Luke 12
English Standard Version
Beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees
12 In the meantime, (A)when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, (B)“Beware of (C)the leaven of the Pharisees, (D)which is hypocrisy. 2 (E)Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 3 Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in (F)private rooms shall be proclaimed on (G)the housetops.
Have No Fear
4 “I tell you, my friends, (H)do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him (I)who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell.[a] Yes, I tell you, fear him! 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?[b] And (J)not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 Why, (K)even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; (L)you are of more value than many sparrows.
Acknowledge Christ Before Men
8 “And I tell you, (M)everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge (N)before the angels of God, 9 but (O)the one who denies me before men (P)will be denied (Q)before the angels of God. 10 And (R)everyone who speaks a word (S)against the Son of Man (T)will be forgiven, but the one who (U)blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 11 (V)And when they (W)bring you before the synagogues and (X)the rulers and (Y)the authorities, (Z)do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, 12 (AA)for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
The Parable of the Rich Fool
13 (AB)Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, (AC)“Man, (AD)who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, (AE)“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, (AF)“The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, (AG)‘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 (AH)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 (AI)for many years; relax, (AJ)eat, drink, be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, (AK)‘Fool! (AL)This night (AM)your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, (AN)whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one (AO)who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
Do Not Be Anxious
22 And he said to his disciples, (AP)“Therefore I tell you, (AQ)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 (AR)Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. (AS)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 (AT)span of life?[c] 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, yet I tell you, (AU)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, (AV)O you of little faith! 29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor (AW)be worried. 30 For (AX)all the nations of the world seek after these things, and (AY)your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, (AZ)seek (BA)his[d] kingdom, (BB)and these things will be added to you.
32 (BC)“Fear not, little (BD)flock, for (BE)it is your Father's good pleasure to give you (BF)the kingdom. 33 (BG)Sell your possessions, and (BH)give to the needy. (BI)Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with (BJ)a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 (BK)For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
You Must Be Ready
35 (BL)“Stay dressed for action[e] and (BM)keep your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are (BN)waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and (BO)knocks. 37 (BP)Blessed are those servants[f] whom the master finds (BQ)awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, (BR)he will dress himself for service and (BS)have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! 39 (BT)But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour (BU)the thief was coming, he[g] would not have left his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be (BV)ready, for (BW)the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
41 Peter said, “Lord, (BX)are you telling this parable for us or for all?” 42 And the Lord said, “Who then is (BY)the faithful and (BZ)wise (CA)manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? 43 (CB)Blessed is that servant[h] whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 44 Truly, I say to you, (CC)he will set him over all his possessions. 45 But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master (CD)is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and (CE)get drunk, 46 the master of that servant will come (CF)on a day when he does not expect him and (CG)at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. 47 (CH)And that servant who (CI)knew his master's will but (CJ)did not get ready (CK)or act according to his will, will receive a (CL)severe beating. 48 (CM)But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, (CN)will receive a light beating. (CO)Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.
Not Peace, but Division
49 (CP)“I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! 50 (CQ)I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how (CR)great is my distress until it is accomplished! 51 (CS)Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? (CT)No, I tell you, but rather division. 52 For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, (CU)father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Interpreting the Time
54 He also said to the crowds, (CV)“When you see (CW)a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. 55 And (CX)when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be (CY)scorching heat,’ and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! (CZ)You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
Settle with Your Accuser
57 “And why (DA)do you not judge (DB)for yourselves what is right? 58 (DC)As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. 59 I tell you, (DD)you will never get out until you have paid the very last (DE)penny.”[i]
Footnotes
- Luke 12:5 Greek Gehenna
- Luke 12:6 Greek two assaria; an assarion was a Roman copper coin worth about 1/16 of a denarius (which was a day's wage for a laborer)
- Luke 12:25 Or a single cubit to his stature; a cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
- Luke 12:31 Some manuscripts God's
- Luke 12:35 Greek Let your loins stay girded; compare Exodus 12:11
- Luke 12:37 Or bondservants
- Luke 12:39 Some manuscripts add would have stayed awake and
- Luke 12:43 Or bondservant; also verses 45, 46, 47
- Luke 12:59 Greek lepton, a Jewish bronze or copper coin worth about 1/128 of a denarius (which was a day's wage for a laborer)
Luke 12
1599 Geneva Bible
12 1 The leaven of the Pharisee. 5 Who is to be feared. 8 To confess Christ. 16 The parable of the rich man whose land was very fertile. 21 Not to care for earthly things. 31 But to seek the kindom of God. 39 The thief in the night. 51 Debate for the Gospel’s sake.
