✨WEB · Luke 16:9
What does Luke 16:9 mean?
"I tell you, make for yourselves friends by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when you fail, they may receive you into the eternal tents."
— Luke 16:9 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
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 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.
I tell you, make for yourselves friends by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when you fail, they may receive you into the eternal tents.
He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much. He who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.
If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
If you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?
Explanation
This verse comes at the end of Jesus' parable of the unjust steward (or dishonest manager), found in Luke 16:1-9. In the story, a manager who is about to be fired for wasting his master's resources shrewdly reduces the debts owed by his master's debtors, currying favor with them so that they will take care of him once he's unemployed. Surprisingly, the master commends the dishonest manager—not for his dishonesty, but for his shrewdness and foresight in using present resources to secure his future. Jesus then draws out the lesson for his disciples in verse 9, telling them to use "unrighteous mammon" (worldly wealth, money tainted by its association with a fallen, self-serving world) to make friends for themselves, so that when it fails—that is, when earthly life and resources come to an end—those friends may welcome them into eternal dwellings.
The original audience were Jesus' disciples, though tax collectors, Pharisees, and others were likely within earshot, since Luke often shows Jesus teaching in mixed company. Luke's Gospel repeatedly emphasizes themes of wealth, poverty, and the right use of possessions, and this parable fits within a larger section (Luke 15-16) addressing stewardship, mercy, and the kingdom's values contrasted with worldly values. Jesus is not endorsing dishonesty; rather, he is using an example of worldly shrewdness to challenge his followers to be equally strategic, but for righteous ends.
Theologically, the verse teaches that material wealth, though tied to a
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