4 Hear this, iyou who trample on the needy
and bring the poor of the land to an end,
5 saying, “When will jthe new moon be over,
that we may sell grain?
And kthe Sabbath,
that we may offer wheat for sale,
that we may make lthe ephah small and the shekel1 great
and deal deceitfully with false balances,
6 that we may buy the poor for msilver
and the needy for a pair of sandals
and sell the chaff of the wheat?”
7 The Lord has sworn by nthe pride of Jacob:
“Surely oI will never forget any of their deeds.
Who Is like the Lord Our God?
1 bPraise the Lord!
cPraise, O dservants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!
2 eBlessed be the name of the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore!
3 fFrom the rising of the sun to its setting,
4 The Lord is ihigh above all nations,
and his jglory above the heavens!
5 kWho is like the Lord our God,
who is seated on high,
6 who llooks far down
on the heavens and the earth?
7 He mraises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 to make them nsit with princes,
with the princes of his people.
9 He ogives the barren woman a home,
making her the joyous mother of children.
bPraise the Lord!
2 Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are qbrothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved.
False Teachers and True Contentment
rTeach and urge these things. 3 If anyone steaches a different doctrine and does not agree with tthe sound1 words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching uthat accords with godliness, 4 vhe is puffed up with conceit and wunderstands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for xcontroversy and for yquarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, 5 and constant friction among people zwho are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, aimagining that godliness is a means of gain. 6 But bgodliness cwith contentment is great gain, 7 for dwe brought nothing into the world, and2 we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But eif we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 But fthose who desire to be rich fall into temptation, ginto a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that hplunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of iall kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
The Parable of the Dishonest Manager
1 He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had ja manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. 2 And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your kmanagement, for you can no longer be manager.’ 3 And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ 5 So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He said, ‘A hundred measures1 of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures2 of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ 8 The master commended the dishonest manager for his lshrewdness. For mthe sons of this world3 are lmore shrewd in dealing with their own generation than nthe sons of light. 9 And I tell you, omake friends for yourselves by means of punrighteous wealth,4 so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.
10 q“One who is rfaithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in sthat which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? 13 pNo servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
The Law and the Kingdom of God
14 tThe Pharisees, who were ulovers of money, heard all these things, and they vridiculed him. 15 And he said to them, “You are those who wjustify yourselves before men, but xGod knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men yis an abomination in the sight of God.
