Jesus also said to His disciples, “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.
Parallel translations
- WEB 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.
- KJV And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.
- NKJV He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods.
- NASB 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.
- NLT Jesus told this story to his disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a manager handling his affairs. One day a report came that the manager was wasting his employer’s money.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus tells the parable of a manager accused of wasting his master's goods, opening a lesson on the wise use of money.
Overview
Turning to His disciples, Jesus introduces a steward facing dismissal for mismanagement. The parable will teach shrewd, forward-looking use of worldly wealth for eternal ends. It calls believers to handle God's resources as faithful stewards in light of the coming kingdom.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- 1 Pet 4:10As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve one another.
- Matt 25:14–30For it is just like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted them with his possessions.
- Jas 4:3And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.
- 1 Cor 4:1–2So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
- Luke 12:42And the Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their portion at the proper time?
- Titus 1:7As God’s steward, an overseer must be above reproach—not self-absorbed, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not greedy for money.
- Luke 15:13After a few days, the younger son got everything together and journeyed to a distant country, where he squandered his wealth in wild living.
- Luke 15:30But when this son of yours returns from squandering your wealth with prostitutes, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
- Matt 18:23–24Because of this, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.
- Prov 18:9Whoever is slothful in his work is brother to him who destroys.
- Luke 19:20Then another servant came and said, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have laid away in a piece of cloth.
- Gen 43:19So they approached Joseph’s steward and spoke to him at the entrance to the house.
- Hos 2:8For she does not acknowledge that it was I who gave her grain, new wine, and oil, who lavished on her silver and gold—which they crafted for Baal.
- Luke 16:19Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor.
- 1 Chr 28:1Now David summoned all the leaders of Israel to Jerusalem: the leaders of the tribes, the leaders of the divisions in the king’s service, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the officials in charge of all the property and cattle of the king and his sons, along with the court officials and mighty men—every mighty man of valor.
- Luke 8:3Joanna the wife of Herod’s household manager Chuza, Susanna, and many others. These women were ministering to them out of their own means.
- Gen 15:2But Abram replied, “O Lord GOD, what can You give me, since I remain childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 16:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.