Sunday 24 September 2034

4Hear this, you who desire to swallow up the needy,and cause the poor of the land to fail,5saying, ‘When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell grain?And the Sabbath, that we may market wheat,making the ephah small, and the shekel large,and dealing falsely with balances of deceit;6that we may buy the poor for silver,and the needy for a pair of sandals,and sell the sweepings with the wheat?’”7The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob,“Surely I will never forget any of their works.

1Praise the Lord!Praise, you servants of the Lord,praise the Lord’s name.2Blessed be the Lord’s name,from this time forward and forever more.

4The Lord is high above all nations,his glory above the heavens.5Who is like the Lord, our God,who has his seat on high,6who stoops down to see in heaven and on the earth?

7He raises up the poor out of the dust,and lifts up the needy from the ash heap,8that he may set him with princes,even with the princes of his people.

1I exhort therefore,first of all, that petitions,prayers, intercessions,and givings of thanks be made for all men,2for kings and all who are in high places,that we may lead a tranquiland quiet life in all godliness and reverence.3For this is goodand acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,4who desires all people to be savedand come to full knowledge of the truth.5For there is one God and one mediator between God and men,the man Christ Jesus,6who gave himself as a ransom for all,the testimony at the proper time,7to which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am telling the truth in Christ, not lying—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

8I desire therefore that the men in every place pray,lifting up holy hands without anger and doubting.

1He also said to his disciples,“There was a certain rich man who had a manager.An accusation was made to himthat this man was wasting his possessions.2He 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.’

3“The manager said within himself,‘What will I do, seeingthat my lord is taking away the management position from me?I don’t have strength to dig.I am ashamed to beg.4I know what I will do,so that when I am removed from management,they may receive me into their houses.’5Calling each one of his lord’s debtors to him,he said to the first,‘How much do you owe to my lord?’6He said, ‘A hundred batos of oil.’He said to him, ‘Take your bill,and sit down quickly and write fifty.’7Then 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.’

8“His lord commended the dishonest managerbecause he had done wisely,for the children of this world are,in their own generation,wiser than the children of the light.9I tell you, make for yourselves friends by means of unrighteous mammon,so that when you fail,they may receive you into the eternal tents.10He 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.11If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon,who will commit to your trust the true riches?12If you have not been faithful in that which is another’s,who will give you that which is your own?13No servant can serve 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 serve God and Mammon.”