Luke 16:9

I tell you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves so that when it is gone, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jesus addresses his disciples directly (ἐγὼ ὑμῖν) in the middle of a parable about a dishonest manager, having just commended that manager's shrewdness in v.8.

The words — ποιήσατε (poiēsate) is an aorist imperative: "make," a command, not a suggestion. φίλους (philous) is the object — "friends" — the verse is about making friends with wealth, not merely giving money.

The thread — Matthew 19:21 pairs selling possessions with heavenly treasure; Matthew 6:24 frames the exclusive loyalty the verse presupposes; Daniel 4:27 echoes the "break from" urgency of redirecting resources before they are lost.

Why it lands — The verse asks you to treat present wealth as a finite tool for building relationships that will receive you after it is gone, and to do so deliberately rather than by accident.

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 I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

Cross-references

Matthew 19:21 Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
Daniel 4:27 Therefore, may my advice be pleasing to you, O king. Break away from your sins by doing what is right, and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed. Perhaps there will be an extension of your prosperity.”
Matthew 6:24 No one can serve two masters: 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 both God and money.
1 Timothy 6:17 Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.
Proverbs 19:17 Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD, and He will repay the lender.
Luke 14:14 and you will be blessed. Since they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Luke 16:11 So if you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will entrust you with true riches?
Luke 12:33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves with purses that will not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.
1 Timothy 6:9 Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.
Isaiah 58:7 Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?