---
title: Luke 16:13
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/luke-16-13/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/luke-16-13.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: Luke 16:13
testament: NT
section: Gospels
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# Luke 16:13

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> No servant 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.”

## NWT Wording of the Key Phrase

- NWT (2013 revision): "No servant can be a slave to two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stick to the one and despise the other. You cannot be slaves to God and to Riches."

## JW Usage

Luke 16:13 is read in JW publications as a warning against materialism and divided loyalty — Witnesses are encouraged to put Kingdom interests first and avoid being enslaved to the pursuit of wealth. The "two masters" framing supports the organisation's expectations of pioneering, financial contributions, and limiting career ambitions in favour of Kingdom service. The deeper application — that the Witness cannot serve both Jehovah and the Watchtower organisation when the two diverge — is not entertained.

## Protestant Usage

Read Luke 16:13 with Deuteronomy 13:1-5 (the Deuteronomy 13 test for prophets) and Deuteronomy 18:20-22 (the Deuteronomy 18 test). Jesus's "you cannot be slaves to two masters" applies to the divided allegiance a Witness faces between obeying the Governing Body's instructions and obeying Scripture when the two conflict. The 2013 Watchtower (November study edition, p. 20) said: "the direction that you receive from Jehovah's organization may not appear practical from a human standpoint… All of us must be ready to obey any instructions we may receive, whether these appear sound from a strategic or human standpoint or not." Compare 1 Thessalonians 5:21 ("test all things") and Acts 17:11 (the Bereans testing the apostles' words against Scripture). The "two masters" verse cuts through the structure: if the organisation's instructions and Scripture's instructions diverge, you cannot serve both.

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [Dual Prophet Test](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/dual-prophet-test.md) — Deuteronomy 18 + Deuteronomy 13 [Authority]