Luke 16 · Verse 2

Luke 16:2

And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.
Luke 16:2, King James Version

Luke 16:2 in other translations

BSBSo he called him in to ask, ‘What is this I hear about you? Turn in an account of your management, for you cannot be manager any longer.’
WEBHe 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.’
ASVAnd he called him, and said unto him, What is this that I hear of thee? render the account of thy stewardship; for thou canst be no longer steward.
YLTand having called him, he said to him, What is this I hear about thee? render the account of thy stewardship, for thou mayest not any longer be steward.
DARBYAnd having called him, he said to him, What is this that I hear of thee? give the reckoning of thy stewardship, for thou canst be no longer steward.
BBEAnd he sent for him and said, What is this which is said about you? give me an account of all you have done, for you will no longer be the manager of my property.
WebsterAnd he called him, and said to him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship: for thou mayest be no longer steward.

What does Luke 16:2 mean?

Barnes' Notes
Verse 2. Give an account. Give a statement of your expenses and of your conduct while you have been steward. This is not to be referred to the day of judgment. It is a circumstance thrown into the parable to prepare the way for what follows. It is true that all will be called to give an account at the day of judgment, but we are not to derive that doctrine from such passages as this, nor are we to interpret this as teaching that our conscience, or the law, or any beings will accuse us in the day of judgment. All that will be indeed true, but it is not the truth that is taught in this passage.

(a) "give an account" Lk 12:42, 1Cor 4:2, 1Timm 4:14, 1Pet 4:10

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 2 Give an account of thy, etc. - Produce thy books of receipts and disbursements, that I may see whether the accusation against thee be true or false. The original may be translated, Give up the business, τον λογον, of the stewardship.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Luke 16:1-12

Whatever we have, the property of it is God's; we have only the use of it, according to the direction of our great Lord, and for his honour. This steward wasted his lord's goods. And we are all liable to the same charge; we have not made due improvement of what God has trusted us with. The steward cannot deny it; he must make up his accounts, and be gone. This may teach us that death will come, and deprive us of the…

Read the full comment on Luke 16:1-12 →

Luke 16:2 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

καὶkaiAndG2532
φωνήσαςphōnēsashaving calledG5455
αὐτὸνautonhimG846
εἶπενeipenhe saidG2036
αὐτῷ·autōto him;G846
τίtiWhat [is]G5101
τοῦτοtoutothisG3778
ἀκούωakouōI hearG191
περὶpericoncerningG4012
σοῦ;souyou?G4771
ἀπόδοςapodosdo giveG591
τὸνtontheG3588
λόγονlogonaccountG3056
τῆςtēsof theG3588
οἰκονομίαςoikonomiasstewardshipG3622
σου·souof you;G4771
οὐounotG3756
γὰρgarforG1063
δύνῃdunēyou are ableG1410
ἔτιetiany longerG2089
οἰκονομεῖν.oikonomeinto manage.G3621

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Luke 16:2

  • 1 Samuel 2:23-24

    And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people. Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the Lord’s people to transgress.

  • Ecclesiastes 11:9-10

    Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.

  • Revelation 20:12

    And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

  • 1 Peter 4:5

    Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.

  • 2 Corinthians 5:10

    For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

  • 1 Timothy 5:24

    Some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after.

  • Ecclesiastes 12:14

    For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

  • 1 Corinthians 4:2

    Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.

  • Genesis 4:9-10

    And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.

  • Matthew 12:36

    But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

  • 1 Peter 4:10

    As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

  • 1 Corinthians 4:5

    Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
How.
Ge 3:9-11; 4:9,10; 18:20,21; 1Sa 2:23,24; 1Co 1:11; 1Ti 5:24
give.
12:42; Ec 11:9,10; 12:14; Mt 12:36; Ro 14:12; 1Co 4:2,5; 2Co 5:10
1Pe 4:5,10; 1Ti 4:14; Re 20:12
for.
12:20; 19:21-26

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Luke 16:1

    And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.

  • Luke 16:2

    And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.

  • Luke 16:3

    Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.

Read all of Luke 16

Luke 16:2 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y le llamó, y le dijo: ¿Qué es esto que oigo de ti? Da cuenta de tu mayordomía, porque ya no podrás más ser mayordomo.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et l’ayant appelé, il lui dit: Qu’est-ce que ceci que j’entends dire de toi? Rends compte de ton administration; car tu ne pourras plus administrer.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und er rief ihn und sprach zu ihm: Was ist dies, das ich von dir höre? lege die Rechnung von deiner Verwaltung ab, denn du wirst nicht mehr Verwalter sein können.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et vocavit illum, et ait illi: Quid hoc audio de te? redde rationem villicationis tuæ: jam enim non poteris villicare.