Luke 12
12
1In those times, the myriads of the crowd being gathered together, so that they trod one on another, he began to say to his disciples first, Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy; 2but there is nothing covered up which shall not be revealed, nor secret that shall not be known; 3therefore whatever ye have said in the darkness shall be heard in the light, and what ye have spoken in the ear in chambers shall be proclaimed upon the housetops. 4But I say to you, my friends, Fear not those who kill the body and after this have no more that they can do. 5But I will shew you whom ye shall fear: Fear him who after he has killed has authority to cast into hell; yea, I say to you, Fear him. 6Are not five sparrows sold for two assaria? and one of them is not forgotten before God. 7But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore, ye are better than many sparrows. 8But I say to you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, the Son of man will confess him also before the angels of God; 9but he that shall have denied me before men shall be denied before the angels of God; 10and whoever shall say a word against the Son of man it shall be forgiven him; but to him that speaks injuriously against the Holy Spirit it shall not be forgiven. 11But when they bring you before the synagogues and rulers and the authorities, be not careful how or what ye shall answer, or what ye shall say; 12for the Holy Spirit shall teach you in the hour itself what should be said.
13And a person said to him out of the crowd, Teacher, speak to my brother to divide the inheritance with me. 14But he said to him, Man, who established me as a judge or a divider over you? 15And he said to them, Take heed and keep yourselves from all covetousness, for it is not because a man is in abundance that his life is in his possessions. 16And he spoke a parable to them, saying, The land of a certain rich man brought forth abundantly. 17And he reasoned within himself saying, What shall I do? for I have not a place where I shall lay up my fruits. 18And he said, This will I do: I will take away my granaries and build greater, and there I will lay up all my produce and my good things; 19and I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much good things laid by for many years; repose thyself, eat, drink, be merry. 20But God said to him, Fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee; and whose shall be what thou hast prepared? 21Thus is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
22And he said to his disciples, For this cause I say unto you, Be not careful for life, what ye shall eat, nor for the body, what ye shall put on. 23The life is more than food, and the body than raiment. 24Consider the ravens, that they sow not nor reap; which have neither storehouse nor granary; and God feeds them. How much better are ye than the birds? 25But which of you by being careful can add to his stature one cubit? 26If therefore ye cannot do even what is least, why are ye careful about the rest? 27Consider the lilies how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I say unto you, Not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed as one of these. 28But if God thus clothe the grass, which to-day is in the field and to-morrow is cast into the oven, how much rather you, O ye of little faith? 29And ye, seek not what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink, and be not in anxiety; 30for all these things do the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that ye have need of these things; 31but seek his kingdom, and all these things shall be added to you. 32Fear not, little flock, for it has been the good pleasure of your Father to give you the kingdom. 33Sell what ye possess and give alms; make to yourselves purses which do not grow old, a treasure which does not fail in the heavens, where thief does not draw near nor moth destroy. 34For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. 35Let your loins be girded about, and lamps burning; 36and ye like men who wait their own lord whenever he may leave the wedding, that when he comes and knocks, they may open to him immediately. 37Blessed are those bondmen whom the lord on coming shall find watching; verily I say unto you, that he will gird himself and make them recline at table, and coming up will serve them. 38And if he come in the second watch, and come in the third watch, and find them thus, blessed are those bondmen. 39But this know, that if the master of the house had known in what hour the thief was coming, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be dug through. 40And ye therefore, be ye ready, for in the hour in which ye do not think it, the Son of man comes.
41And Peter said to him, Lord, sayest thou this parable to us, or also to all? 42And the Lord said, Who then is the faithful and prudent steward, whom his lord will set over his household, to give the measure of corn in season? 43Blessed is that bondman whom his lord on coming shall find doing thus; 44verily I say unto you, that he will set him over all that he has. 45But if that bondman should say in his heart, My lord delays to come, and begin to beat the menservants and the maidservants, and to eat and to drink and to be drunken, 46the lord of that bondman shall come in a day when he does not expect it, and in an hour he knows not of, and shall cut him in two and appoint his portion with the unbelievers. 47But that bondman who knew his own lord's will, and had not prepared himself nor done his will, shall be beaten with many stripes; 48but he who knew it not, and did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few. And to every one to whom much has been given, much shall be required from him; and to whom menhave committed much, they will ask from him the more. 49I have come to cast a fire on the earth; and what will I if already it has been kindled? 50But I have a baptism to be baptised with, and how am I straitened until it shall have been accomplished! 51Think ye that I have come to give peace in the earth? Nay, I say to you, but rather division: 52for from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided; three shall be divided against two, and two against three: 53father against son, and son against father; mother against daughter, and daughter against mother; a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
54And he said also to the crowds, When ye see a cloud rising out of the west, straightway ye say, A shower is coming; and so it happens. 55And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it happens. 56Hypocrites, ye know how to judge of the appearance of the earth and of the heaven; how is it then that ye do not discern this time? 57And why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right? 58For as thou goest with thine adverse party before a magistrate, strive in the way to be reconciled with him, lest he drag thee away to the judge, and the judge shall deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison. 59I say unto thee, Thou shalt in no wise come out thence until thou hast paid the very last mite.
