Chapter 12

The Leaven of the Pharisees.^{[a] 1} Meanwhile, so many people were crowding together that they were trampling one another underfoot.^(A) He began to speak, first to his disciples, “Beware of the leaven—that is, the hypocrisy—of the Pharisees.

Courage Under Persecution.^{[b] 2 (B)}“There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known.^{(C) 3} Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops. ⁴ I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but after that can do no more. ⁵ I shall show you whom to fear. Be afraid of the one who after killing has the power to cast into Gehenna;^[c] yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one. ⁶ Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins?^[d] Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God. ⁷ Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.^{(D) 8} I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God. ⁹ But whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God.^(E)

Sayings About the Holy Spirit.^{[e] 10} “Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the holy Spirit will not be forgiven.^{(F) 11} When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities,^(G) do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say. ¹² For the holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.”

Saying Against Greed. ^13 [f]Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” ¹⁴ He replied to him, “Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”^{(H) 15} Then he said to the crowd, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.”^(I)

Parable of the Rich Fool. ¹⁶ Then he told them a parable. “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. ¹⁷ He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ ¹⁸ And he said, ‘This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods ^19 (J)and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’^{(K) 20} But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’ ²¹ Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.”^[g]

Dependence on God. ^22 (L)He said to [his] disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life and what you will eat, or about your body and what you will wear. ²³ For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. ²⁴ Notice the ravens: they do not sow or reap; they have neither storehouse nor barn, yet God feeds them. How much more important are you than birds!^{(M) 25} Can any of you by worrying add a moment to your life-span? ²⁶ If even the smallest things are beyond your control, why are you anxious about the rest? ²⁷ Notice how the flowers grow. They do not toil or spin. But I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of them.^{(N) 28} If God so clothes the grass in the field that grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? ²⁹ As for you, do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not worry anymore. ³⁰ All the nations of the world seek for these things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹ Instead, seek his kingdom, and these other things will be given you besides. ³² Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.^{(O) 33} Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.^{(P) 34} For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

Vigilant and Faithful Servants.^{[h] 35 (Q)}“Gird your loins and light your lamps ³⁶ and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.^{(R) 37} Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. ³⁸ And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants. ^39 (S)Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁰ You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

⁴¹ Then Peter said, “Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?” ⁴² And the Lord replied, “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute [the] food allowance at the proper time? ⁴³ Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so. ⁴⁴ Truly, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. ⁴⁵ But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’^[i] and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, ⁴⁶ then that servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful. ⁴⁷ That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely;^{(T) 48} and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.

Jesus: A Cause of Division.^{[j] 49} “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! ^50 [k]There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!^{(U) 51} Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?^(V) No, I tell you, but rather division.^{(W) 52} From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; ⁵³ a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”^(X)

Signs of the Times.^{(Y) 54} He also said to the crowds, “When you see [a] cloud rising in the west you say immediately that it is going to rain—and so it does; ⁵⁵ and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south you say that it is going to be hot—and so it is. ⁵⁶ You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

Settlement with an Opponent.^{(Z) 57} “Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? ⁵⁸ If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate, make an effort to settle the matter on the way; otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the constable, and the constable throw you into prison. ⁵⁹ I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”^[l]