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12 And when great multitudes stood about him, so that they trod one upon another, he began to say to his disciples: Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed: nor hidden, that shall not be known.

For whatsoever things you have spoken in darkness, shall be published in the light: and that which you have spoken in the ear in the chambers, shall be preached on the housetops.

And I say to you, my friends: Be not afraid of them who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.

But I will shew you whom you shall fear: fear ye him, who after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell. Yea, I say to you, fear him.

Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?

Yea, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: you are of more value than many sparrows.

And I say to you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God.

But he that shall deny me before men, shall be denied before the angels of God.

10 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but to him that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven.

11 And when they shall bring you into the synagogues, and to magistrates and powers, be not solicitous how or what you shall answer, or what you shall say;

12 For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what you must say.

13 And one of the multitude said to him: Master, speak to my brother that he divide the inheritance with me.

14 But he said to him: Man, who hath appointed me judge, or divider, over you?

15 And he said to them: Take heed and beware of all covetousness; for a man's life doth not consist in the abundance of things which he possesseth.

16 And he spoke a similitude to them, saying: The land of a certain rich man brought forth plenty of fruits.

17 And he thought within himself, saying: What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

18 And he said: This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and will build greater; and into them will I gather all things that are grown to me, and my goods.

19 And I will say to my soul: Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years take thy rest; eat, drink, make good cheer.

20 But God said to him: Thou fool, this night do they require thy soul of thee: and whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?

21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich towards God.

22 And he said to his disciples: Therefore I say to you, be not solicitous for your life, what you shall eat; nor for your body, what you shall put on.

23 The life is more than the meat, and the body is more than the raiment.

24 Consider the ravens, for they sow not, neither do they reap, neither have they storehouse nor barn, and God feedeth them. How much are you more valuable than they?

25 And which of you, by taking thought, can add to his stature one cubit?

26 If then ye be not able to do so much as the least thing, why are you solicitous for the rest?

27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they labour not, neither do they spin. But I say to you, not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these.

28 Now if God clothe in this manner the grass that is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more you, O ye of little faith?

29 And seek not you what you shall eat, or what you shall drink: and be not lifted up on high.

30 For all these things do the nations of the world seek. But your Father knoweth that you have need of these things.

31 But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you.

32 Fear not, little flock, for it hath pleased your Father to give you a kingdom.

33 Sell what you possess and give alms. Make to yourselves bags which grow not old, a treasure in heaven which faileth not: where no thief approacheth, nor moth corrupteth.

34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

35 Let your loins be girt, and lamps burning in your hands.

36 And you yourselves like to men who wait for their lord, when he shall return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open to him immediately.

37 Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when he cometh, shall find watching. Amen I say to you, that he will gird himself, and make them sit down to meat, and passing will minister unto them.

38 And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.

39 But this know ye, that if the householder did know at what hour the thief would come, he would surely watch, and would not suffer his house to be broken open.

40 Be you then also ready: for at what hour you think not, the Son of man will come.

41 And Peter said to him: Lord, dost thou speak this parable to us, or likewise to all?

42 And the Lord said: Who (thinkest thou) is the faithful and wise steward, whom his lord setteth over his family, to give them their measure of wheat in due season?

43 Blessed is that servant, whom when his lord shall come, he shall find so doing.

44 Verily I say to you, he will set him over all that he possesseth.

45 But if that servant shall say in his heart: My lord is long a coming; and shall begin to strike the menservants and maidservants, and to eat and to drink and be drunk:

46 The lord of that servant will come in the day that he hopeth not, and at the hour that he knoweth not, and shall separate him, and shall appoint him his portion with unbelievers.

47 And that servant who knew the will of his lord, and prepared not himself, and did not according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.

48 But he that knew not, and did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. And unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required: and to whom they have committed much, of him they will demand the more.

49 I am come to cast fire on the earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled?

50 And I have a baptism wherewith I am to be baptized: and how am I straitened until it be accomplished?

51 Think ye, that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, no; but separation.

52 For there shall be from henceforth five in one house divided: three against two, and two against three.

53 The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against his father, the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother, the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

54 And he said also to the multitudes: When you see a cloud rising from the west, presently you say: A shower is coming: and so it happeneth:

55 And when ye see the south wind blow, you say: There will be heat: and it cometh to pass.

56 You hypocrites, you know how to discern the face of the heaven and of the earth: but how is it that you do not discern this time?

57 And why even of yourselves, do you not judge that which is just?

58 And when thou goest with thy adversary to the prince, whilst thou art in the way, endeavour to be delivered from him: lest perhaps he draw thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the exacter, and the exacter cast thee into prison.

59 I say to thee, thou shalt not go out thence, until thou pay the very last mite.

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) There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.(C) 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.

“I tell you, my friends,(D) do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 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) Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.(F) Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.(G)

“I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God.(H) 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

  1. Luke 12:1 Or speak to his disciples, saying: “First of all, be
  2. Luke 12:25 Or single cubit to your height