Parable of the Dishonest Steward

1
Then he also said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property.2He 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.’3The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me? I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.4I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes.’5He called in his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’6^* He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note. Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’7Then to another he said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘One hundred kors^* of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note; write one for eighty.’8And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.

 “For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.^*a9I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth,^* so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.^b10^* The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones.^c11If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth?12If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours?13No servant can serve two masters.^* He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”^d

Commentary by Biblical scholars (USCCB - NABRE Bible)

[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.

* [16:6] One hundred measures: literally, “one hundred baths.” A bath is a Hebrew unit of liquid measurement equivalent to eight or nine gallons.

* [16:7] One hundred kors: a kor is a Hebrew unit of dry measure for grain or wheat equivalent to ten or twelve bushels.

* [16:8b–13] Several originally independent sayings of Jesus are gathered here by Luke to form the concluding application of the parable of the dishonest steward.

* [16:8b–9] The first conclusion recommends the prudent use of one’s wealth (in the light of the coming of the end of the age) after the manner of the children of this world, represented in the parable by the dishonest steward.

* [16:9] Dishonest wealth: literally, “mammon of iniquity.” Mammon is the Greek transliteration of a Hebrew or Aramaic word that is usually explained as meaning “that in which one trusts.” The characterization of this wealth as dishonest expresses a tendency of wealth to lead one to dishonesty. Eternal dwellings: or, “eternal tents,” i.e., heaven.

* [16:10–12] The second conclusion recommends constant fidelity to those in positions of responsibility.

* [16:13] The third conclusion is a general statement about the incompatibility of serving God and being a slave to riches. To be dependent upon wealth is opposed to the teachings of Jesus who counseled complete dependence on the Father as one of the characteristics of the Christian disciple (Lk 12:22–39). God and mammon: see note onLk 16:9. Mammon is used here as if it were itself a god.