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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.
Luke 16:2 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB 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.’
  • 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 shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.
  • 2 Cor 5:10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
  • Eccl 11:9–10Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.
  • 1 Tim 5:24Some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after.
  • Rev 20:12And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
  • 1 Sam 2:23–24And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people.
  • Eccl 12:14For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
  • Gen 4:9–10And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?
  • 1 Pet 4:10As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
  • Rom 14:12So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
  • 1 Cor 4:2Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
  • 1 Cor 1:11For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
  • Gen 3:9–11And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
  • Luke 19:21–26For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow.
  • 1 Cor 4:5Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.
  • Luke 12:20But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
  • Matt 12:36But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
  • 1 Tim 4:14Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.
  • Luke 12:42And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?
  • Gen 18:20–21And the LORD 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.