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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.’
Luke 16:2 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.
  • BSB So he called him in to ask, ‘What is this I hear about you? Turn in an account of your management, for you cannot be manager any longer.’
  • NKJV So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’
  • NASB And he summoned 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.’
  • NLT So the employer called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? Get your report in order, because you are going to be fired.’

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

The master confronts the manager and demands an accounting, since he can no longer hold his position.

Overview

The reckoning the manager faces mirrors the accounting every person owes to God. Dismissal is certain, prompting decisive action. This impending loss drives the steward to think ahead, a prudence Jesus will commend in spiritual matters even as He condemns the man's dishonesty.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 20

  • 1 Pet 4:5who will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
  • 2 Cor 5:10For we must all be revealed before the judgment seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
  • Eccl 11:9–10Rejoice, young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth, and walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes; but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
  • 1 Tim 5:24Some men’s sins are evident, preceding them to judgment, and some also follow later.
  • Rev 20:12I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and they opened books. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works.
  • 1 Sam 2:23–24He said to them, “Why do you do such things? for I hear of your evil dealings from all this people.
  • Eccl 12:14For God will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it is good, or whether it is evil.
  • Gen 4:9–10Yahweh said to Cain, “Where is Abel, your brother?” He said, “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”
  • 1 Pet 4:10As each has received a gift, employ it in serving one another, as good managers of the grace of God in its various forms.
  • Rom 14:12So then each one of us will give account of himself to God.
  • 1 Cor 4:2Here, moreover, it is required of stewards, that they be found faithful.
  • 1 Cor 1:11For it has been reported to me concerning you, my brothers, by those who are from Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you.
  • Gen 3:9–11Yahweh God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”
  • Luke 19:21–26for I feared you, because you are an exacting man. You take up that which you didn’t lay down, and reap that which you didn’t sow.’
  • 1 Cor 4:5Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each man will get his praise from God.
  • Luke 12:20“But God said to him, ‘You foolish one, tonight your soul is required of you. The things which you have prepared — whose will they be?’
  • Matt 12:36I tell you that every idle word that men speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.
  • 1 Tim 4:14Don’t neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the elders.
  • Luke 12:42The Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his lord will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the right times?
  • Gen 18:20–21Yahweh said, “Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Luke videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Luke 16:2YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on LukeMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 16:2 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.