God Knows and Cares

12 Under these circumstances, after ^[a]so many thousands of ^[b]people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “^(A)Beware of the ^[c]leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. ^2 (B)But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. ³ Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have ^[d]whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on ^(C)the housetops.

⁴ “Now I say to you, ^(D)My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. ⁵ But I will warn you whom to fear: ^(E)fear the One who, after He has killed someone, has the power to throw that person into ^[e](F)hell; yes, I tell you, fear ^[f]Him! ⁶ Are ^(G)five sparrows not sold for two ^[g]assaria? And yet not one of them has gone unnoticed in the sight of God. ^7 (H)But even the hairs of your head are all counted. ^[h]Do not fear; you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.

⁸ “Now I say to you, everyone who ^(I)confesses Me before people, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God; ⁹ but ^(J)the one who denies Me before people will be denied ^(K)before the angels of God. ^10 (L)And everyone who ^[i]speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him. ¹¹ Now when they bring you before ^(M)the synagogues and the officials and the authorities, do not ^(N)worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say; ¹² for ^(O)the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

Greed Denounced

¹³ Now someone ^[j]in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” ¹⁴ But He said to him, “^[k](P)You there—who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over the two of you?” ¹⁵ But He said to them, “^(Q)Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one is affluent does his life consist of his possessions.” ¹⁶ And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. ¹⁷ And he began thinking to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ And he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and I will store all my grain and my goods there. ¹⁹ And I will say to ^[l]myself, “^(R)You have many goods stored up for many years to come; relax, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!”’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘^(S)You fool! This very night ^[m](T)your soul is demanded of you; and ^(U)as for all that you have prepared, who will own it now?’ ²¹ Such is the one who ^(V)stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich in relation to God.”

²² And He said to His disciples, “^(W)For this reason I tell you, ^[n]do not worry about your ^[o]life, as to what you are to eat; nor for your body, as to what you are to wear. ²³ For life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. ²⁴ Consider the ^(X)ravens, that they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor ^(Y)barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! ²⁵ And which of you by worrying can add a ^[p](Z)day to his ^[q]life’s span? ²⁶ Therefore if you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about the other things? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither labor nor ^[r]spin; but I tell you, not even ^(AA)Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. ²⁸ Now if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? ^(AB)You of little faith! ²⁹ And do not ^[s]seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not ^(AC)keep worrying. ³⁰ For ^[t]all these things are what the nations of the world ^[u]eagerly seek; and your Father knows that you need these things. ³¹ But ^[v]seek His kingdom, and ^(AD)these things will be ^[w]provided to you. ^32 [x](AE)Do not be afraid, ^(AF)little flock, because ^(AG)your Father has chosen to give you the kingdom.

³³ “^(AH)Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts that do not wear out, ^(AI)an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor does a moth destroy. ³⁴ For ^(AJ)where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.