The Parable of the Rich Fool

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

¹⁴ Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?”

³¹ My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before^(A) you to hear your words, but they do not put them into practice. Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy^(B) for unjust gain.^(C)

¹⁵ Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”^(A)

¹⁶ And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. ¹⁷ He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

¹⁸ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. ¹⁹ And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

²⁰ “But God said to him, ‘You fool!^(B) This very night your life will be demanded from you.^(C) Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’^(D)

²¹ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”^(E)

¹⁰ For if, while we were God’s enemies,^(A) we were reconciled^(B) to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!^{(C) 11} Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.^(D)

¹⁸ All this is from God,^(A) who reconciled us to himself through Christ^(B) and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹ that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.^(C) And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

³ If anyone teaches otherwise^(A) and does not agree to the sound instruction^(B) of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, ⁴ they are conceited^(C) and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words^(D) that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions ⁵ and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth^(E) and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.

⁶ But godliness with contentment^(F) is great gain.^(G)