Preface: The chapter may be divided into 3 sections, which are slightly related. There is the parable of the sketchy house manager, which Jesus teaches to His disciples (but the religious class is listening in). Then Jesus speaks about the importance of the Law, and how not part of it would fall away. At the end of this chapter, Jesus speaks of the rich man and the beggar Lazarus, and their lives before and after death.

Bible Summary: "A shrewd manager reduced his master's bills before he was fired. Abraham would not send Lazarus to comfort a rich man in Hades." 

This should be the most extensive examination of Luke 16 available, where you will be able to examine in depth every word of the original text.

Outline of Chapter 16:

Preface

Introduction

         vv.     1–13         The Parable of the Dishonest House Manager

         vv.    14–18         The Importance of the Word of God/Marriage and Divorce

         vv.    19–31         The Rich Man and the Beggar Lazarus—In Life and in Death

Chapter Summary

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Quotations

         Introduction         Titles and/or Brief Descriptions of Luke 16 (by Various Commentators)

         Introduction         Brief, but insightful observations of Luke 16 (various commentators)

         Introduction         Fundamental Questions About Luke 16

         Introduction 

         Introduction         The Prequel of Luke 16

         Introduction         The Principals of Luke 16

         Introduction         The Places of Luke 16

         Introduction         By the Numbers

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Luke 16

         Introduction         Outlines and Summaries of Luke 16 (Various Commentators)

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Luke 16 from the Summarized Bible

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         The Big Picture (Luke 13–18A)

         Introduction         Paragraph Divisions of Modern Translation for Luke 16

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         Changes—additions and subtractions

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         v.       2              Charging Interest Among the Jewish People (by Dr. Dan Hill)

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         v.       6              The Imputations of Salvation

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         v.      24              Hades (a chart)

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         Summary            A Set of Summary Doctrines and Commentary

         Summary            Why Luke 16 is in the Word of God

         Summary            What We Learn from Luke 16

         Summary            Jesus Christ in Luke 16

         Summary 

         Summary 

         Addendum          Christian Community Bible Footnote for Luke 16:1–12

         Addendum          Kretzmann’s Notes for Luke 16:3–8

         Addendum          Age, Eternal, Perpetual, Everlasting, Immortal, or Forever? (2001 Translation)

         Addendum          Kretzmann’s Notes for Luke 16:9–12

         Addendum          The Christian Community Bible on the Rich

         Addendum          The Christian Community Bible on the Law

         Addendum          Kretzmann’s Notes for Luke 16:13–18

         Addendum          Divorce (2001 Bible translation)

         Addendum          Kretzmann’s Notes for Luke 16:19–21

         Addendum          The Christian Community Bible on Lazarus and the Rich Man

         Addendum          Kretzmann’s Notes for Luke 16:22–26

         Addendum          Doctrine of Repentance (by R. B. Thieme, Jr.)

         Addendum          Doctrine of the Forty Things (by R. B. Thieme, Jr.)

         Addendum 

         Addendum 

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Luke 16

         Addendum          Doctrinal Teachers Who Have Taught Luke 16

         Addendum          Word Cloud from the Kukis Paraphrase of Luke 16

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of Luke 16

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An Introduction to Luke 16

I ntroduction: Luke 16 presents a long parable, a well-known story, and some information on the Mosaic Law. Of all the teachings of Jesus, these in chapter 16, rank among the most difficult to fully understand and explain. Jesus teaches about an unjust servant, but the lesson is not perfectly clear, and it seems to go in a very odd direction. Then Jesus tells the very well-known story about Lazarus and the rich man, and how they face a reversal of fortune after their lives end. There is a great deal which occurs in this story which does not line up with other passages. The rich man, who is in hell, can see both Lazarus and Abraham and he is able to communicate with Abraham. That does not seem to line up with other information in the Scriptures.

In between this odd parable and odd story, are some remarks that Jesus makes about the Law. These three things appear to be like tectonic plates in synch at times and at other times, rubbing up against one another, during a seismic shift. This chapter does not appear to be an organized teaching series (bear in mind, each chapter does not necessarily represent a teaching increment. That is, these things may not have been taught on the same day.

What I have not mentioned yet is, there seems to be some general continuity of the text between vv. 1–17. Jesus is first teaching His disciples, but, apparently, some pharisees are listening in, and they insert themselves into the conversation. Jesus speaks to them about the Law and the Prophets.

