World English Bible · Under Rome
Luke 16
Touch any underlined name to see who or where it is. Tap a verse number to see where it is taken up elsewhere.
He also said to his , "There was a certain rich man who had a manager. An accusation was made to him that this man was wasting his possessions. He called him, and said to him, 'What is this that I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.' "The manager said within himself, 'What will I do, seeing that my is taking away the management position from me? I don't have strength to dig. I am to beg. I know what I will do, so that when I am removed from management, they may receive me into their houses.' Calling each one of his debtors to him, he said to the first, 'How much do you owe to my ?' He said, 'A hundred batos of oil.' He said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.' Then he said to another, 'How much do you owe?' He said, 'A hundred cors of wheat.' He said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.' "His 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 . I tell you, make for yourselves friends by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when you fail, they may receive you into the tents. He who is in a very little is also in much. He who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If therefore you have not been in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your the true riches? If you have not been in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to one and despise the other. You aren't able to and Mammon." The , who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they scoffed at him. He said to them, "You are those who yourselves in the sight of men, but knows your . For that which is exalted among men is an in the sight of . " and were until . From that time the of Kingdom is preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. But it is easier for and earth to pass away than for one tiny stroke of a pen in to fall. "Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits . He who marries one who is from a husband commits . "Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, living in luxury every day. A certain beggar, named , was taken to his , full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table. Yes, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The beggar , and he was by the to . The rich man also and was buried. In , he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw far off, and at his . He cried and said, ' , have mercy on me, and send , that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my ! For I am in anguish in this flame.' "But said, 'Son, remember that you, in your lifetime, received your good things, and , in the same way, bad things. But here he is now comforted and you are in anguish. Besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that those who want to pass from here to you are not able, and that no one may over from there to us.' 27"He said, 'I ask you therefore, , that you would send him to house— for I have five brothers—that he may testify to them, so they won't also come into this place of torment.' "But said to him, 'They have and . Let them listen to them.' "He said, 'No, , but if one goes to them from , they will .' "He said to him, 'If they don't listen to and , neither will they be persuaded if one rises from .'"
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.