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Luke 12
Living Bible
Luke 12
Living Bible
12 Meanwhile the crowds grew until thousands upon thousands were milling about and crushing each other. He turned now to his disciples and warned them, “More than anything else, beware of these Pharisees and the way they pretend to be good when they aren’t. But such hypocrisy cannot be hidden forever. 2 It will become as evident as yeast in dough. 3 Whatever they[a] have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms shall be broadcast from the housetops for all to hear!
4 “Dear friends, don’t be afraid of these who want to murder you. They can only kill the body; they have no power over your souls. 5 But I’ll tell you whom to fear—fear God who has the power to kill and then cast into hell.
6 “What is the price of five sparrows? A couple of pennies? Not much more than that. Yet God does not forget a single one of them. 7 And he knows the number of hairs on your head! Never fear, you are far more valuable to him than a whole flock of sparrows.
8 “And I assure you of this: I, the Messiah,[b] will publicly honor you in the presence of God’s angels if you publicly acknowledge me here on earth as your Friend. 9 But I will deny before the angels those who deny me here among men. 10 (Yet those who speak against me[c] may be forgiven—while those who speak against the Holy Spirit shall never be forgiven.)
11 “And when you are brought to trial before these Jewish rulers and authorities in the synagogues, don’t be concerned about what to say in your defense, 12 for the Holy Spirit will give you the right words even as you are standing there.”
13 Then someone called from the crowd, “Sir, please tell my brother to divide my father’s estate with me.”
14 But Jesus replied, “Man, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that? 15 Beware! Don’t always be wishing for what you don’t have. For real life and real living are not related to how rich we are.”
16 Then he gave an illustration: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. 17 In fact, his barns were full to overflowing—he couldn’t get everything in. He thought about his problem, 18 and finally exclaimed, ‘I know—I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones! Then I’ll have room enough. 19 And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “Friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Wine, women, and song for you!”’[d]
20 “But God said to him, ‘Fool! Tonight you die. Then who will get it all?’
21 “Yes, every man is a fool who gets rich on earth but not in heaven.”
22 Then turning to his disciples he said, “Don’t worry about whether you have enough food to eat or clothes to wear. 23 For life consists of far more than food and clothes. 24 Look at the ravens—they don’t plant or harvest or have barns to store away their food, and yet they get along all right—for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds!
25 “And besides, what’s the use of worrying? What good does it do? Will it add a single day to your life? Of course not! 26 And if worry can’t even do such little things as that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?
27 “Look at the lilies! They don’t toil and spin, and yet Solomon in all his glory was not robed as well as they are. 28 And if God provides clothing for the flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, don’t you suppose that he will provide clothing for you, you doubters? 29 And don’t worry about food—what to eat and drink; don’t worry at all that God will provide it for you. 30 All mankind scratches for its daily bread, but your heavenly Father knows your needs. 31 He will always give you all you need from day to day if you will make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.
32 “So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom. 33 Sell what you have and give to those in need. This will fatten your purses in heaven! And the purses of heaven have no rips or holes in them. Your treasures there will never disappear; no thief can steal them; no moth can destroy them. 34 Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be.
35 “Be prepared—all dressed and ready— 36 for your Lord’s return from the wedding feast. Then you will be ready to open the door and let him in the moment he arrives and knocks. 37 There will be great joy for those who are ready and waiting for his return. He himself will seat them and put on a waiter’s uniform and serve them as they sit and eat! 38 He may come at nine o’clock at night—or even at midnight. But whenever he comes, there will be joy for his servants who are ready!
39 “Everyone would be ready for him if they knew the exact hour of his return—just as they would be ready for a thief if they knew when he was coming. 40 So be ready all the time. For I, the Messiah,[e] will come when least expected.”
41 Peter asked, “Lord, are you talking just to us or to everyone?”
42-44 And the Lord replied, “I’m talking to any faithful, sensible man whose master gives him the responsibility of feeding the other servants. If his master returns and finds that he has done a good job, there will be a reward—his master will put him in charge of all he owns.
45 “But if the man begins to think, ‘My Lord won’t be back for a long time,’ and begins to whip the men and women he is supposed to protect, and to spend his time at drinking parties and in drunkenness— 46 well, his master will return without notice and remove him from his position of trust and assign him to the place of the unfaithful. 47 He will be severely punished, for though he knew his duty he refused to do it.
48 “But anyone who is not aware that he is doing wrong will be punished only lightly. Much is required from those to whom much is given, for their responsibility is greater.
49 “I have come to bring fire to the earth, and, oh, that my task were completed! 50 There is a terrible baptism ahead of me, and how I am pent up until it is accomplished!