1 In (A)[a]the meantime, there gathered together [b]an innumerable multitude of people, so that they trod one another: and he began to say unto his disciples first, Take heed to yourselves of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
2 (B)For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed: neither hid, that shall not be known.
3 Wherefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness, it shall be heard in the light: and that which ye have spoken in the ear, in secret places, shall be preached on the houses.
4 (C)[c]And I say unto you, my friends, be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that are not able to do anymore.
5 But I will [d]forewarn you, whom ye shall fear: fear him which after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell: yea, I say unto you, him fear.
6 Are not five sparrows bought for two farthings, and yet not one of them is forgotten before God?
7 (D)Yea, and all the hairs of your head are numbered: fear not therefore: ye are more of value than many sparrows.
8 (E)[e]Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man confess also before the Angels of God.
9 But he that shall deny me before men, shall be denied before the Angels of God.
10 (F)And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that shall blaspheme the holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven.
11 (G)[f]And when they shall bring you unto the Synagogues, and unto the rulers and Princes, take no thought how, or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall speak.
12 For the holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour, what ye ought to say.
13 [g]And one of the company said unto him, Master, bid my brother divide the inheritance with me.
14 And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge, or a divider over you?
15 Wherefore he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of [h]covetousness: for though a man have abundance, yet his [i]life standeth not in his riches.
16 [j]And he put forth a parable unto them, saying, The [k]ground of a certain rich man brought forth fruits plenteously.
17 Therefore he [l]thought with himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where I may lay up my fruits?
18 And he said, This will I do, I will pull down my barns, and build greater, and therein will I gather all my fruits, and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years, live at ease, eat, drink, and [m]take thy pastime.
20 But God said unto him, O fool, this night will they fetch away thy soul from thee: then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?
21 So is he that gathereth riches [n]to himself, and is not rich in God.
22 [o]And he spake unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, (H)Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat: neither for your body, what ye shall put on.
23 The life is more than meat: and the body more than the raiment.
24 Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap: which neither have storehouse nor barn, and yet God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than fowls?
25 And which of you with taking thought, can add to his stature one cubit?
26 If ye then be not able to do the least thing, why take ye thought for the remnant?
27 Consider the lilies how they grow: they labor not, neither spin they: yet I say unto you, that Solomon himself in all his royalty was not clothed like one of these.
28 If then God so clothe the grass which is today in the field, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?
29 Therefore ask not what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither [p]hang you in suspense.
30 For all such things the people of the world seek for: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.
31 [q]But rather seek ye after the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be cast upon you.
32 [r]Fear not, little flock: for it is your Father’s pleasure to give you the kingdom.
33 ¶ (I)[s]Sell that ye have, and give [t]alms: make you bags which wax not old: a treasure that can never fail in heaven, where no thief cometh neither moth corrupteth.
34 For where your treasure is, there will your hearts be also.
35 ¶ (J)[u]Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning,
36 And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.
37 Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when he cometh shall find waking: verily I say unto you, he will gird himself about, and make them to sit down at table, and will come forth, and serve them.
38 And if he come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and shall find them so, blessed are those servants.
39 (K)Now understand this, that if the good man of the house had known at what hour the thief would have come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be dug through.
40 [v]Be ye also prepared therefore: for the Son of man will come at an hour when ye think not.
41 Then Peter said unto him, Master, tellest thou this parable unto us, or even to all?
42 And the Lord said, Who is a faithful steward and wise, whom the master shall make ruler over his household, to give them their [w]portion of meat in season?
43 Blessed is that servant, whom his master when he cometh, shall find so doing.
44 Of a truth, I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath.
45 But if that servant say in his heart, My master doth defer his coming, and shall begin to smite the servants, and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken,
46 The master of that servant will come in a day when he thinketh not, and at an hour when he is not aware of, and will cut him off, and give him his portion with the unbelievers.
47 ¶ And that servant that knew his master’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
48 But he that knew it not, and yet did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes: for unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required, and to whom men much commit, [x]the more of him will they ask.
49 ¶ [y]I am come to put fire on the earth, and what is my desire, if it be already kindled?
50 Notwithstanding I must be baptized with a baptism, and how am I grieved till it be ended?
51 (L)Think ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, nay, but rather debate.
52 For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.
53 The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father: the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother: the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
54 ¶ (M)[z]Then said he to the people, When ye see a cloud [aa]rise out of the West, straightway ye say, A shower cometh: and so it is.
