Luk 12 | ESV | STEP | In the meantime , when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another , he began to say to his disciples first , Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees , which is hypocrisy .

1 In the meantime, ^awhen so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, ^b“Beware of ^cthe leaven of the Pharisees, ^dwhich is hypocrisy. 2 ^eNothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 3 Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in ^fprivate rooms shall be proclaimed on ^gthe housetops.

Have No Fear

4 “I tell you, my friends, ^hdo not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him ⁱwho, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. ^{▼▼Greek Gehenna} Yes, I tell you, fear him! 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? ^{▼▼Greek two assaria; an assarion was a Roman copper coin worth about 1/16 of a denarius (which was a day’s wage for a laborer)} And ^lnot one of them is forgotten before God. 7 Why, ^meven the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; ⁿyou are of more value than many sparrows.

Acknowledge Christ Before Men

8 “And I tell you, ^oeveryone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge ^pbefore the angels of God, 9 but ^qthe one who denies me before men ^rwill be denied ^sbefore the angels of God. 10 And ^teveryone who speaks a word ^uagainst the Son of Man ^vwill be forgiven, but the one who ^wblasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 11 ^xAnd when they ^ybring you before the synagogues and ^zthe rulers and ^aathe authorities, ^abdo not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, 12 ^acfor the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

The Parable of the Rich Fool

13 ^adSomeone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, ^ae“Man, ^afwho made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, ^ag“Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, ^ah“The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ^ai‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my ^ajbarns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up ^akfor many years; relax, ^aleat, drink, be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ^am‘Fool! ^anThis night ^aoyour soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, ^apwhose will they be?’ 21 So is the one ^aqwho lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Do Not Be Anxious

22 And he said to his disciples, ^ar“Therefore I tell you, ^asdo not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 ^atConsider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. ^auOf how much more value are you than the birds! 25 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his ^avspan of life? ^{▼▼Or a single cubit to his stature; a cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters} 26 If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, ^{▼▼Some manuscripts Consider the lilies; they neither spin nor weave} yet I tell you, ^ayeven Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, ^azO you of little faith! 29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor ^babe worried. 30 For ^bball the nations of the world seek after these things, and ^bcyour Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, ^bdseek ^behis ^{▼▼Some manuscripts God’s} kingdom, ^bgand these things will be added to you.

32 ^bh“Fear not, little ^biflock, for ^bjit is your Father’s good pleasure to give you ^bkthe kingdom. 33 ^blSell your possessions, and ^bmgive to the needy. ^bnProvide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with ^boa treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 ^bpFor where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

You Must Be Ready

35 ^bq“Stay dressed for action ^{▼▼Greek Let your loins stay girded; compare Exodus 12:11} and ^bskeep your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are ^btwaiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and ^buknocks. 37 ^bvBlessed are those servants ^{▼▼Greek bondservants} whom the master finds ^bxawake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, ^byhe will dress himself for service and ^bzhave them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! 39 ^caBut know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour ^cbthe thief was coming, he ^{▼▼Some manuscripts add would have stayed awake and} would not have left his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be ^cdready, for ^cethe Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

41 Peter said, “Lord, ^cfare you telling this parable for us or for all?” 42 And the Lord said, “Who then is ^cgthe faithful and ^chwise ^cimanager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? 43 ^cjBlessed is that servant ^{▼▼Greek bondservant; also verses 45, 46, 47} whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 44 Truly, I say to you, ^clhe will set him over all his possessions. 45 But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master ^cmis delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and ^cnget drunk, 46 the master of that servant will come ^coon a day when he does not expect him and ^cpat an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. 47 ^cqAnd that servant who ^crknew his master’s will but ^csdid not get ready ^ctor act according to his will, will receive a ^cusevere beating. 48 ^cvBut the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, ^cwwill receive a light beating. ^cxEveryone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

Not Peace, but Division

49 ^cy“I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! 50 ^czI have a baptism to be baptized with, and how ^dagreat is my distress until it is accomplished! 51 ^dbDo you think that I have come to give peace on earth? ^dcNo, I tell you, but rather division. 52 For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, ^ddfather against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

Interpreting the Time

54 He also said to the crowds, ^de“When you see ^dfa cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. 55 And ^dgwhen you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be ^dhscorching heat,’ and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! ^diYou know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

Settle with Your Accuser

57 “And why ^djdo you not judge ^dkfor yourselves what is right? 58 ^dlAs you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. 59 I tell you, ^dmyou will never get out until you have paid the very last ^dnpenny.” ^{▼▼Greek lepton, a Jewish bronze or copper coin worth about 1/128 of a denarius (which was a day’s wage for a laborer)}