In v. 18, Jesus speaks about marriage and divorce. Was this an addendum to His remarks about the Law? Or is this some Jesus said separate from vv. 1–17? Then, the final section of this chapter is all about a rich man, who is in torments, and Lazarus, who had a very difficult life, but now is in paradise. Is this something that Jesus is teaching, based upon the comments/insults of the pharisees? The thing is, it could go either way. We could make an argument for how everything is tied together; but an equally valid argument could be made for these things to be absolutely separate. For this reason, I will handle the marriage verse and the final story as separate from what has come before.

On a personal note, some of these parables I have heard before and some of them I have heard an explanation for. These explanations may have been satisfactory or not. There are a number of the Lord’s parables which I may or may not have been familiar with, but the interpretation escapes me. Putting together this exegetical study is rather labor-intensive (for a writer), and it takes some time. Just to write down the various translations, to evaluate the Greek text and write it down (I use references for that), and then to write down a translation might take me an hour or two for each verse. Then, to get down to the original 3 translations which I provide, that requires even more time. During that time, I am rolling through my mind what it is I am writing and what the meaning of the parable is. I am considering the Lord’s audience, which usually consists of followers, new followers, His faithful disciples (which is a larger group than just the 12), and/or those who are at odds with His ministry (the religious types, for the most part). The Lord’s audience plays some part in the interpretation of each parable. The time frame devoted to each parable (perhaps 6 or 8 hours before I put together an overall interpretation) gives me time to ruminate and consider what I am writing.

Now, related to these parables are various laws of divine establishment. That is, we learn some common sense information from most of the parables which may relate to morality, law, business, etc. This is not the primary teaching of any parable, but that information can be taken is sort of a side dish. The meaning of the parable is the entree, but there are other things that can be learned which might be considered the side dish.

I have also noticed that, up to this point in Luke 16, verses are not logically combined to form a single thought or series of thoughts. In this way, portions of this chapter appear be similar to Proverbs.

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The Parable of the Dishonest House Manager

I found this to be one of the most difficult parables in the book of Luke. It deals with money, and I am pretty much aware of money and how it works, but, it turns out that the Bible deals with money and possessions more often than you might think.

Dr. Dan Hill: Jesus talked a great deal about money. Sixteen of the thirty-eight parables were concerned with how to handle money and possessions. In the Gospels, an amazing one out of 10 verses (288 in all) deal directly with the subject of money. The Bible offers 500 verses on prayer, about 500 verses on faith, but more than 2,000 verses on money and possessions.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:                       I will use the Westcott-Hort Greek text as the basis for my English translation. I use that test primarily because e-sword has a nice module by Rob Wolfram which has the interlinear English text, Strong’s #’s, and the Greek morphology. The e-sword tab is IWH+P. I do not use their English text for my translation. Also, throughout, I take in consideration alternate readings.

As a young Christian, I was quite interested in the alternative readings. After many decades of study, I have found that, as with the Hebrew text, disputed readings rarely have any affect on the interpretation of a text (apart from perhaps a half-dozen fairly well-known alternate readings, like the end of the book of Mark).

I will compare the Greek text to English translations of the Latin and Syriac (= Aramaic) texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation and George Lamsa’s translation from the Syriac. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.).

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

The Septuagint and the Dead Sea Scrolls are irrelevant, as they preceded the writing of the New Testament by over 200 years.

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Ancient texts:

Westcott-Hort Text (Greek)    But he was saying, even face to face with the disciples, “A man, a certain [one] was wealthy who was having a steward and this one was accused by him of dispersing the possession of his.

Douay-Rheims 1899 (Amer.) And he said also to his disciples: There was a certain rich man who had a steward: and the same was accused unto him, that he had wasted his goods.

Holy Aramaic Scriptures        And He spoke a Mathla {a Parable} unto His Disciples, “There was a certain gabra {man} who was athiyra {rich/wealthy}, and there was for him {i.e. he had} a rabaytha {a house chief/steward}, and slandering him, they accused him of squandering his wealth.

James Murdock’s Syriac NT And he spoke a parable to his disciples. There was a certain rich man, who had a steward; and accusations were brought to him of him, that he squandered his property.

Original Aramaic NT              And he told a parable to his disciples: "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and they were accusing him that he was squandering his wealth.

Lamsa Peshitta (Syriac)         And he told a parable to his disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and they were accusing him that he was squandering his wealth.”

Significant differences: 

English Translations:          I have included translations which I disagree with and footnotes that I do not necessarily agree with. If I believe that the author is too far from the truth, I may even address that at the footnote. However, nearly all of the correct commentary will be found following the Greek text box and the translation of each phrase.

