Luke 16:8

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.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jesus tells a parable to his followers about a manager who reduces the debts owed to his master to secure future favor.

The words — ἐπῄνεσεν (epēnesen) means praised, and οἰκονόμον (oikonomon) means manager, describing the master’s approval of the steward’s pragmatic actions.

The thread — The contrast between “sons of this age” and “sons of light” in Luke 16:8 mirrors the identity markers in 1 Thessalonians 5:5 and Ephesians 5:8, while Proverbs 6:6 reinforces the call to practical wisdom.

Why it lands — The passage demands that readers use temporal resources to build lasting relationships that yield eternal security.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

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.
Ephesians 5:8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,
Proverbs 6:6 Walk in the manner of the ant, O slacker; observe its ways and become wise.
Luke 16:10 Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
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.
Exodus 1:10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase even more; and if a war breaks out, they may join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.”
Luke 16:4 I know what I will do so that after my removal from management, people will welcome me into their homes.’
1 Corinthians 3:18 Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in this age, he should become a fool, so that he may become wise.
1 John 3:10 By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’”