Section 16:1–13

Jesus told a parable about a dishonest manager who acted wisely

In the main part of this section, 16:1–8b, Jesus told a parable that appears only in Luke. In this parable a rich man had hired a man to manage his money and possessions for him. The manager was dishonest in his work, so the rich man said that he could not continue to be his manager. But before the manager left this work, he used his position and money to cause other people to like him. He did this so that they would help him when he no longer had an income.

The main point of this parable is that the manager knew how to use money to make things better for his own future. In this way he was a good example for Jesus’ disciples. The parable does not mean that Jesus approved of the manager’s dishonesty.

In 16:8c–16:9 Jesus commented on the parable and applied it to his disciples. In 16:10–13 he gave other teachings about the proper use of wealth.

Other possible headings for this section are:

The Parable of the Shrewd Manager (New International Version)
-or-
The dishonest man who was in charge of a rich man’s wealth

Paragraph 16:1–2

16:1a

Jesus also said: In Greek, this verse begins with a phrase that is literally “and he said also.” The word also indicates that Jesus was continuing to tell parables. In some languages it may be helpful to indicate explicitly that Jesus’ next words were a parable. For example:

Jesus told ⌊a story⌋
-or-
Jesus also told ⌊a parable⌋

His disciples: In the previous chapter Jesus told three parables to the Pharisees and scribes. In this chapter he addressed a parable particularly to his disciples. In some languages it may be more natural to indicate in some way that Jesus was now speaking to a different group. For example:

Then Jesus also told ⌊a parable⌋ to his disciples. He said

disciples: For help in translating the word disciples, see the note at 9:14b.

16:1b

There was a rich man: This clause introduces one of the characters in the story. Use a natural way in your language to introduce such a character.

16:1c

manager: The manager was a skilled servant who managed the rich man’s money and property. The story makes it clear that he was an employee, not a slave. Other ways to translate this word are:

employee who was in charge ⌊of his wealth⌋
-or-
servant who managed his property (Good News Translation)
-or-
manager to take care of his business (New Century Version)

16:1d

was accused of wasting his possessions: The verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as was accused is a passive verb. It implies here that another person spoke to the rich man and told him that his manager was not taking good care of his possessions. In some languages it may be necessary to use an active verb and provide a subject. If that is true in your language, you should provide a general subject. For example:

⌊Someone⌋ ⌊went to him and⌋ accused the manager of wasting the rich man’s possessions.

wasting his possessions: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as wasting his possessions means here that the manager was misusing the rich man’s money and property. Apparently he was spending it for his own enjoyment. In 16:8 Jesus said explicitly that the manager was being dishonest. Some other ways to translate this expression are:

cheating him (New Century Version)
-or-
wasting his employer’s money (New Living Translation (2004))

his possessions: In your translation, make sure that it is clear that the pronoun his refers to the rich man.

General Comment on 16:1b–d

There is a lot of information in 16:1b–d. In some languages it may be helpful to divide it into two or more sentences. For example:

A rich man once had a manager to take care of his business. But he was told that his manager was wasting money. (Contemporary English Version)

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