Luke 12

¹In the mean time, when the many thousands of the multitude were gathered together, insomuch that they trod one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

²But there is nothing covered up, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.

³Wherefore whatsoever ye have said in the darkness shall be heard in the light; and what ye have spoken in the ear in the inner chambers shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.

⁴And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.

⁵But I will warn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, who after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

⁶Are not five sparrows sold for two pence? and not one of them is forgotten in the sight of God.

⁷But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not: ye are of more value than many sparrows.

⁸And I say unto you, Every one who shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God:

⁹but he that denieth me in the presence of men shall be denied in the presence of the angels of God.

¹⁰And every one who shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Spirit it shall not be forgiven.

¹¹And when they bring you before the synagogues, and the rulers, and the authorities, be not anxious how or what ye shall answer, or what ye shall say:

¹²for the Holy Spirit shall teach you in that very hour what ye ought to say.

¹³And one out of the multitude said unto him, Teacher, bid my brother divide the inheritance with me.

¹⁴But he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?

¹⁵And he said unto them, Take heed, and keep yourselves from all covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

¹⁶And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:

¹⁷and he reasoned within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have not where to bestow my fruits?

¹⁸And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my grain and my goods.

¹⁹And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, be merry.

²⁰But God said unto him, Thou foolish one, this night is thy soul required of thee; and the things which thou hast prepared, whose shall they be?

²¹So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

²²And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.

²³For the life is more than the food, and the body than the raiment.

²⁴Consider the ravens, that they sow not, neither reap; which have no store-chamber nor barn; and God feedeth them: of how much more value are ye than the birds!

²⁵And which of you by being anxious can add a cubit unto the measure of his life?

²⁶If then ye are not able to do even that which is least, why are ye anxious concerning the rest?

²⁷Consider the lilies, how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin; yet I say unto you, Even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

²⁸But if God doth so clothe the grass in the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven; how much more shall he clothe you, O ye of little faith?

²⁹And seek not ye what ye shall eat, and what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.

³⁰For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: but your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.

³¹Yet seek ye his kingdom, and these things shall be added unto you.

³²Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

³³Sell that which ye have, and give alms; make for yourselves purses which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief draweth near, neither moth destroyeth.

³⁴For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

³⁵Let your loins be girded about, and your lamps burning;

³⁶and be ye yourselves like unto men looking for their lord, when he shall return from the marriage feast; that, when he cometh and knocketh, they may straightway open unto him.

³⁷Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them sit down to meat, and shall come and serve them.

³⁸And if he shall come in the second watch, and if in the third, and find them so, blessed are those servants.

³⁹But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what hour the thief was coming, he would have watched, and not have left his house to be broken through.

⁴⁰Be ye also ready: for in an hour that ye think not the Son of man cometh.

⁴¹And Peter said, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even unto all?

⁴²And the Lord said, Who then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall set over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season?

⁴³Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

⁴⁴Of a truth I say unto you, that he will set him over all that he hath.

⁴⁵But if that servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and the maidservants, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;

⁴⁶the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he expecteth not, and in an hour when he knoweth not, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint his portion with the unfaithful.

⁴⁷And that servant, who knew his lord’s will, and made not ready, nor did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes;

⁴⁸but he that knew not, and did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. And to whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required: and to whom they commit much, of him will they ask the more.

⁴⁹I came to cast fire upon the earth; and what do I desire, if it is already kindled?

⁵⁰But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!

⁵¹Think ye that I am come to give peace in the earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:

⁵²for there shall be from henceforth five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.

⁵³They shall be divided, father against son, and son against father; mother against daughter, and daughter against her mother; mother in law against her daughter in law, and daughter in law against her mother in law.

⁵⁴And he said to the multitudes also, When ye see a cloud rising in the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it cometh to pass.

⁵⁵And when ye see a south wind blowing, ye say, There will be a scorching heat; and it cometh to pass.

⁵⁶Ye hypocrites, ye know how to interpret the face of the earth and the heaven; but how is it that ye know not how to interpret this time?

⁵⁷And why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?

⁵⁸For as thou art going with thine adversary before the magistrate, on the way give diligence to be quit of him; lest haply he drag thee unto the judge, and the judge shall deliver thee to the officer, and the officer shall cast thee into prison.

⁵⁹I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou have paid the very last mite.

Luke 12

¹In the meantime, a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling one another. Jesus began to speak first to His disciples: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

²There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, and nothing hidden that will not be made known.

³What you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the housetops.

⁴I tell you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.

⁵But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear the One who, after you have been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him!

⁶Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.

⁷And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

⁸I tell you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God.

⁹But whoever denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

¹⁰And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

¹¹When you are brought before synagogues, rulers, and authorities, do not worry about how to defend yourselves or what to say.

¹²For at that time the Holy Spirit will teach you what you should say.”

¹³Someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

¹⁴But Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed Me judge or executor between you?”

¹⁵And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

¹⁶Then He told them a parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced an abundance.

¹⁷So he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, since I have nowhere to store my crops?’

¹⁸Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and will build bigger ones, and there I will store up all my grain and my goods.

¹⁹Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’

²⁰But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’

²¹This is how it will be for anyone who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.”

²²Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear.

²³For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.

²⁴Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storehouse or barn; yet God feeds them. How much more valuable you are than the birds!

²⁵Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

²⁶So if you cannot do such a small thing, why do you worry about the rest?

²⁷Consider how the lilies grow: They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these.

²⁸If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith!

²⁹And do not be concerned about what you will eat or drink. Do not worry about it.

³⁰For the Gentiles of the world strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them.

³¹But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added unto you.

³²Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.

³³Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves with purses that will not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.

³⁴For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

³⁵Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning.

³⁶Then you will be like servants waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks, they can open the door for him at once.

³⁷Blessed are those servants whom the master finds on watch when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve and will have them recline at the table, and he himself will come and wait on them.

³⁸Even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night and finds them alert, those servants will be blessed.

³⁹But understand this: If the homeowner had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.

⁴⁰You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.”

⁴¹“Lord,” said Peter, “are You addressing this parable to us, or to everyone else as well?”

⁴²And the Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their portion at the proper time?

⁴³Blessed is that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.

⁴⁴Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.

⁴⁵But suppose that servant says in his heart, ‘My master will be a long time in coming,’ and he begins to beat the menservants and maidservants, and to eat and drink and get drunk.

⁴⁶The master of that servant will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not anticipate. Then he will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.

⁴⁷That servant who knows his master’s will but does not get ready or follow his instructions will be beaten with many blows.

⁴⁸But the one who unknowingly does things worthy of punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and from him who has been entrusted with much, even more will be demanded.

⁴⁹I have come to ignite a fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!

⁵⁰But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!

⁵¹Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but division.

⁵²From now on, five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three.

⁵³They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

⁵⁴Then Jesus said to the crowds, “As soon as you see a cloud rising in the west, you say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and that is what happens.

⁵⁵And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It will be hot,’ and it is.

⁵⁶You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky. Why don’t you know how to interpret the present time?

⁵⁷And why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right?

⁵⁸Make every effort to reconcile with your adversary while you are on your way to the magistrate. Otherwise, he may drag you off to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and the officer may throw you into prison.

⁵⁹I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the very last penny.”