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             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.

Bible in Worldwide English     Jesus also talked to his disciples. He said, A rich man had a manager in charge of his things. People told the rich man that the manager was wasting his things.

Easy English                          A story about a man who thought carefully

Jesus told another story to his disciples: ‘A rich man had a servant who worked for him. The servant took care of the money and things that belonged to the man. Then some people told the rich man that his servant was wasting his master's things.

Easy-to-Read Version–2008  Jesus said to his followers, "Once there was a rich man. He hired a manager to take care of his business. Later, he learned that his manager was cheating him.

God’s Word™                         Then Jesus said to his disciples, "A rich man had a business manager. The manager was accused of wasting the rich man's property.

Good News Bible (TEV)         Jesus said to his disciples, "There was once a rich man who had a servant who managed his property. The rich man was told that the manager was wasting his master's money, so he called him in and said, 'What is this I hear about you? Turn in a complete account of your handling of my property, because you cannot be my manager any longer.' V. 2 is included for context.

J. B. Phillips                           A clever rogue, and the right use of money

Then there is this story he told his disciples: “Once there was a rich man whose agent was reported to him to be mismanaging his property.

The Message                         The Story of the Crooked Manager

Jesus said to his disciples, “There was once a rich man who had a manager. He got reports that the manager had been taking advantage of his position by running up huge personal expenses.

NIRV                                      The Story of the Clever Manager

Jesus told his disciples another story. He said, “There was a rich man who had a manager. Some said that the manager was wasting what the rich man owned.

New Life Version                    The Picture-Story of the Boss Who Stole

Jesus said to His followers, “There was a rich man who put a boss over his houses and lands. Someone told him that his boss was not using his riches in a right way.

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Casual English Bible              JESUS’ SERMON ILLUSTRATIONS

STORY OF A CALCULATING BUSINESS MANAGER

Jesus told this story to his disciples. “A rich man got word that his business manager had been mismanaging the money.

Contemporary English V.       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.

The Living Bible                     Jesus now told this story to his disciples: “A rich man hired an accountant to handle his affairs, but soon a rumor went around that the accountant was thoroughly dishonest.

New Berkeley Version           .

New Living Translation           Parable of the Shrewd Manager

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.

The Passion Translation        The Dishonest Manager

Jesus taught his disciples using this story:

“There was once a very rich man who hired a manager to run his business and oversee all his wealth. But soon a rumor spread that the manager was wasting his master’s money.

UnfoldingWord Simplified T.  Jesus also said to his disciples, "Once there was a rich man who had a household manager. One day the rich man was told that the manager was managing his property so badly that he was causing the rich man to lose his possessions.

Williams’ New Testament      Now He was saying to the disciples: "Once there was a rich man who had a household manager, and he was accused to his master of squandering the latter's property.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          Then [Jesus] went on to say this to his disciples:

‘There was a rich man who had a house manager that was accused of mishandling his belongings.

Beck’s American Translation .

Breakthrough Version            He also was saying to the students, "There was a certain rich man who had a house manager. And this manager was accused to him as someone squandering the things that are his.

Common English Bible           Faithfulness with money

Jesus also said to the disciples, “A certain rich man heard that his household manager was wasting his estate.

Len Gane Paraphrase           Then he also said to his disciples, "There was a certain rich man, who had a household manager, and he was accused by him for wasting his belongings.

A. Campbell's Living Oracles He said, likewise, to his disciples, A certain rich man had a steward, who was accused to him of wasting his estate.

New Advent (Knox) Bible       And he said to his disciples, There was a rich man that had a steward, and a report came to him that this steward had wasted his goods.

20^th Century New Testament Jesus said to his disciples: "There was a rich man who had a steward; and this steward was maliciously accused to him of wasting his estate.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Conservapedia Translation    And He also said to his disciples, "There was a certain rich man, who employed a manager; and this manager was accused of squandering his boss's wealth.

Ferrar-Fenton Bible                The Defrauding Steward.

He also told His disciples that "There was once a rich man who had a steward, who was accused to him of embezzling his estate.

Free Bible Version                 Jesus told his disciples this story. was once a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting what belonged to his master.

International Standard V        The Parable about a Dishonest Manager

Now Jesus [Lit. he] was saying to the disciples, “A rich man had a servant manager who was accused of wasting his assets.

Lexham Bible                         The Parable of the Dishonest Manager

And he also said to the disciples, “A certain man was rich, who had a manager. And charges were brought to him that this person was squandering his possessions.

