Luke 16

Bible in Basic English (BBE)

1 Ref And another time he said to the disciples, There was a certain man of great wealth who had a servant; and it was said to him that this servant was wasting his goods.

2 Ref And he sent for him and said, What is this which is said about you? give me an account of all you have done, for you will no longer be the manager of my property.

3 Ref And the servant said to himself, What am I to do now that my lord takes away my position? I have not enough strength for working in the fields, and I would be shamed if I made requests for money from people in the streets.

4 Ref I have come to a decision what to do, so that when I am put out of my position they will take me into their houses.

5 Ref And sending for every one who was in debt to his lord he said to the first, What is the amount of your debt to my lord?

6 Ref And he said, A hundred measures of oil. And he said, Take your account straight away and put down fifty.

7 Ref Then he said to another, What is the amount of your debt? And he said, A hundred measures of grain. And he said to him, Take your account and put down eighty.

8 Ref And his lord was pleased with the false servant, because he had been wise; for the sons of this world are wiser in relation to their generation than the sons of light.

9 Ref And I say to you, Make friends for yourselves through the wealth of this life, so that when it comes to an end, you may be taken into the eternal resting-places.

10 Ref He who is true in a little, is true in much; he who is false in small things, is false in great.

11 Ref If, then, you have not been true in your use of the wealth of this life, who will give into your care the true wealth?

12 Ref And if you have not been true in your care of the property of other people, who will give you that which is yours?

13 Ref No man may be a servant to two masters: for he will have hate for the one and love for the other; or he will keep to the one and have no respect for the other. You may not be servants of God and of wealth.

14 Ref And the Pharisees, who had a great love of money, hearing these things, were making sport of him.

15 Ref And he said, You take care to seem right in the eyes of men, but God sees your hearts: and those things which are important in the opinion of men, are evil in the eyes of God.

16 Ref The law and the prophets were till John: but then came the preaching of the kingdom of God, and everyone makes his way into it by force.

17 Ref But heaven and earth will come to an end before the smallest letter of the law may be dropped out.

18 Ref Everyone who puts away his wife and takes another, is a false husband: and he who is married to a woman whose husband has put her away, is no true husband to her.

19 Ref Now there was a certain man of great wealth, who was dressed in fair clothing of purple and delicate linen, and was shining and glad every day.

20 Ref And a certain poor man, named Lazarus, was stretched out at his door, full of wounds,

21 Ref Desiring the broken bits of food which came from the table of the man of wealth; and even the dogs came and put their tongues on his wounds.

22 Ref And in time the poor man came to his end, and angels took him to Abraham's breast. And the man of wealth came to his end, and was put in the earth.

23 Ref And in hell, being in great pain, lifting up his eyes he saw Abraham, far away, and Lazarus on his breast.

24 Ref And he gave a cry and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus, so that he may put the end of his finger in water and put it on my tongue, for I am cruelly burning in this flame.

25 Ref But Abraham said, Keep in mind, my son, that when you were living, you had your good things, while Lazarus had evil things: but now, he is comforted and you are in pain.

26 Ref And in addition, there is a deep division fixed between us and you, so that those who might go from here to you are not able to do so, and no one may come from you to us.

27 And he said, Father, it is my request that you will send him to my father's house;

28 Ref For I have five brothers; and let him give them an account of these things, so that they may not come to this place of pain.

29 Ref But Abraham said, They have Moses and the prophets; let them give ear to what they say.

30 Ref And he said, No, father Abraham, but if someone went to them from the dead, their hearts would be changed.

31 Ref And he said to him, If they will not give attention to Moses and the prophets, they will not be moved even if someone comes back from the dead.

World English Bible (WEB)

1 Ref 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.

2 Ref 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.'

3 Ref "The manager said within himself, 'What will I do, seeing that my lord is taking away the management position from me? I don't have strength to dig. I am ashamed to beg.

4 Ref I know what I will do, so that when I am removed from management, they may receive me into their houses.'

5 Ref Calling each one of his lord's debtors to him, he said to the first, 'How much do you owe to my lord?'

6 Ref He said, 'A hundred batos{100 batos is about 395 litres, 104 U. S. gallons, or 87 imperial gallons.} of oil.' He said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.'

7 Ref Then said he to another, 'How much do you owe?' He said, 'A hundred cors{ 100 cors = about 3,910 litres or 600 bushels. } of wheat.' He said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.'

8 Ref "His lord commended the dishonest manager because he had done wisely, for the children of this world are, in their own generation, wiser than the children of the light.

9 Ref I tell you, make for yourselves friends by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when you fail, they may receive you into the eternal tents.

10 Ref He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much. He who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.

11 Ref If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?

12 Ref If you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?

13 Ref No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. You aren't able to serve God and mammon{"Mammon" refers to riches or a false god of wealth.}."

14 Ref The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they scoffed at him.

15 Ref He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts. For that which is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

16 Ref The law and the prophets were until John. From that time the Gospel of the Kingdom of God is preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.

17 Ref But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one tiny stroke of a pen in the law to fall.

18 Ref Everyone who divorces his wife, and marries another, commits adultery. He who marries one who is divorced from a husband commits adultery.

19 Ref "Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, living in luxury every day.

20 Ref A certain beggar, named Lazarus, was laid at his gate, full of sores,

21 Ref and desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table. Yes, even the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 Ref It happened that the beggar died, and that he was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died, and was buried.

23 Ref In Hades, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom.

24 Ref He cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue! For I am in anguish in this flame.'

25 Ref "But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that you, in your lifetime, received your good things, and Lazarus, in like manner, bad things. But now here he is comforted and you are in anguish.

26 Ref Besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that those who want to pass from here to you are not able, and that none may cross over from there to us.'

27 "He said, 'I ask you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house;

28 Ref for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, so they won't also come into this place of torment.'

29 Ref "But Abraham said to him, 'They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.'

30 Ref "He said, 'No, father Abraham, but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.'

31 Ref "He said to him, 'If they don't listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if one rises from the dead.'"

Chapter 16 of 24

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