Greed Denounced

¹³ Now someone ^[a]in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” ¹⁴ But He said to him, “^[b](A)You there—who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over the two of you?” ¹⁵ But He said to them, “^(B)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 ^[c]myself, “^(C)You have many goods stored up for many years to come; relax, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!”’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘^(D)You fool! This very night ^[d](E)your soul is demanded of you; and ^(F)as for all that you have prepared, who will own it now?’ ²¹ Such is the one who ^(G)stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich in relation to God.”

²² And He said to His disciples, “^(H)For this reason I tell you, ^[e]do not worry about your ^[f]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 ^(I)ravens, that they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor ^(J)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 ^[g](K)day to his ^[h]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 ^[i]spin; but I tell you, not even ^(L)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? ^(M)You of little faith! ²⁹ And do not ^[j]seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not ^(N)keep worrying. ³⁰ For ^[k]all these things are what the nations of the world ^[l]eagerly seek; and your Father knows that you need these things. ³¹ But ^[m]seek His kingdom, and ^(O)these things will be ^[n]provided to you. ^32 [o](P)Do not be afraid, ^(Q)little flock, because ^(R)your Father has chosen to give you the kingdom.

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

Be in Readiness

³⁵ “^[p](V)Be prepared, and keep your ^(W)lamps lit. ³⁶ You are also to be like people who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door for him when he comes and knocks. ³⁷ Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find ^(X)on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that ^(Y)he will ^[q]prepare himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and he will come up and serve them. ^38 (Z)Whether he comes in the ^[r]second watch, or even in the ^[s]third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

³⁹ “^(AA)But ^[t]be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be ^(AB)broken into. ^40 (AC)You too, be ready; because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not think He will.”

⁴¹ Peter said, “Lord, are You telling this parable to us, or ^(AD)to everyone else as well?” ⁴² And ^(AE)the Lord said, “^(AF)Who then is the faithful and sensible ^(AG)steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? ⁴³ Blessed is that ^(AH)slave whom his ^[u]master finds so doing when he comes. ⁴⁴ Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁵ But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master will take a long time to come,’ and he begins to beat the other slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; ⁴⁶ then the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect, and at an hour that he does not know, and will ^[v]cut him in two, and assign ^[w]him a place with the unbelievers. ⁴⁷ And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accordance with his will, will ^(AI)receive many blows, ⁴⁸ but the one who did not ^(AJ)know it, and committed acts deserving of ^[x]a beating, will receive only a few blows. ^(AK)From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.