55 And when ye see the South wind blow, ye say, that it will be hot: and it cometh to pass.
56 Hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the earth, and of the sky: but why discern ye not this time?
57 [ab]Yea, and why judge ye not of yourselves what is right?
58 ¶ (N)While thou goest with thine adversary to the ruler, as thou art in the way, give diligence in the way, that thou mayest be delivered from him, lest he draw thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the [ac]jailer, and the jailer cast thee into prison.
59 I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the utmost mite.
Footnotes
- Luke 12:1 The faithful teachers of God’s word, which are appointed by him for his people, must both take good heed of them, which corrupt the purity of doctrine with goodly glosses, and also take pains through the help of God, to set forth sincere doctrine, openly and without fear.
- Luke 12:1 Word for word, ten thousands of people, a certain number for an uncertain.
- Luke 12:4 Although hypocrites have princes to execute their cruelty, yet there is no cause why we could be afraid of them, the least iota that may be, seeing they can do nothing, but what pleaseth God, and God wills not anything that may be against the salvation of his elect.
- Luke 12:5 He warneth them of dangers that presently hang over their heads, for those that come upon the sudden, do make the greater wound.
- Luke 12:8 Great is the reward of a constant confession: and horrible is the punishment of the denying of Christ, yea impossible to be called back again shall the punishment be, if upon set purpose, both with mouth and heart we blaspheme a known truth.
- Luke 12:11 It is a great and hard conflict to confess the truth, yet he that can do all things, and is almighty, will not be wanting to the weakest which strive and contend in his appointed time.
- Luke 12:13 Christ would not for three causes be a judge to divide an inheritance. First, for that he would not foster up and cherish the fleshly opinion that the Jews had of Messiah: Secondly for that he would distinguish the civil governance, from the Ecclesiastical: Thirdly, to teach us to beware of them which abuse the show of the gospel, and also the name of ministers, to their own private commodities.
- Luke 12:15 By covetousness is meant, that greedy desire to get, commonly with other men’s hurt.
- Luke 12:15 God is the author and preserver of man’s life; goods are not.
- Luke 12:16 There are none more mad, than rich men which hang upon their riches.
- Luke 12:16 Or rather country, for here is set forth a man that possesseth not a piece of ground only, but an whole country, as they do, which join house to house, and field to field, Isa. 5:8.
- Luke 12:17 Made his reckoning within himself, which is the property of covetous churls that spend their life in those trifles.
- Luke 12:19 Be merry and make good cheer.
- Luke 12:21 Caring for no man but for himself, and minding to trust in himself.
- Luke 12:22 An earnest thinking upon the providence of God, is a present remedy against the most foolish and pining carefulness of men for this life.
- Luke 12:29 A Metaphor taken of things that hang in the air, for they that are careful for this worldly life, and hang upon the arm of man, have always wavering and doubtful minds, swaying sometimes this way, and sometimes that way.
- Luke 12:31 They shall lack nothing, which are careful for the kingdom of heaven.
- Luke 12:32 It is a foolish thing not to look for small things, at his hands, which giveth us freely the greatest things.
- Luke 12:33 A godly bountifulness is a ready way to get true riches.
- Luke 12:33 This is the figure Metonymy, for by this word, Alms, is meant that compassion and friendliness of an heart that tendereth the misery and poor estate of man, and showeth forth itself by some gift, and hath the name given it in the Greek tongue, of mercy and compassion: and therefore he is said to give alms, who parteth with some thing to another, and giveth to the poor, showing thereby, that he pitieth their poor estate.
- Luke 12:35 The life of the faithful servants of God, in this world is a certain watchful peregrination, having the light of the word going before it.
- Luke 12:40 None have more need to watch, than they that have some degree of honor in the household of God.
- Luke 12:42 That is, every month such measure of corn as was appointed them.
- Luke 12:48 More than of him to whom so much was not given.
- Luke 12:49 The Gospel is the only cause of peace between the goodly, and so is it the occasion of great trouble among the wicked.
- Luke 12:54 Men which are very quick of sight in earthly things, are blind in those things which pertain to the heavenly life, and that through their own malice.
- Luke 12:54 Which appeareth, and gathereth itself together in that part of the air.
- Luke 12:57 Men that are blinded with the love of themselves, and therefore are detestable and stubborn, shall bear the reward of their folly.
- Luke 12:58 To him that had to demand and gather the amerciaments which they were condemned unto that had wrongfully troubled men: moreover, the magistrate’s officers make them which are condemned, pay that, that they owe, yea, and oftentimes if they be obstinate, they do not only take the cost and charge of them, but also imprison them.
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