Weymouth New Testament    He said also to His disciples: "There was a rich man who had a steward, about whom a report was brought to him, that he was wasting his property.

Wikipedia Bible Project          “Once there was a rich man, whose manager was accused of wasting the rich man’s money,” Jesus said to his disciples.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)     The crafty steward

• At another time Jesus told his disciples, “There was a rich man, whose steward was reported to him for fraudulent service.

Footnote for this passage is places in the Addendum.

The Heritage Bible                 And he said also to his disciples, A certain man was wealthy, who had a steward, and this one was accused to him that he had scattered his property.

New American Bible (2011)   The Parable of the Dishonest Steward.*

Then he also said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property.

* [16:1–8a] The parable of the dishonest steward has to be understood in the light of the Palestinian custom of agents acting on behalf of their masters and the usurious practices common to such agents. The dishonesty of the steward consisted in the squandering of his master’s property (Lk 16:1) and not in any subsequent graft. The master commends the dishonest steward who has forgone his own usurious commission on the business transaction by having the debtors write new notes that reflected only the real amount owed the master (i.e., minus the steward’s profit). The dishonest steward acts in this way in order to ingratiate himself with the debtors because he knows he is being dismissed from his position (Lk 16:3). The parable, then, teaches the prudent use of one’s material goods in light of an imminent crisis.

New Catholic Bible                 Riches and Poverty^[a]

The Parable of the Crafty Steward.^[b] 1 Jesus also said to his disciples: “There was a rich man who had a steward, and he was informed that this steward was squandering his property.

[a] From the very origins of the Gospel tradition, the parable of the crafty steward has created difficulty. People could evolve abusive applications from it: e.g., does it promote fraud? In order to avoid any false interpretation, different sentences of Jesus concerning money have been joined to the parable.

[b] It is a fact that people bring a great deal of initiative and intelligence to their affairs even when these are worthy of criticism or unjust. Alas, believers put forth little effort for the kingdom! This is the lesson to be retained from the parable. It is a call for lucidity and creative intelligence. Jesus is suggesting the skill of a swindler, not fraud or theft.

New Jerusalem Bible             He also said to his disciples, 'There was a rich man and he had a steward who was denounced to him for being wasteful with his property.

Revised English Bible–1989   Instructing the disciples

HE said to his disciples, “There was a rich man who had a steward, and he received complaints that this man was squandering the property. That is odd. Rarely does the REB have titles (not online, anyway).

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           Speaking to the talmidim, Yeshua said: “There was a wealthy man who employed a general manager. Charges were brought to him that his manager was squandering his resource.

Hebraic Roots Bible               And He also said to His disciples, A certain man was rich; and he had a steward, and this one was accused to him as squandering his wealth.

Holy New Covenant Trans.    Jesus said to his students, there was a rich man who hired a manager to take care of his business. Later the rich man learned that his manager was cheating him.

The Israel Bible (beta)            .

Israeli Authorised Version      And he said also unto his talmidim, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.

The Scriptures 2009              And He also said to His taught ones, “There was a certain rich man who had a manager and he was accused to him as wasting his possessions.

Tree of Life Version                Now Yeshua was also saying to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a household manager, and this manager was accused of squandering his belongings.

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

Accurate New Testament       ...[He] said but and to the students Man Someone was Rich Who had manager and This is accused [by] him as [Man] Scattering the [things] possessing [of] him...

Alpha & Omega Bible            Moreover he asserts to instruct also, with regards to his disciples, "There was he certain rich of the aspects-of-man, who retains to hold a steward, and this-same one came to be cast-through accused to him, as thoroughly-scattering that coming to be under- his -ruling.

Awful Scroll Bible                   .

Concordant Literal Version    Now He said to His disciples also, "A certain man, who was rich, had an administrator, and this man was accused to him by an adversary as dissipating his possessions.".

exeGeses companion Bible   YAH SHUA ON THE THOUGHTFUL ADMINISTRATOR

And he also words to his disciples,

A rich human has an administrator;

who is accused of squandering his holdings:...

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach was saying also to the talmidim, A certain oisher (rich man) had a sochen (steward, estate manager or agent), and the charge brought against him was that he was squandering the property of the oisher (rich man).

Rotherham’s Emphasized B.                                      § 63. The Prudent Steward.

Chapter 16.

And he went on to say |unto his disciples also|—

There was |a certain rich man|ˎ who had a steward, and |the same| was accused to him as squandering his goods.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                The Unjust Steward (Manager)

Now Jesus was also saying to the disciples, “There was a certain rich man who had a manager [of his estate], and accusations [against this man] were brought to him, that this man was squandering his [master’s] possessions.

