A Dishonest Manager
1 Jesus said to his disciples:
A rich man once had a manager to take care of his business. But he was told that his manager was wasting money. 2 So the rich man called him in and said, “What is this I hear about you? Tell me what you have done! You are no longer going to work for me.”
3 The manager said to himself, “What shall I do now that my master is going to fire me? I can't dig ditches, and I'm ashamed to beg. 4 I know what I'll do, so that people will welcome me into their homes after I've lost my job.”
5 Then one by one he called in the people who were in debt to his master. He asked the first one, “How much do you owe my master?”
6 “A hundred barrels of olive oil,” the man answered.
So the manager said, “Take your bill and sit down and quickly write ‘50.’ ”
7 The manager asked someone else who was in debt to his master, “How much do you owe?”
“A thousand sacks of wheat,” the man replied.
The manager said, “Take your bill and write ‘800.’ ”
8 The master praised his dishonest manager for looking out for himself so well. That's how it is! The people of this world look out for themselves better than the people who belong to the light.
9 My disciples, I tell you to use wicked wealth to make friends for yourselves. Then when it is gone, you will be welcomed into an eternal home. 10 Anyone who can be trusted in little matters can also be trusted in important matters. But anyone who is dishonest in little matters will be dishonest in important matters. 11 If you cannot be trusted with this wicked wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? 12 And if you cannot be trusted with what belongs to someone else, who will give you something that will be your own? 13 You cannot be the slave of two masters. You will like one more than the other or be more loyal to one than to the other. You cannot serve God and money.
Some Sayings of Jesus
(Matthew 11.12Matthew 13Matthew 5.31Matthew 32Mark 10.11Mark 12)14 The Pharisees really loved money. So when they heard what Jesus said, they made fun of him. 15 But Jesus told them:
You are always making yourselves look good, but God sees what is in your heart. The things that most people think are important are worthless as far as God is concerned.
16 Until the time of John the Baptist, people had to obey the Law of Moses and the Books of the Prophets. But since God's kingdom has been preached, everyone is trying hard to get in. 17 Heaven and earth will disappear before the smallest letter of the Law does.
18 It is a terrible sin for a man to divorce his wife and marry another woman. It is also a terrible sin for a man to marry a divorced woman.
Lazarus and the Rich Man
19 There was once a rich man who wore expensive clothes and every day ate the best food. 20 But a poor beggar named Lazarus was brought to the gate of the rich man's house. 21 He was happy just to eat the scraps that fell from the rich man's table. His body was covered with sores, and dogs kept coming up to lick them. 22 The poor man died, and angels took him to the place of honor next to Abraham.
The rich man also died and was buried. 23 He went to hell and was suffering terribly. When he looked up and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side, 24 he said to Abraham, “Have pity on me! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water and touch my tongue. I'm suffering terribly in this fire.”
25 Abraham answered, “My friend, remember that while you lived, you had everything good, and Lazarus had everything bad. Now he is happy, and you are in pain. 26 And besides, there is a deep ditch between us, and no one from either side can cross over.”
27 But the rich man said, “Abraham, then please send Lazarus to my father's home. 28 Let him warn my five brothers, so they won't come to this horrible place.”
29 Abraham answered, “Your brothers can read what Moses and the prophets wrote. They should pay attention to that.”
30 Then the rich man said, “No, that's not enough! If only someone from the dead would go to them, they would listen and turn to God.”
31 So Abraham said, “If they won't pay attention to Moses and the prophets, they won't listen even to someone who comes back from the dead.”
