A Clever Servant: An ESL Bible Study on Luke 16:1-13

This Bible study series is for people who are learning English. It is designed for advanced beginner and intermediate learners, but children or adults who prefer simple English may also enjoy it.

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Luke 16:1-13 Printable Discussion Questions

Luke 16:1-13 Printable ERV Passage

Lesson Icebreaker Question

What is the smartest or cleverest thing you have ever seen someone do to solve a problem?

Lesson Highlight

In this lesson, we will hear a story Jesus told about a servant who made a smart but tricky plan. We will talk about how we should be wise with money and trust God more than money.

Vocabulary Lists for the ERV Bible Translation

Key Vocabulary Words (10 words)

bill: (noun) A piece of paper that shows how much money you must pay.
business: (noun) The work that a person does to earn money.
cheat: (verb) To do something dishonest to get what you want.
dishonest: (adjective) Not telling the truth or cheating.
loyal: (adjective) Always supporting or being faithful to someone.
manager: (noun) A person who is in charge of a business or a house.
master: (noun) A person or thing who has power over others or a great teacher.
owe: (verb) To need to pay money to someone.
trust: (verb) To believe that someone is good and honest.
worldly: (adjective) Relating to the things of the earth rather than God.

Important Words to Know (20 words)

bill: (noun) A piece of paper that shows how much money you must pay.
business: (noun) The work that a person does to earn money.
cheat: (verb) To do something dishonest to get what you want.
dishonest: (adjective) Not telling the truth or cheating.
follower: (noun) A person who learns from and obeys a teacher.
forever: (adverb) For all time without an end.
hire: (verb) To pay someone to do a job.
loyal: (adjective) Always supporting or being faithful to someone.
manager: (noun) A person who is in charge of a business or a house.
master: (noun) A person or thing who has power over others or a great teacher.
measures: (noun) Units used to show the weight or amount of something.
owe: (verb) To need to pay money to someone.
proud: (adjective) Feeling very pleased with yourself.
report: (noun) A story about something that happened.
riches: (noun) A lot of money and expensive things.
serve: (verb) To help or work for someone.
spiritual: (adjective) Relating to the spirit or to God.
trust: (verb) To believe that someone is good and honest.
wealth: (noun) A large amount of money or things.
worldly: (adjective) Relating to the things of the earth rather than God.

Complete Lesson Word Bank

also: (adverb) In addition to something else.
another: (adjective) A different one.
away: (adverb) At a distance from a place.
beg: (verb) To ask for money or food because you are very poor.
belong: (verb) To be the property of someone.
big: (adjective) Large in size.
bill: (noun) A piece of paper that shows how much money you must pay.
business: (noun) The work that a person does to earn money.
call: (verb) To ask someone to come to you or to meet with you.
cheat: (verb) To do something dishonest to get what you want.
dig: (verb) To make a hole in the ground.
dishonest: (adjective) Not telling the truth or cheating.
ditch: (noun) A long, narrow hole in the ground for water.
done: (verb) To have performed an action or task.
each other: (phrase) Two or more people doing the same thing to one another.
else: (adverb) Different or more.
enough: (adjective) As much as you need.
first: (adjective) Coming before all others in time or order.
follower: (noun) A person who learns from and obeys a teacher.
forever: (adverb) For all time without an end.
friend: (noun) A person you know and like.
given: (verb) To have handed something over to another person.
God: (noun) The creator and ruler of everything.
gone: (adjective) Not here anymore.
hate: (verb) To dislike someone or something very much.
have: (verb) To own or hold something.
heard: (verb) To have received sound with your ears.
hire: (verb) To pay someone to do a job.
home: (noun) The place where a person lives.
hurry: (verb) To move or do something very fast.
jar: (noun) A container used for holding water or oil.
Jesus: (noun) The Son of God and the Savior of the world!
job: (noun) The work that a person does to earn money.
last: (verb) To continue to exist for a long time.
later: (adverb) At a time in the future.
less: (adjective) A smaller amount of something.
lose: (verb) To have something taken away or to no longer have it.
love: (verb) To care very much for someone and want what is best for them.
loyal: (adjective) Always supporting or being faithful to someone.
make: 1. (verb) To create or build something. 2. (verb) To cause a feeling or a change.
manager: (noun) A person who is in charge of a business or a house.
master: (noun) A person or thing who has power over others or a great teacher.
measures: (noun) Units used to show the weight or amount of something.
much: (adjective) A large amount of something.
olive oil: (phrase) A smooth liquid made from pressing olives that is used for cooking or for burning in lamps.
once: (adverb) A point in time, usually a long time ago.
owe: (verb) To need to pay money to someone.
own: (adjective) Belonging to a specific person.
proud: (adjective) Feeling very pleased with yourself.
report: (noun) A story about something that happened.
rich: (adjective) Having a lot of money or things.
riches: (noun) A lot of money and expensive things.
serve: (verb) To help or work for someone.
sit down: (phrase) To move your body from a standing position to a seat or the floor.
smarter: (adjective) More intelligent than someone else.
spiritual: (adjective) Relating to the spirit or to God.
strong: (adjective) Having a lot of power or physical strength.
take: (verb) To get or carry something away.
take care of: (phrase) To watch over and keep someone or something safe.
than: (conjunction) A word used to compare two things.
thought: (verb) To have used your mind.
told: (verb) To have given information to someone.
true: (adjective) Something that is real and not a lie.
trust: (verb) To believe that someone is good and honest.
use: (verb) To do something with a tool or an object.
wealth: (noun) A large amount of money or things.
welcome: (verb) To greet someone in a friendly way.
wheat: (noun) A plant used to make flour for bread.
whoever: (pronoun) Any person who does something.
worldly: (adjective) Relating to the things of the earth rather than God.
write: (verb) To make letters or words on paper with a pen.