51
54 Then he turned to the crowd and said, “When you see clouds beginning to form in the west, you say, ‘Here comes a shower.’ And you are right.
55 “When the south wind blows you say, ‘Today will be a scorcher.’ And it is. 56 Hypocrites! You interpret the sky well enough, but you refuse to notice the warnings all around you about the crisis ahead. 57 Why do you refuse to see for yourselves what is right?
58 “If you meet your accuser on the way to court, try to settle the matter before it reaches the judge, lest he sentence you to jail; 59 for if that happens, you won’t be free again until the last penny is paid in full.”
Footnotes
- Luke 12:3 they, literally, “you.”
- Luke 12:8 the Messiah, literally, “the Son of Man.”
- Luke 12:10 me, literally, “the Son of Man.”
- Luke 12:19 Wine, women, and song for you, literally, “Eat, drink, and be merry.”
- Luke 12:40 the Messiah, literally, “the Son of Man.”
- Luke 12:53 the decision of an honored mother-in-law, implied by ancient custom.
Luke 12
New International Version
Luke 12
New International Version
Warnings and Encouragements(A)
12 Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be[a] on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.(B) 2 There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.(C) 3 What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.
4 “I tell you, my friends,(D) do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.(E) 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.(F) Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.(G)
8 “I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God.(H) 9 But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned(I) before the angels of God. 10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man(J) will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.(K)
11 “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say,(L) 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”(M)
The Parable of the Rich Fool
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”(N)
16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool!(O) This very night your life will be demanded from you.(P) Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’(Q)
21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”(R)
Do Not Worry(S)
22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them.(T) And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life[b]? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
27 “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor(U) was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith!(V) 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father(W) knows that you need them.(X) 31 But seek his kingdom,(Y) and these things will be given to you as well.(Z)
32 “Do not be afraid,(AA) little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.(AB) 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor.(AC) Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven(AD) that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.(AE) 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.(AF)
Watchfulness(AG)(AH)
35 “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes.(AI) Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them.(AJ) 38 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. 39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief(AK) was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready,(AL) because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
41 Peter asked, “Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?”
