Luke 16:8
New International Version
“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.

New Living Translation
“The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light.

English Standard Version
The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.

Berean Standard Bible
The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the sons of light.

Berean Literal Bible
And the master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this age are more shrewd than the sons of the light in their own generation.

King James Bible
And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.

New King James Version
So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.

New American Standard Bible
And his master complimented the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light.

NASB 1995
“And his master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light.

NASB 1977
“And his master praised the unrighteous steward because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light.

Legacy Standard Bible
And his master praised the unrighteous steward because he had acted shrewdly, for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light.

Amplified Bible
And his master commended the unjust manager [not for his misdeeds, but] because he had acted shrewdly [by preparing for his future unemployment]; for the sons of this age [the non-believers] are shrewder in relation to their own kind [that is, to the ways of the secular world] than are the sons of light [the believers].

Christian Standard Bible
“The master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the children of this age are more shrewd than the children of light in dealing with their own people.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
“The master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted astutely. For the sons of this age are more astute than the sons of light in dealing with their own people.

American Standard Version
And his lord commended the unrighteous steward because he had done wisely: for the sons of this world are for their own generation wiser than the sons of the light.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And our Lord praised the evil steward, because he acted wisely, for “The children of this world in this their generation are wiser than the children of light.”

Contemporary English Version
The master praised his dishonest manager for looking out for himself so well. That's how it is! The people of this world look out for themselves better than the people who belong to the light.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the lord commended the unjust steward, forasmuch as he had done wisely: for the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light.

English Revised Version
And his lord commended the unrighteous steward because he had done wisely: for the sons of this world are for their own generation wiser than the sons of the light.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"The master praised the dishonest manager for being so clever. Worldly people are more clever than spiritually-minded people when it comes to dealing with others."

Good News Translation
As a result the master of this dishonest manager praised him for doing such a shrewd thing; because the people of this world are much more shrewd in handling their affairs than the people who belong to the light."

International Standard Version
The master praised the dishonest servant manager for being so clever, because worldly people are more clever than enlightened people in dealing with their own.

Literal Standard Version
And the lord commended the unrighteous steward that he did prudently, because the sons of this age are more prudent than the sons of the light in respect to their generation.

Majority Standard Bible
The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the sons of light.

New American Bible
And 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.

NET Bible
The master commended the dishonest manager because he acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their contemporaries than the people of light.

New Revised Standard Version
And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.

New Heart English Bible
"His lord commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness, for the people of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the people of light.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.

Weymouth New Testament
"And the master praised the dishonest steward for his shrewdness; for, in relation to their own contemporaries, the men of this age are shrewder than the sons of Light.

World English Bible
“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.

Young's Literal Translation
'And the lord commended the unrighteous steward that he did prudently, because the sons of this age are more prudent than the sons of the light, in respect to their generation.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Parable of the Shrewd Manager
7Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ ‘A hundred measures of wheat,’ he replied. ‘Take your bill and write eighty,’ he told him. 8 The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the sons of light. 9I tell you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.…

Cross References
Matthew 12:32
Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the one to come.

Luke 16:7
Then he asked another, 'And how much do you owe?' 'A hundred measures of wheat,' he replied. 'Take your bill and write eighty,' he told him.

Luke 20:34
Jesus answered, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.

Luke 20:35
But those who are considered worthy to share in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage.

John 12:36
While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of light." After Jesus had spoken these things, He went away and was hidden from them.

Ephesians 5:8
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,

1 Thessalonians 5:5
For you are all sons of the light and sons of the day; we do not belong to the night or to the darkness.


Treasury of Scripture

And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.

unjust.

Luke 16:10
He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.

Luke 18:6
And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.

done.

Luke 16:4
I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.

Genesis 3:1
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

Exodus 1:10
Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.

children of this.

Luke 20:34
And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage:

Psalm 17:14
From men which are thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.

1 Corinthians 3:18
Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.

in.

Psalm 49:10-19
For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others…

Matthew 17:26
Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free.

children of light.

John 12:36
While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.

Ephesians 5:8
For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

1 Thessalonians 5:5
Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

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Acted Age Children Commended Contemporaries Dishonest False. Generation Light Manager Master Pleased Praised Prudently Relation Servant Shrewd Shrewdness Steward Unjust Unrighteous Wise Wisely Wiser World
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Acted Age Children Commended Contemporaries Dishonest False. Generation Light Manager Master Pleased Praised Prudently Relation Servant Shrewd Shrewdness Steward Unjust Unrighteous Wise Wisely Wiser World
Luke 16
1. The parable of the unjust steward.
14. Jesus reproves the hypocrisy of the covetous Pharisees.
19. The parable of the rich man and Lazarus the beggar.














(8) And the lord commended . . .--The "lord" is, of course, the rich man of the parable, the steward's master. He too, in the outer framework of the story, is one of the children of this world, and he admires the sharpness and quickness of the steward's action. In the interpretation of the story, we trace once more the grave, half-veiled indignation, more keenly incisive than if the veil had been withdrawn, which so often appears in this phase of our Lord's teaching. If this world were all, there would be a wisdom worthy of praise when a Church or its teachers adapted themselves to men's passions or interests at the expense of Truth. That which makes such action hateful is that by so doing the children of light transform themselves into the children of this world.