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Luke 12: DARBY
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First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Luke 12
12
Don’t Be Like the Pharisees
1So many thousands of people had gathered that they were stepping on each other. Jesus spoke first to his followers, saying, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, because they are hypocrites. 2Everything that is hidden will be shown, and everything that is secret will be made known. 3What you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in an inner room will be shouted from the housetops.
4“I tell you, my friends, don’t be afraid of people who can kill the body but after that can do nothing more to hurt you. 5I will show you the one to fear. Fear the one who has the power to kill you and also to throw you into hell. Yes, this is the one you should fear.
6“Five sparrows are sold for only two pennies, and God does not forget any of them. 7But God even knows how many hairs you have on your head. Don’t be afraid. You are worth much more than many sparrows.
Don’t Be Ashamed of Jesus
8“I tell you, all those who stand before others and say they believe in me, I, the Son of Man, will say before the angels of God that they belong to me. 9But all who stand before others and say they do not believe in me, I will say before the angels of God that they do not belong to me.
10“Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
11“When you are brought into the synagogues before the leaders and other powerful people, don’t worry about how to defend yourself or what to say. 12At that time the Holy Spirit will teach you what you must say.”
Jesus Warns Against Selfishness
13Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide with me the property our father left us.”
14But Jesus said to him, “Who said I should judge or decide between you?” 15Then Jesus said to them, “Be careful and guard against all kinds of greed. Life is not measured by how much one owns.”
16Then Jesus told this story: “There was a rich man who had some land, which grew a good crop. 17He thought to himself, ‘What will I do? I have no place to keep all my crops.’ 18Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and other goods. 19Then I can say to myself, “I have enough good things stored to last for many years. Rest, eat, drink, and enjoy life!” ’
20“But God said to him, ‘Foolish man! Tonight your life will be taken from you. So who will get those things you have prepared for yourself?’
21“This is how it will be for those who store up things for themselves and are not rich toward God.”
Don’t Worry
22Jesus said to his followers, “So I tell you, don’t worry about the food you need to live, or about the clothes you need for your body. 23Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes. 24Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest, they don’t have storerooms or barns, but God feeds them. And you are worth much more than birds. 25You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it. 26If you cannot do even the little things, then why worry about the big things? 27Consider how the lilies grow; they don’t work or make clothes for themselves. But I tell you that even Solomon with his riches was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers. 28God clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today but tomorrow is thrown into the fire. So how much more will God clothe you? Don’t have so little faith! 29Don’t always think about what you will eat or what you will drink, and don’t keep worrying. 30All the people in the world are trying to get these things, and your Father knows you need them. 31But seek God’s kingdom, and all your other needs will be met as well.
Don’t Trust in Money
32“Don’t fear, little flock, because your Father wants to give you the kingdom. 33Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Get for yourselves purses that will not wear out, the treasure in heaven that never runs out, where thieves can’t steal and moths can’t destroy. 34Your heart will be where your treasure is.
Always Be Ready
35“Be dressed, ready for service, and have your lamps shining. 36Be like servants who are waiting for their master to come home from a wedding party. When he comes and knocks, the servants immediately open the door for him. 37They will be blessed when their master comes home, because he sees that they were watching for him. I tell you the truth, the master will dress himself to serve and tell the servants to sit at the table, and he will serve them. 38Those servants will be blessed when he comes in and finds them still waiting, even if it is midnight or later.
39“Remember this: If the owner of the house knew what time a thief was coming, he would not allow the thief to enter his house. 40So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at a time when you don’t expect him!”
Who Is the Trusted Servant?
41Peter said, “Lord, did you tell this story to us or to all people?”
42The Lord said, “Who is the wise and trusted servant that the master trusts to give the other servants their food at the right time? 43When the master comes and finds the servant doing his work, the servant will be blessed. 44I tell you the truth, the master will choose that servant to take care of everything he owns. 45But suppose the servant thinks to himself, ‘My master will not come back soon,’ and he begins to beat the other servants, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk. 46The master will come when that servant is not ready and is not expecting him. Then the master will cut him in pieces and send him away to be with the others who don’t obey.
47“The servant who knows what his master wants but is not ready, or who does not do what the master wants, will be beaten with many blows! 48But the servant who does not know what his master wants and does things that should be punished will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded. And from the one trusted with much, much more will be expected.
Jesus Causes Division
49“I came to set fire to the world, and I wish it were already burning! 50I have a baptism to suffer through, and I feel very troubled until it is over. 51Do you think I came to give peace to the earth? No, I tell you, I came to divide it. 52From now on, a family with five people will be divided, three against two, and two against three. 53They 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.”
Understanding the Times
54Then Jesus said to the people, “When you see clouds coming up in the west, you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it happens. 55When you feel the wind begin to blow from the south, you say, ‘It will be a hot day,’ and it happens. 56Hypocrites! You know how to understand the appearance of the earth and sky. Why don’t you understand what is happening now?
Settle Your Problems
57“Why can’t you decide for yourselves what is right? 58If your enemy is taking you to court, try hard to settle it on the way. If you don’t, your enemy might take you to the judge, and the judge might turn you over to the officer, and the officer might throw you into jail. 59I tell you, you will not get out of there until you have paid everything you owe.”
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.