An Understandable Version   Then Jesus said to His disciples, was a certain rich man who had a property manager who was reported to be squandering his possessions.

The Expanded Bible              True Wealth

Jesus also said to his ·followers [disciples], “Once there was a rich man who had a manager to take care of his business. This manager was accused of ·cheating him [wasting/squandering his assests/possessions].

Jonathan Mitchell NT             So He went on saying to the disciples, "A certain person (human being) who was rich had a house manager (administrator; steward), and this [manager] was accused (thrust-through with charges brought by an adversary; [note: from this verb comes the noun "one who thrusts-through," commonly rendered "devil"]) to him as habitually squandering his possessions and means of subsistence by thoroughly scattering and wasting [them].

P. Kretzmann Commentary    Verses 1-2

The Parable of the Unjust Steward and Its Lessons.

The accusation of unfaithfulness:

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 lie had wasted his goods.

Syndein/Thieme                     {The Parable of the Clever Steward}

``And He {Jesus} also said {lego} to His disciples, "There was a rich man who was continuing in his employ a manager of his estate, and this man was maliciously accused {diaballo} to him from a hostile source of wasting his assets.

{Note: Diaballo means to accuse. SideNote: Diaballo is the word from which we get 'devil'. It is used for one of the titles for Satan - the accuser/devil! We learn in Revelation that Satan accuses all believers before the throne of God and Jesus Christ acts as our defense attorney.}

Translation for Translators     Jesus taught that we should handle our money in ways that are pleasing to God.

Luke 16:1-13

Jesus also said to his disciples, “Once there was a rich man who had a household manager. One day he was told {someone told him} that the manager was managing the rich man’s money badly.

The Voice                               Here’s a parable He told the disciples:

Jesus: Once there was a rich and powerful man who had an asset manager. One day, the man received word that his asset manager was squandering his assets.

Bible Translations with a Lot of Footnotes:

NET Bible®                             The Parable of the Clever Steward

Jesus¹ also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who was informed of accusations² that his manager³ was wasting⁴ his assets.

^1tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

^2tn These are not formal legal charges, but reports from friends, acquaintances, etc.; Grk “A certain man was rich who had a manager, and this one was reported to him as wasting his property.”

^3sn His manager was the steward in charge of managing the house. He could have been a slave trained for the role.

^4tn Or “squandering.” This verb is graphic; it means to scatter (L&N 57.151).

The Spoken English NT         The Parable of the Dishonest Manager
Jesus was saying to his followers,
There was once a rich man who had a household manager. This man was accused to him of wasting his property.

Wilbur Pickering’s New T.     Parable of a stupid steward
Then He said further to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a manager, who was accused to him of wasting his goods.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Analytical-Literal Translation  Now He was also saying to His disciples, "A certain man was rich, who had a steward, and this [steward] was accused to him as squandering his possessions.

Charles Thomson NT             Then he said to his disciples, There was a certain rich man who had a steward. And this steward was accused of having wasted his substance.

Context Group Version          And he said also to the apprentices, There was a certain rich man, who had a steward; and the same was accused to him who he was wasting his goods.

English Standard Version      He also said to the disciples, "There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions.

Green’s Literal Translation    And He also said to His disciples, A certain man was rich; and he had a steward, and this one was accused to him as wasting his goods.

Literal Standard Version        The Parable of the Unrighteous Steward

Now He was also saying to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a steward, and this steward was reported [Or accused] to him as squandering his possessions.

Modern English Version         The Parable of the Dishonest Steward

He told His disciples: “There was a rich man who had a steward who was accused to the man of wasting his resources.

New American Standard B.    .

New Matthew Bible                The parable of the wicked mammon. Not one tittle of God’s word shall perish. Of the rich man and poor Lazarus.

And he said also to his disciples, There was a certain rich man who had a steward that was accused of wasting his goods.

Niobi Study Bible                   The Parable of the Unjust (Dishonest) Steward (Servant)
And He said also unto His disciples, "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.

The gist of this passage:     Accusations are brought against a rich man’s steward who is mismanaging his money.

Translation: Jesus [lit., He] said directly to the disciples,...

As we have discussed earlier, we don’t have an overall take on where the Lord is in His ministry in Luke 10–18. That is, we do not know if this is a continuation of Luke 15, or if this is someone else’s recollection of the Lord’s public ministry. We only know from this passage that Jesus is teaching His disciples. Now, even though His disciples are positive toward doctrine, they sometimes had a difficult time understanding the Lord.

