Luke 12:13-31

English Standard Version

The Parable of the Rich Fool

^13 (A)Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” ¹⁴ But he said to him, ^(B)“Man, ^(C)who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵ And he said to them, ^(D)“Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” ¹⁶ And he told them a parable, saying, ^(E)“The land of a rich man produced plentifully, ¹⁷ and he thought to himself, ^(F)‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my ^(G)barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up ^(H)for many years; relax, ^(I)eat, drink, be merry.”’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ^(J)‘Fool! ^(K)This night ^(L)your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, ^(M)whose will they be?’ ²¹ So is the one ^(N)who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Do Not Be Anxious

²² And he said to his disciples, ^(O)“Therefore I tell you, ^(P)do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. ²³ For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ^24 (Q)Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. ^(R)Of how much more value are you than the birds! ²⁵ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his ^(S)span of life?^{[a] 26} If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,^[b] yet I tell you, ^(T)even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ²⁸ But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, ^(U)O you of little faith! ²⁹ And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor ^(V)be worried. ³⁰ For ^(W)all the nations of the world seek after these things, and ^(X)your Father knows that you need them. ³¹ Instead, ^(Y)seek ^(Z)his^[c] kingdom, ^(AA)and these things will be added to you.