Summary of the Passage

This passage is a story Jesus told to teach a lesson. Jesus was talking to his followers. In the story, there was a rich man who hired a manager. The manager’s job was to take care of the rich man’s business. However, one day, the rich man heard a report that the manager was cheating him. To cheat means to be dishonest to get what you want. The master told the manager that he would lose his job.

The manager worried because he was not strong enough to dig ditches. He was also too proud to beg for food. So, he made a clever plan. He called the people who owed his master money. He told them to change their bills to show less money. For example, he told a man who owed 100 jars of olive oil to write 50 on his bill. This way, the people would be his friends and help him after he lost his job.

When the rich man found out, he was surprised. Instead of being angry, he praised the manager for being smart. The manager was not faithful, but he was clever. Jesus explained that worldly people often make clever plans to help themselves. Worldly means relating to things on earth rather than God. Jesus said that God’s people should be wise and faithful too. He said that we cannot serve two masters. To serve a master means to obey and work for someone. We cannot love God and love money at the same time. One will always be more important!

This passage teaches us that we should be careful and wise with the things God gives us. Money is not bad, but it should not be more important than God. God wants us to be honest, kind, and to trust him more than anything else.

Read The Passage

Most English learners should use the Easy-to-Read Version (ERV), the New International Reader’s Version (NIRV), or the Good News Translation (GNT). If you want to try something harder, you can read one of the other Bible versions.

True Wealth
1 Jesus said to his followers,
“Once there was a rich man.
He hired a manager to take care of his business.
Later, he learned that his manager was cheating him.
2 So he called the manager in and said to him,
‘I have heard bad things about you.
Give me a report of what you have done with my money.
You can’t be my manager anymore.’
3 “So, the manager thought to himself,
‘What will I do?
My master is taking my job away from me.
I am not strong enough to dig ditches.
I am too proud to beg.
4 I know what I will do!
I will do something to make friends, so that when I lose my job, they will welcome me into their homes.’
5 “So the manager called in each person who owed the master some money.
He asked the first one,
‘How much do you owe my master?’
6 He answered,
‘I owe him 100 jars of olive oil.’
The manager said to him,
‘Here is your bill.
Hurry!
Sit down and make the bill less. Write 50 jars.’
7 “Then the manager asked another one,
‘How much do you owe my master?’
He answered,
‘I owe him 100 measures of wheat.’
Then the manager said to him,
‘Here is your bill; you can make it less.
Write 80 measures.’
8 “Later, the master told the dishonest manager that he had done a smart thing.
Yes, worldly people are smarter in their business with each other than spiritual people are.
9 “I tell you, use the worldly things you have now to make ‘friends’ for later.
Then, when those things are gone, you will be welcomed into a home that lasts forever.
10 Whoever can be trusted with small things can also be trusted with big things.
Whoever is dishonest in little things will be dishonest in big things too.
11 If you cannot be trusted with worldly riches, you will not be trusted with the true riches.
12 And if you cannot be trusted with the things that belong to someone else, you will not be given anything of your own.
13 “You cannot serve two masters at the same time.
You will hate one master and love the other.
Or you will be loyal to one and not care about the other.
You cannot serve God and Money at the same time.”
Luke 16:1-13 (ERV)