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 those [times], the myriads of the crowd being gathered together, so that they trod one on another, he began to say to his disciples first, Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy;

²but there is nothing covered up which shall not be revealed, nor secret that shall not be known;

³therefore whatever ye have said in the darkness shall be heard in the light, and what ye have spoken in the ear in chambers shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.

⁴But I say to you, my friends, Fear not those who kill the body and after this have no more that they can do.

⁵But I will shew you whom ye shall fear: Fear him who after he has killed has authority to cast into hell; yea, I say to you, Fear him.

⁶Are not five sparrows sold for two assaria? and one of them is not forgotten beforeGod.

⁷But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore, ye are better than many sparrows.

⁸But I say to you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, the Son of man will confess him also before the angels ofGod;

⁹but he that shall have denied me before men shall be denied before the angels ofGod;

¹⁰and whoever shall say a word against the Son of man it shall be forgiven him; but to him that speaks injuriously against the Holy Spirit it shall not be forgiven.

¹¹But when they bring you before the synagogues and rulers and the authorities, be not careful how or what ye shall answer, or what ye shall say;

¹²for the Holy Spirit shall teach you in the hour itself what should be said.

¹³And a person said to him out of the crowd, Teacher, speak to my brother to divide the inheritance with me.

¹⁴But he said to him, Man, who established me [as] a judge or a divider over you?

¹⁵And he said to them, Take heed and keep yourselves from all covetousness, for [it is] not because a man is in abundance [that] his life is in his possessions.

¹⁶And he spoke a parable to them, saying, The land of a certain rich man brought forth abundantly.

¹⁷And he reasoned within himself saying, What shall I do? for I have not [a place] where I shall lay up my fruits.

¹⁸And he said, This will I do: I will take away my granaries and build greater, and there I will lay up all my produce and my good things;

¹⁹and I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much good things laid by for many years; repose thyself, eat, drink, be merry.

²⁰ButGod said to him, Fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee; and whose shall be what thou hast prepared?

²¹Thus is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich towardGod.

²²And he said to his disciples, For this cause I say unto you, Be not careful for life, what ye shall eat, nor for the body, what ye shall put on.

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

²⁴Consider the ravens, that they sow not nor reap; which have neither storehouse nor granary; andGod feeds them. How much better are ye than the birds?

²⁵But which of you by being careful can add to his stature one cubit?

²⁶If therefore ye cannot [do] even what is least, why are ye careful about the rest?

²⁷Consider the lilies how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I say unto you, Not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed as one of these.

²⁸But ifGod thus clothe the grass, which to-day is in the field and to-morrow is cast into [the] oven, how much rather you, O ye of little faith?

²⁹And ye, seek not what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink, and be not in anxiety;

³⁰for all these things do the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that ye have need of these things;

³¹but seek his kingdom, and [all] these things shall be added to you.

³²Fear not, little flock, for it has been the good pleasure of your Father to give you the kingdom.

³³Sell what ye possess and give alms; make to yourselves purses which do not grow old, a treasure which does not fail in the heavens, where thief does not draw near nor moth destroy.

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

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

³⁶and ye like men who wait their own lord whenever he may leave the wedding, that when he comes and knocks, they may open to him immediately.

³⁷Blessed are those bondmen whom the lord [on] coming shall find watching; verily I say unto you, that he will gird himself and make them recline at table, and coming up will serve them.

³⁸And if he come in the second watch, and come in the third watch, and find [them] thus, blessed are those [bondmen].

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

⁴⁰And ye therefore, be ye ready, for in the hour in which ye do not think [it], the Son of man comes.

⁴¹And Peter said to him, Lord, sayest thou this parable to us, or also to all?

⁴²And the Lord said, Who then is the faithful and prudent steward, whom his lord will set over his household, to give the measure of corn in season?

⁴³Blessed is that bondman whom his lord [on] coming shall find doing thus;

⁴⁴verily I say unto you, that he will set him over all that he has.

⁴⁵But if that bondman should say in his heart, My lord delays to come, and begin to beat the menservants and the maidservants, and to eat and to drink and to be drunken,

⁴⁶the lord of that bondman shall come in a day when he does not expect it, and in an hour he knows not of, and shall cut him in two and appoint his portion with the unbelievers.

⁴⁷But that bondman who knew his own lord's will, and had not prepared [himself] nor done his will, shall be beaten with many [stripes];

⁴⁸but he who knew [it] not, and did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few. And to every one to whom much has been given, much shall be required from him; and to whom [men] have committed much, they will ask from him the more.

⁴⁹I have come to cast a fire on the earth; and what will I if already it has been kindled?

⁵⁰But I have a baptism to be baptised with, and how am I straitened until it shall have been accomplished!

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

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

⁵³father against son, and son against father; mother against daughter, and daughter against mother; a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

⁵⁴And he said also to the crowds, When ye see a cloud rising out of the west, straightway ye say, A shower is coming; and so it happens.

⁵⁵And when [ye see] the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it happens.

⁵⁶Hypocrites, ye know how to judge of the appearance of the earth and of the heaven; how [is it then that] ye do not discern this time?

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

⁵⁸For as thou goest with thine adverse party before a magistrate, strive in the way to be reconciled with him, lest he drag thee away to the judge, and the judge shall deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison.

⁵⁹I say unto thee, Thou shalt in no wise come out thence until thou hast paid the very last mite.