Luke 12:54
 Luke 12:54 
New International Version (©2011)
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.

New Living Translation (©2007)
Then Jesus 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.

English Standard Version (©2001)
He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens.

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
And He was also saying to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, 'A shower is coming,' and so it turns out.

King James Bible (Cambridge Ed.)
And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is.

Holman Christian Standard Bible (©2009)
He also said to the crowds: "When you see a cloud rising in the west, right away you say, A storm is coming,' and so it does.

International Standard Version (©2012)
Then Jesus told the crowds, "When you see a cloud coming in from the west, you immediately say, 'There's going to be a storm,' and that's what happens.

NET Bible (©2006)
Jesus also said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, 'A rainstorm is coming,' and it does.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English (©2010)
He said to the crowds, “Whenever you see a cloud that rises from the West, and at once you say, 'Rain is coming', it is so.”

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
Jesus said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud coming up in the west, you immediately say, 'There's going to be a rainstorm,' and it happens.

King James 2000 Bible (©2003)
And he said also to the people, When you see a cloud rise out of the west, immediately you say, There comes a shower; and so it is.

American King James Version
And he said also to the people, When you see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway you say, There comes a shower; and so it is.

American Standard Version
And he said to the multitudes also, When ye see a cloud rising in the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it cometh to pass.

Douay-Rheims Bible
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:

Darby Bible Translation
And 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.

English Revised Version
And he said to the multitudes also, When ye see a cloud rising in the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it cometh to pass.

Webster's Bible Translation
And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rising in the west, immediately ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is.

Weymouth New Testament
Then He said to the people also, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, 'There is to be a shower;' and it comes to pass.

World English Bible
He said to the multitudes also, "When you see a cloud rising from the west, immediately you say, 'A shower is coming,' and so it happens.

Young's Literal Translation
And he said also to the multitudes, 'When ye may see the cloud rising from the west, immediately ye say, A shower doth come, and it is so;

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

12:54-59 Christ would have the people to be as wise in the concerns of their souls as they are in outward affairs. Let them hasten to obtain peace with God before it is too late. If any man has found that God has set himself against him concerning his sins, let him apply to him as God in Christ reconciling the world to himself. While we are alive, we are in the way, and now is our time.


Pulpit Commentary

Verse 54. - And he said also. A note of the compilers, SS. Luke and Paul, which seems to say, "Besides all the important sayings we have just written down, which were spoken on this occasion, the Master added as a conclusion the following words." It is probable that the expressions used in the next seven verses were called out by the general apathy with which his announcement of the coming woes was received by the listening multitude. Possibly he had noticed a smile of incredulity on the faces of some of the nearer by-standers. The words had already been used on other occasions in a different connection. Here he used them as a last appeal, or rather as a remonstrance. He seems to say to the people, "O blind, blind to the awful sins of the times! You are weather-wise enough, and can tell from the appearance of the sky and the sighing of the wind whether a storm is brewing or no: why not use the same faculty of discernment in higher and more important matters? Ah! be wise; make your peace with God without delay; it will soon be too late; there is an awful judgment close at hand!" When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is. To the west of Palestine lay the great Mediterranean Sea, from which, of course, came all the rains which fell on that country.


Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And he said also to the people,.... For what Christ had before said, were chiefly, if not solely, directed to his disciples; but now he turned himself to the innumerable multitude that were about him, and particularly addressed himself to the Scribes and Pharisees that were among them:

when ye see a cloud rise out of the west; the watery vapours being attracted by the heat of the sun, out of the Mediterranean Sea, which lies west of the land of Judea, and formed into a cloud, and drove by the wind:

straightway ye say there comes a shower; as soon as it is seen, it is presently concluded and affirmed, that a very heavy shower will soon fall, it having been frequently observed so to do, when this has been the case:

and so it is; for the most part, there commonly follows a large shower on such an appearance, and they were seldom mistaken in their conclusions.


Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

Lu 12:54-59. Not Discerning the Signs of the Time.

54. to the people—"the multitude," a word of special warning to the thoughtless crowd, before dismissing them. (See on [1653]Mt 16:2, 3).


Luke 12:54 Parallel Commentaries

Luke 12:54 NIV
Luke 12:54 NLT
Luke 12:54 ESV
Luke 12:54 NASB
Luke 12:54 KJV

Bible Hub: Online Parallel Bible


Interpreting the Present Time
54And he said also to the people, When you see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway you say, There comes a shower; and so it is. 55And when you see the south wind blow, you say, There will be heat; and it comes to pass. 56You hypocrites, you can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that you do not discern this time?

1 Kings 18:44 The seventh time the servant reported, "A cloud as small as a man's hand is rising from the sea." So Elijah said, "Go and tell Ahab, 'Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.'"
Matthew 16:2 He replied, "When evening comes, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,'