The unjust steward.--Literally, the steward of unrighteousness, St. Luke using the half-Hebrew idiom of a genitive of the characteristic attribute. (Comp. the "mammon of unrighteousness" in Luke 16:9, and the "unjust judge" of Luke 18:6, where the same idiom is used.)

The children of this world are in their generation wiser . . .--Better, for their generation, with a view, i.e., to their own advantages and interests, and those of others like them.

Wiser than the children of light.--The word for "wise" is that used by our Lord in "wise as serpents" (see Notes on Matthew 10:16). In "children of light" (literally, sons of light), though usage has made the Hebrew idiom familiar, we have another example of the genitive of characteristic attribute. We may note the recurrence of the phrase (with the variation of the Greek word for "children" instead of "sons") in Ephesians 5:8 as another instance of the way in which the phraseology of St. Paul was influenced by that of the words of the Lord Jesus collected by his fellow-labourer. "Children of light" are those in whom light is the prevailing element of their life, and they are necessarily also children of God; for "God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all" (1John 1:5). . . .

Verse 8. - And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely. This, again, is a detail which has little bearing on the main teaching. It is a graphic and sarcastic eulogy which a good-humoured man of the world would pronounce upon a brilliant and skilful, although unprincipled, action, and it completes the story as a story. It seems evident that the intentions of the steward in regard to the debtors were carried out, and that they were really indebted to him for the release of a part of their indebtedness, and that the owner of the property did not dispute the arrangement entered into by his steward when in office. For the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. This was a melancholy and sorrowful reflection. It seems to say, "I have been painting, indeed, from the life. See, the children of this world, men and women whose ends and aims are bounded by the horizon of this world, who only live for this life, how much more painstaking and skilful are they in their working for the perishable things of this world than are the children of light in their noble toiling after the things of the life to come. The former appear even more in earnest in their search after what they desire than do the latter. There is underlying the Lord's deep and sorrowful reflection here, a mournful regret over one feature that is, alas! characteristic of well-nigh all religious life - the unkindness which religious professors so often show to one another. One great division of Christianity despises, almost hates, the other; sect detests sect; a very slight difference in religious opinion bars the way to all friendship, often to even kindly feeling. With truth Godet remarks here "that the children of this world use every means for their own interest to strengthen the bonds which unite them to their contemporaries of the same stamp, but, on the other hand, the children of light neglect this natural measure of prudence; they forget to use God's goods to form bonds of love to the contemporaries who might one day give them a full recompense, when they themselves shall want everything, and these shall have abundance."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
The
(ho)
Article - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

master
κύριος (kyrios)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2962: Lord, master, sir; the Lord. From kuros; supreme in authority, i.e. controller; by implication, Master.

commended
ἐπῄνεσεν (epēnesen)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1867: To praise, commend, applaud. From epi and aineo; to applaud.

the
τὸν (ton)
Article - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

dishonest
ἀδικίας (adikias)
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular
Strong's 93: Injustice, unrighteousness, hurt. From adikos; injustice; morally, wrongfulness.

manager
οἰκονόμον (oikonomon)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3623: A household manager, a steward, guardian.

because
ὅτι (hoti)
Conjunction
Strong's 3754: Neuter of hostis as conjunction; demonstrative, that; causative, because.

he had acted
ἐποίησεν (epoiēsen)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 4160: (a) I make, manufacture, construct, (b) I do, act, cause. Apparently a prolonged form of an obsolete primary; to make or do.

shrewdly.
φρονίμως (phronimōs)
Adverb
Strong's 5430: Wisely, sensibly, prudently. Adverb from phronimos; prudently.

For
ὅτι (hoti)
Conjunction
Strong's 3754: Neuter of hostis as conjunction; demonstrative, that; causative, because.

the
οἱ (hoi)
Article - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

sons
υἱοὶ (huioi)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 5207: A son, descendent. Apparently a primary word; a 'son', used very widely of immediate, remote or figuratively, kinship.

of this
τούτου (toutou)
Demonstrative Pronoun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 3778: This; he, she, it.

age
αἰῶνος (aiōnos)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 165: From the same as aei; properly, an age; by extension, perpetuity; by implication, the world; specially a Messianic period.

are
εἰσιν (eisin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

more shrewd
φρονιμώτεροι (phronimōteroi)
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Plural - Comparative
Strong's 5429: Intelligent, prudent, sensible, wise. From phren; thoughtful, i.e. Sagacious or discreet; in a bad sense conceited.

in dealing with
εἰς (eis)
Preposition
Strong's 1519: A primary preposition; to or into, of place, time, or purpose; also in adverbial phrases.

their own
ἑαυτῶν (heautōn)
Reflexive Pronoun - Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 1438: Himself, herself, itself.

kind
γενεὰν (genean)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 1074: From genos; a generation; by implication, an age.

than [are]
ὑπὲρ (hyper)
Preposition
Strong's 5228: Gen: in behalf of; acc: above.

the
τοὺς (tous)
Article - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

sons
υἱοὺς (huious)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 5207: A son, descendent. Apparently a primary word; a 'son', used very widely of immediate, remote or figuratively, kinship.

of light.
φωτὸς (phōtos)
Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular
Strong's 5457: Light, a source of light, radiance. From an obsolete phao; luminousness.


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