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26 So if[a] you cannot do such a very little thing as this, why do you worry about[b] the rest? 27 Consider how the flowers[c] grow; they do not work[d] or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! 28 And if[e] this is how God clothes the wild grass,[f] which is here[g] today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven,[h] how much more[i] will he clothe you, you people of little faith!

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 12:26 tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text.
  2. Luke 12:26 tn Or “why are you anxious for.”
  3. Luke 12:27 tn Traditionally, “lilies.” According to L&N 3.32, “Though traditionally κρίνον has been regarded as a type of lily, scholars have suggested several other possible types of flowers, including an anemone, a poppy, a gladiolus, and a rather inconspicuous type of daisy.” In view of the uncertainty, the more generic “flowers” has been used in the translation.
  4. Luke 12:27 tn Traditionally, “toil.” Although it might be argued that “work hard” would be a more precise translation of κοπιάω (kopiaō) here, the line in English scans better in terms of cadence with a single syllable.
  5. Luke 12:28 tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text.
  6. Luke 12:28 tn Grk “grass in the field.”
  7. Luke 12:28 tn Grk “which is in the field today.”
  8. Luke 12:28 tn Grk “into the oven.” The expanded translation “into the fire to heat the oven” has been used to avoid misunderstanding; most items put into modern ovens are put there to be baked, not burned.sn The oven was most likely a rounded clay oven used for baking bread, which was heated by burning wood and dried grass.
  9. Luke 12:28 sn The phrase how much more is a typical form of rabbinic argumentation, from the lesser to the greater. If God cares for the little things, surely he will care for the more important things.