42 The Lord(AM) answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? 43 It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. 44 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 45 But suppose the servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time in coming,’ and he then begins to beat the other servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk. 46 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of.(AN) He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.
47 “The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows.(AO) 48 But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows.(AP) From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
Not Peace but Division(AQ)
49 “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism(AR) to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed!(AS) 51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”(AT)
Interpreting the Times
54 He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does.(AU) 55 And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?(AV)
57 “Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right? 58 As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled on the way, or your adversary may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison.(AW) 59 I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”(AX)
Footnotes
- Luke 12:1 Or speak to his disciples, saying: “First of all, be
- Luke 12:25 Or single cubit to your height
路加福音 12
Chinese New Version (Traditional)
路加福音 12
Chinese New Version (Traditional)
提防法利賽人的酵(A)
12 那時有成千上萬的人聚在一起，甚至彼此踐踏。耶穌就先對門徒說：“你們要提防法利賽人的酵，就是虛偽。 2 沒有甚麼掩蓋的事不被揭露，也沒有甚麼隱藏的事不被人知道。 3 所以，你們在暗處所說的，必在明處被人聽見；在內室附耳所談的，必在房頂上宣揚出來。
應該怕誰(B)
4 “我的朋友，我告訴你們，那殺身體以後不能再作甚麼的，不要怕他們。 5 我要指示你們當怕的是誰：當怕那殺身體以後，有權把人投入地獄裡的；我告訴你們，應當怕他。 6 五隻麻雀，不是賣兩個大錢嗎？但在 神面前，一隻也不被忘記。 7 甚至你們的頭髮都一一數過了。不要怕，你們比許多麻雀貴重得多呢。
要在人面前承認主(C)
8 “我告訴你們，凡在人面前承認我的，人子在 神的使者面前也承認他； 9 在人面前不認我的，我在 神的使者面前也不認他。 10 凡說話得罪人子的，還可以赦免；但褻瀆聖靈的，必不得赦免。 11 人把你們拉到會堂、官長和當權者的面前，你們不要思慮怎樣申辯或說甚麼話。 12 到了時候，聖靈必把當說的話教導你們。”
無知富翁的比喻
13 群眾中有一個人對耶穌說：“老師，請吩咐我的兄弟和我分家業。” 14 耶穌說：“你這個人，誰立我作你們的審判官和分家業的人呢？” 15 於是他對眾人說：“你們要謹慎，遠離一切貪心，因為人的生命並不在於家道豐富。” 16 就對他們講了一個比喻，說：“有一個富翁的田地豐收。 17 他自己心裡說：‘怎麼辦呢？因為我沒有足夠的地方收藏出產了！’ 18 又說：‘我要這樣辦：我要拆掉這些倉房，建造更大的，好在那裡收藏我的一切糧食和貨物。 19 然後，我要對我的靈魂說：靈魂啊，你擁有許多好東西，足夠多年享用，只管安安逸逸地吃喝快樂吧！’ 20 神卻對他說：‘無知的人哪，今天晚上，你的靈魂必被取去，你所預備的要歸給誰呢？’ 21 凡為自己積財，在 神面前卻不富足的，也是這樣。”
不要憂慮，積財於天(D)
22 耶穌又對門徒說：“所以我告訴你們，不要為生命憂慮吃甚麼，也不要為身體憂慮穿甚麼。 23 因為生命比飲食重要，身體比衣服重要。 24 你們想想烏鴉：牠們不種也不收，無倉又無庫， 神尚且養活牠們；你們比飛鳥貴重得多了。 25 你們中間誰能用憂慮使自己的壽命延長一刻呢？ 26 既然連這極小的事都不能作，為甚麼還憂慮其他的事呢？ 27 你們想想百合花，怎樣不勞苦，也不紡織。但我告訴你們，就是所羅門最榮華的時候所穿的，也比不上這花中的一朵呢。 28 小信的人哪，田野的草，今天還在，明天就投進爐裡， 神尚且這樣給它裝飾，何況你們呢？ 29 你們不要求吃甚麼，喝甚麼，也不要憂慮， 30 因為這一切都是世上不信的人所尋求的。你們的父原知道你們需要這一切。 31 你們只管求他的國，這些東西都必加給你們。 32 你們這小群，不要怕，因為你們的父樂意把國賜給你們。 33 當變賣你們所有的施捨給人，為自己製造不朽壞的錢囊，積蓄用不盡的財寶在天上，就是賊不能近、蟲不能蛀的地方。 34 因為你們的財寶在哪裡，你們的心也在哪裡。
忠心的僕人有福了(E)
35 “你們的腰當束起來，燈也該點著， 36 像等候自己的主人從婚筵回來一樣，好叫你們在主人回來敲門時，立刻給他開門。 37 主人來到了，看見僕人警醒，這些僕人就有福了。我實在告訴你們，主人必親自束腰，招待他們吃飯，進前來侍候他們。 38 主人也許半夜之前，或天亮之前回來，看見他們這樣，這些僕人就有福了。 39 你們都知道，家主若曉得竊賊甚麼時候來，就不會讓他摸進屋裡。 40 你們也要準備妥當，因為在想不到的時候，人子就來了。”
41 彼得說：“主啊，你說這比喻，是為我們還是為眾人呢？” 42 主說：“誰是那忠心精明的管家，被主人指派管理家裡的僕人，按時分糧呢？ 43 主人來到的時候，看見他這樣作，那僕人就有福了。 44 我實在告訴你們，主人要指派他管理主人的一切財產。 45 如果那僕人心裡說：‘我的主人不會那麼快回來’，就動手打其他的僕人使女，並且吃喝醉酒； 46 在他想不到的日子、不知道的時間，那僕人的主人要來，嚴厲地處罰他，使他和不信的人同在一起。 47 那僕人知道主人的意思，卻不預備，也不照他的意思行，必多受責打； 48 但那不知道的，雖然作了該受責打的事，也必少受責打。多給誰就向誰多取，多託誰就向誰多要。
將引起紛爭(F)
49 “我來要把火投在地上，如果燒了起來，那是我所願意的。 50 我有應當受的洗，我是多麼迫切地期待這事完成。 51 你們以為我來是要地上有和平嗎？不是的，我告訴你們，是要有紛爭。 52 從今以後，一家五口將起紛爭，三個反對兩個，兩個反對三個。 53 他們將起紛爭：
父親反對兒子，
兒子反對父親，
母親反對女兒，
女兒反對母親，
婆婆反對媳婦，
媳婦反對婆婆。”
當曉得分辨和判斷(G)
54 耶穌又對眾人說：“你們一看見西邊有雲彩升起來，就說：‘要下大雨’，果然這樣； 55 起了南風，就說：‘天要熱了’，也果然這樣。 56 偽君子啊！你們知道分辨天地的氣象，怎麼不知道分辨這個時代呢？
57 “你們為甚麼自己不能判斷甚麼是對的呢？ 58 你和你的對頭去見官長，還在路上的時候，應當盡力向他求和，免得他把你拉到法官面前，法官把你交給差役，差役把你關在監裡。 59 我告訴你，除非你還清最後的一個小錢，否則決不能從那裡出來。”
Living Bible (TLB)
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Chinese New Version (Traditional) (CNVT) 
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