Translation: ...“A certain man, [who] was wealthy, had a house manager...

Jesus teaches them another parable. This one is about a wealthy man who employs a house manager. Such a steward often oversaw the work of the other servants in the house. However, because this man is wealthy, the steward is overseeing much of the man’s estate beyond the household.

Often a house manager would be a slave (slaves were often given great responsibilities in the ancient world). However, since this man appears to be subject to being fired (v. 2), that would suggest that he is a specialist in this area and that he works for a fee as a hired accountant/money manager.

Translation: ...and he was accused by the man [lit., by him] of squandering his wealth.

We do not know the details here, but, this is, after all, a parable. For whatever reason, the house manager was either stealing or foolishly spending the money of his master.

This may be better translated, ...and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions (from the ESV; capitalized).

The verb used here is the present active participle of diaskorpizô (διασκορπίζω) [pronounced dee-as-kor-PIHD-zo], which means, dispersing, scattering (abroad), strewing; squandering, dissipating. Strong’s #1287. We previously came across this verb in Luke 15:13, where the younger son—the prodigal son—is said to have squandered his inheritance on reckless living.

Luke 16:1 Jesus [lit., He] said directly to the disciples, “A certain man, [who] was wealthy, had a house manager and he was accused by the man [lit., by him] of squandering his wealth. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

At the very least, this man is being accused of mismanaging his employer’s wealth.

Luke 16:1 Jesus said directly to the disciples who were with Him, “There was a certain wealthy man, and he had a house manager who worked for him. He accused the house manager of squandering his wealth. (Kukis paraphrase)

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Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Westcott-Hort Text (Greek)    And calling him, he said to him, ‘What [is] this I keep on hearing about you? Give the word of the management of you; for you will not be able yet to keep on managing.’

Douay-Rheims 1899 (Amer.) And he called him and said to him: How is it that I hear this of thee? Give an account of thy stewardship: for now thou canst be steward no longer.

Holy Aramaic Scriptures        And his lord called him and said unto him, ‘What is this that I hear concerning you? Give unto me a reckoning of your stewardship, for, you are not able any longer to be a steward for me.’

James Murdock’s Syriac NT And his lord called him, and said to him: What is this that I hear of thee? Render to me an account of thy stewardship; for thou canst no longer be my steward.

Original Aramaic NT              And his Lord summoned him and said to him, 'What is this I have heard about you? Give me an inventory of your stewardship, for you cannot be a steward for me any longer.'

Lamsa Peshitta (Syriac)         And his Lord summoned him and said to him, “What is this I have heard about you? Give me an inventory of your stewardship, for you cannot be a steward for me any longer.”

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             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.

Bible in Worldwide English     ...he called the manager and asked him, "What is this I hear about you? Tell me what you have done. You cannot be my manager any more.".

Easy English                          So the master sent someone to bring his servant to him. He said to his servant, “I am hearing bad stories about you. So write down everything that you have done with my money and my things. Then you must stop working for me.”

Easy-to-Read Version–2008  So he called the manager in and said to him, 'I have heard bad things about you. Give me a report of what you have done with my money. You can't be my manager anymore.'

God’s Word™                         So the rich man called for his manager and said to him, 'What's this I hear about you? Let me examine your books. It's obvious that you can't manage my property any longer.'

J. B. Phillips                           So he summoned him and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? Give me an account of your stewardship—you’re not fit to manage my household any longer.’

The Message                         So he called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? You’re fired. And I want a complete audit of your books.’

NIRV                                      So the rich man told him to come in. He asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Tell me exactly how you have handled what I own. You can’t be my manager any longer.’

New Life Version                    The rich man sent for the boss and said, ‘What is this I hear about you? Tell me what you have done with my things. You are not to be the boss of my houses and lands anymore.’

New Simplified Bible              »He said: Is it true what I hear about you? Give me a complete accounting of your management of my property for you may not be my manager any longer.

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Casual English Bible              So he called in the manager and said, ‘What do you think you’re doing? I’ve heard about it. Wrap up your work and turn in your books. You’re done being my business manager.’

Contemporary English V.       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."

The Living Bible                     “So his employer called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about your stealing from me? Get your report in order, for you are to be dismissed.’

New Berkeley Version           .

New Living Translation           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.’

The Passion Translation        So the master called him in and said, ‘Is it true that you are mismanaging my estate? You need to provide me with a complete audit of everything you oversee for me. I’ve decided to dismiss you.’

