐτούς, μετανοήσουσιν.
31But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded should one rise from the dead.’ ”Εἶπε δὲ αὐτῷ, Εἰ Μωσέως καὶ τῶν προφητῶν οὐκ ἀκούουσιν, οὐδέ, ἐάν τις ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναστῇ, πεισθήσονται.
The Fathers on Luke 16
Saint Augustine comments on this chapter. Each excerpt below is drawn from the full text held in the Fathers Library; follow the link on any entry to read the whole work.
On Luke 16:9Open Luke 16 in the interactive reader Switch translations, hear the chapter read aloud, tap any verse for its patristic commentary, and study the Greek word by word.Saint AugustineOur duty is to give to others the admonitions we have received ourselves.
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