Luke 12:1-7
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
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)
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 12:1 See notes on Mk 8:15 and Mt 16:5–12.
- 12:2–9 Luke presents a collection of sayings of Jesus exhorting his followers to acknowledge him and his mission fearlessly and assuring them of God’s protection even in times of persecution. They are paralleled in Mt 10:26–33.
- 12:5 Gehenna: see note on Mt 5:22.
- 12:6 Two small coins: the Roman copper coin, the assarion (Latin as), was worth about one-sixteenth of a denarius (see note on Lk 7:41).
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