UnfoldingWord Simplified T.  So he called the manager to come to him and said to him, 'What you have been doing is terrible! Give me a final written report of what you have been managing, because you may no longer be my household manager!'

William's New Testament       So he called the manager to him and said, 'What is this that I am hearing about you? Balance your accounts and show how you are conducting my affairs, for you cannot be manager any longer.'

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          So [the rich man] called him in and asked:

‘What’s this that I’m hearing about you?

Turn in your things! You’re not managing [my] house anymore!’

Beck’s American Translation .

Breakthrough Version            And after he hollered for him, he said to him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give back your management account. You see, you are not able to be managing anymore.'

Common English Bible           He called the manager in and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give me a report of your administration because you can no longer serve as my manager.’

Len Gane Paraphrase           "So he called him in and said to him, What is this that I hear about you? Give an account of your managership, for you can't be manager any longer.

New Advent (Knox) Bible       .

NT for Everyone                     So he called him and said to him, “What’s all this I hear about you? Present an account of your stewardship; I’m not going to have you as my steward any more!”

20^th Century New Testament So the master called him and said 'What is this that I hear about you? Give in your accounts, for you cannot act as steward any longer.'

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Berean Study Bible                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.’

Conservapedia Translation    And he summoned him, and said to him, 'How is it that I hear such bad things about you? You need to explain your decisions and their results; for your position is now in jeopardy.'

Free Bible Version                 So the rich man called in his manager, and asked him this I hear about you? Bring in your accounts, because you won’t be continuing as manager.’

International Standard V        So he called for him and asked him, Whats this I hear about you? You cant be my manager any longer. Now give me a report about your management!

Riverside New Testament      Calling him to him, he said, 'What is this that I hear about you? Give an account of your management; for you cannot longer be manager.'

Weymouth New Testament    He called him and said, "'What is this I hear about you? Render an account of your stewardship, for I cannot let you hold it any longer.'

Wikipedia Bible Project          “So the rich man called his manager, and asked him ‘What’s this I hear about you? Give me your management report, because you won’t be managing any more.’

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  He summoned the steward and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? I want you to render an account of your service, for it is about to be terminated.’

The Heritage Bible                 And calling out to him, he said to him, What is this I hear about you? Give the word² of your stewardship, because you may possibly not still be steward.

² 16:2 word, logos, word, a word into which thoughts and things are collected, meaning that the steward was to give a word accounting or collection of words explaining his stewardship of the owner’s property.

New American Bible (2002)   He summoned him and said, 'What is this I hear about you? Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward.'

New English Bible–1970        So he sent for him, and said, "What is this that I hear? Produce your accounts, for you cannot be manager here any longer."

New Jerusalem Bible             He called for the man and said, "What is this I hear about you? Draw me up an account of your stewardship because you are not to be my steward any longer."

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           So he summoned him and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Turn in your accounts, for you can no longer be manager.’

Holy New Covenant Trans.    So he called in the manager and said to him, have heard some bad things about you. Give me a report of what you have done with my money. You’re fired!’

Tree of Life Version                So he called the manager and said to him, ‘What’s this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

Accurate New Testament       ...and Calling him [He] says [to] him What? this [I] hear about you give! the word [of] the management [of] you not for [You] have (ability) yet to manage...

Alpha & Omega Bible            (")Then being called him, he said to him, 'What is this-same I hear about you? Be extended-out the account of your stewardship, for yourself will no longer be able to steward.'

Awful Scroll Bible                   .

Concordant Literal Version    And summoning him, he said to him, 'What is this I am hearing concerning you? Render an account of your administration, for you can no longer be administrator.'" ..and he voices out to him, and says to him,

What hear I concerning you?

Give word of your administration;

for you are not still my administrator.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And having called him, the oisher said to the sochen, What is this I hear about you? Submit to a bikoret beshbonot (audit) for that which is under your pekuddat (stewardship care), for you are no longer able to be sochen.

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. Andˎ accosting himˎ he said unto him—

What is this I hear of thee?

Render the account of thy stewardship, for thou canst no longer be steward.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management [of my affairs], for you can no longer be [my] manager.’

An Understandable Version   So, he called his property manager in and said to him, is this that I hear about you? Turn in a [full] report of [all] your financial transactions, for you are not working for me anymore.

The Expanded Bible              So he called the manager in and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give me a ·report [accounting] of ·what you have done with my money [^L your management], because you ·can’t be my manager any longer [are going to be fired].’

