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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 said to him, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or an arbitrator between you?” 15 Then He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness. For a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

16 And He told a parable to them, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have no room to store my crops?’

18 “Then he said, ‘This I will do: I will pull down my barns and build greater ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take rest. Eat, drink, and be merry.’

20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This night your soul will be required of you. Then whose will those things be which you have provided?’

21 “So is he who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

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The Parable of the Rich Landowner Who Was a Fool

13 Now someone from the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me!” 14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Watch out and guard yourselves from all greediness, because not even when someone has an abundance does[a] his life consist of his possessions.” 16 And he told a parable to them, saying, “The land of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 And he reasoned to himself, saying, ‘What should I do? For I do not have anywhere I can gather in my crops.’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and I will gather in there all my grain and possessions. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many possessions stored up for many years. Relax, eat, drink, celebrate!”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your life[b] is demanded from you, and the things which you have prepared—whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who stores up treasure for himself, and who is not rich toward God!”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 12:15 Literally “is”
  2. Luke 12:20 The same Greek word can be translated “soul” or “life” depending on the context