Līdzība par negodīgo pārvaldnieku
1 Bet mācekļiem Jēzus stāstīja: “Kādam bagātam cilvēkam bija nama pārvaldnieks, kas bija apsūdzēts par to, ka ir iztērējis viņa mantu. 2 Un, atsaucis to, viņš tam sacīja: ko es dzirdu par tevi? Dod norēķinu par savu namturību, jo tu vairs nepārvaldīsi namu. 3 Bet nama pārvaldnieks pie sevis jautāja: ko lai es daru? Mans kungs atņem man namturību. Rakt man nav spēka, un ubagot es kaunos. 4 Es zinu, ko darīšu, lai pēc tam, kad būšu atcelts no namturības, būtu kādi, kas mani uzņemtu savos namos. 5 Un, pasaucis vienu pēc otra sava kunga parādniekus, viņš vaicāja pirmajam: cik tu esi parādā manam kungam? 6 Tas atbildēja: simts muciņu eļļas. Viņš tam sacīja: ņem savu parāda zīmi, sēdies un tūlīt raksti – piecdesmit. 7 Tad viņš jautāja citam: cik tu esi parādā? Tas atbildēja: simts maisus kviešu. Viņš tam sacīja: ņem savu parāda zīmi un raksti – astoņdesmit. 8 Nama kungs uzslavēja negodīgo nama pārvaldnieku, ka tas bija rīkojies saprātīgi, tādēļ ka šī laika dēli pret savu cilti ir saprātīgāki nekā gaismas dēli. 9 Es jums saku: iegūstiet sev draugus ar netaisnības mamonu , lai, kad tas zūd, viņi jūs uzņemtu mūžīgajos mājokļos. 10 Kas vismazākajās lietās uzticams, tas arī lielās lietās ir uzticams, un, kas vismazākajās lietās netaisnīgs, tas arī lielās lietās ir netaisnīgs. 11 Ja jūs neesat bijuši uzticami netaisnības mamona lietās, kas jums uzticēs patieso. 12 Ja jūs neesat bijuši uzticami citu lietās, kas jums dos jūsu pašu? 13 Neviens kalps nevar kalpot diviem kungiem; vai nu vienu tas ienīdīs un otru mīlēs, vai arī vienam izdabās un otru nicinās. Jūs nevarat kalpot Dievam un mamonam.”
Bauslība un Dieva valstība
14 Visu to dzirdēja farizeji, kas bija mantkārīgi, un tie vīpsnāja par viņu. 15 Viņš tiem sacīja: “Jūs sevi taisnojat cilvēku priekšā, bet Dievs pazīst jūsu sirdis. Kas cilvēku acīs augsts, Dieva priekšā ir negantība. 16 Bauslība un pravieši ir līdz Jānim, bet no tā brīža tiek sludināta Dieva valstība, un ikviens ar spēku laužas tajā iekšā. 17 Vieglāk ir debesīm un zemei zust, nekā no bauslības krist vienai vismazākajai rakstu zīmei. 18 Katrs, kas atlaiž savu sievu un apprec citu, pārkāpj laulību, un katrs, kas prec šķirtu no cita vīra, arī pārkāpj laulību.
Bagātais vīrs un Lācars
19 Bija kāds bagāts vīrs, kas tērpās purpurā un smalka lina drānās un lepni dzīroja ik dienas. 20 Bet viņa durvju priekšā gulēja kāds ar vātīm klāts nabags, vārdā Lācars. 21 Tas kāroja ēst to, kas krita no bagātnieka galda, bet tikai suņi nāca un laizīja viņa vātis. 22 Un notika, ka nabagais nomira un eņģeļi viņu aiznesa Ābrahāma klēpī. Arī bagātais nomira un tika apglabāts. 23 Ellē, ciezdams mocības, viņš pacēla acis un no tālienes redzēja Ābrahāmu un viņa klēpī Lācaru. 24 Un viņš sauca: tēvs Ābrahām, apžēlojies par mani un atsūti Lācaru, lai viņš iemērc pirksta galu ūdenī un atvēsina manu mēli, jo es ciešu mokas šajās liesmās. 25 Bet Ābrahāms sacīja: dēls, atceries, ka tu visu labo saņēmi savā dzīvē, tāpat kā Lācars visu slikto; tagad viņš šeit gūst iepriecinājumu, bet tu ciet mokas. 26 Turklāt starp mums un jums ir nolikts liels bezdibenis, lai tie, kas gribētu pāriet no šejienes pie jums, to nevarētu, nedz arī no turienes pie mums. 27 Tad tas sacīja: es tevi lūdzu, tēvs, sūti viņu uz mana tēva namu, 28 jo man ir pieci brāļi; lai viņš tos brīdina, ka arī viņi nenonāk šajā mocību vietā. 29 Bet Ābrahāms atbildēja: viņiem ir Mozus un pravieši – lai viņi tiem klausa. 30 Tad viņš teica: nē, tēvs Ābrahām! Ja vien kāds no mirušajiem dotos pie viņiem, tie atgrieztos no grēkiem. 31 Bet Ābrahāms sacīja: ja viņi neklausa Mozu un praviešus, viņi neticēs, pat ja kāds no mirušajiem augšāmceltos.”