Jonathan Mitchell NT             "And so, upon summoning him, he said to him, 'What [is] this [that] I am continually hearing about you (or: Why am I now hearing this concerning you)? Turn in the account (= Hand over the books for an audit) of your management (administration; stewardship), for you are no longer able to be [the] manager of the household.'

P. Kretzmann Commentary    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.

The three parables of the previous chapter had been addressed to the Pharisees and scribes, probably in the presence of the publicans and sinners, and surely in the presence of the disciples. The parable of the steward is spoken to the disciples, but the Pharisees were still present. Disciples includes not only the Twelve, but all the followers of Jesus. There is a hint even here. A certain man there was, and he was rich, so rich that he personally did not attend to the clerical work and to his finances, leaving all this to a steward and putting him in full charge, as trusted officer. But the steward was accused, an accusation was brought against him to the master, that he was wasting the goods entrusted to his care, that he was squandering his master's money, either by fraud or by extravagant living. The definiteness of the accusation caused the master to assume that the charge was true, and so he summoned the steward before him. He wanted him to give an account of himself and his work: What is this that I hear of thee? He orders him to produce his books, to render an account in detail of his stewardship before his position terminates. For if the books showed a discrepancy between the rents or debts that had been due in the past and the money that should be on hand, the loss of his position would naturally follow. There was still some chance for the steward, if he could prove or furnish apparent proofs of his innocence.

Syndein/Thieme                     `` And, having called the manager in, he said {lego} to him, "What is this I hear concerning you?

Render an account at once of the way you have been managing my estate, for you cannot any longer 'function as'/ 'have the power to be' {dunamai} my manager."

Translation for Translators     So he summoned his manager and said to him, ‘◂It is terrible what they are saying about you (sg)!/Is it true what they are saying about you (sg) [RHQ]?► Give me a written account of the funds you have been managing, because you can no longer be my household manager!’

The Voice                               Jesus: The rich man brought in the asset manager and said, “You’ve been accused of wrongdoing. I want a full and accurate accounting of all your financial transactions because you are really close to being fired.”

Bible Translations with Many Footnotes:

Lexham Bible                         And he summoned him and [*Here “and ” is supplied because the previous participle (“summoned”) has been translated as a finite verb] said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give the account of your management, because you can no longer manage.’

NET Bible®                             So⁵ he called the manager⁶ in and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you?⁷ Turn in the account of your administration,⁸ because you can no longer be my manager.’

^5tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the reports the man received about his manager.

^6tn Grk “him”; the referent (the manager) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

^7sn Although phrased as a question, the charges were believed by the owner, as his dismissal of the manager implies.

^8tn Or “stewardship”; the Greek word οἰκονομία (oikonomia) is cognate with the noun for the manager (οἰκονόμος, oikonomo").

The Spoken English NT         And he called him over and said to him, “What’s this I hear about you? Hand over the records of your management job. You can’t manage my property anymore.”

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Berean Literal Bible                .

Bond Slave Version               And he called him, and said to him, How is it that I hear this of you? give an account of your stewardship; for you may be no longer steward.

English Standard Version      And he called him and said to him, 'What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.'

Far Above All Translation       So he called him and said to him, is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you will not be able to hold the office of steward any longer.

Green’s Literal Translation    And calling him, he said to him, What is this I hear about you? Give the account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.

Literal Standard Version        And He also said to His disciples, “A certain man was rich, who had a steward, and he was accused to him as scattering his goods;and having called him, he said to him, What [is] this I hear about you? Render the account of your stewardship, for you may not be steward any longer. V. 1 is included for context.

Modern Literal Version 2020  And having summoned him, he said to him, What is this thing which I am hearing concerning you? Give me the account of your stewardship; for* you will not still be able to be a steward.

New American Standard        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.’

New Matthew Bible                And he summoned him and said to him, How is it that I hear this of you? Give accounts of your stewardship, for you may no longer be steward.

The gist of this passage:     The rich man calls in his accountant, asks for a full review of his management; and then tells him that he will no longer be his accounts manager.

Translation: Calling the steward [lit., him], he said to him,...

Jesus is the One speaking. It appears that His primary audience, is His disciples and possible some of His followers. However, v. 14 suggests that there are some pharisees nearby, and they listen in. Jesus would have been aware of this other audience.

The owner of this estate calls in his house manager, and tells him what the problem is.

Logically, the very rich man would be God. The steward being called in would be Jewish people, who had been in charge of God’s household over the past 2000 years. That would seem to be what we would expect. And certainly, the Jewish people have not been good stewards of the Word of God.