Luke 12:1-40 ▼

1 Then, as great crowds were standing so close that they were stepping on one another, he began to say to his disciples: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

2 For there is nothing covered, which will not be revealed, nor anything hidden, which will not be known.

3 For the things that you have spoken in darkness will be declared in the light. And what you have said in the ear in bedrooms will be proclaimed from the housetops.

4 So I say to you, my friends: Do not be fearful of those who kill the body, and afterwards have no more that they can do.

5 But I will reveal to you whom you should fear. Fear him who, after he will have killed, has the power to cast into Hell. So I say to you: Fear him.

6 Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins? And yet not one of these is forgotten in the sight of God.

7 But even the very hairs of your head have all been numbered. Therefore, do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.

8 But I say to you: Everyone who will have confessed me before men, the Son of man will also confess him before the Angels of God.

9 But everyone who will have denied me before men, he will be denied before the Angels of God.

10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of man, it will be forgiven of him. But of him who will have blasphemed against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.

11 And when they will lead you to the synagogues, and to magistrates and authorities, do not choose to be worried about how or what you will answer, or about what you might say.

12 For the Holy Spirit will teach you, in the same hour, what you must say.”

13 And someone from the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”

14 But he said to him, “Man, who has appointed me as judge or arbitrator over you?”

15 So he said to them: “Be cautious and wary of all avarice. For a person’s life is not found in the abundance of the things that he possesses.”

16 Then he spoke to them using a comparison, saying: “The fertile land of a certain wealthy man produced crops.

17 And he thought within himself, saying: ‘What should I do? For I have nowhere to gather together my crops.’

18 And he said: ‘This is what I will do. I will tear down my barns and build larger ones. And into these, I will gather all the things that have been grown for me, as well as my goods.

19 And I will say to my soul: Soul, you have many goods, stored up for many years. Relax, eat, drink, and be cheerful.’

20 But God said to him: ‘Foolish one, this very night they require your soul of you. To whom, then, will those things belong, which you have prepared?’

21 So it is with him who stores up for himself, and is not wealthy with God.”

22 And he said to his disciples: “And so I say to you: Do not choose to be anxious about your life, as to what you may eat, nor about your body, as to what you will wear.

23 Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.

24 Consider the ravens. For they neither sow nor reap; there is no storehouse or barn for them. And yet God pastures them. How much more are you, compared to them?

25 But which of you, by thinking, is able to add one cubit to his stature?

26 Therefore, if you are not capable, in what is so little, why be anxious about the rest?

27 Consider the lilies, how they grow. They neither work nor weave. But I say to you, not even Solomon, in all his glory, was clothed like one of these.

28 Therefore, if God so clothes the grass, which is in the field today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, how much more you, O little in faith?

29 And so, do not choose to inquire as to what you will eat, or what you will drink. And do not choose to be lifted up on high.

30 For all these things are sought by the Gentiles of the world. And your Father knows that you have need of these things.

31 Yet truly, seek first the kingdom of God, and his justice, and all these things shall be added to you.

32 Do not be afraid, little flock; for it has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom.

33 Sell what you possess, and give alms. Make for yourselves purses that will not wear out, a treasure that will not fall short, in heaven, where no thief approaches, and no moth corrupts.

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

35 Let your waists be girded, and let lamps be burning in your hands.

36 And let you yourselves be like men awaiting their lord, when he will return from the wedding; so that, when he arrives and knocks, they may open to him promptly.

37 Blessed are those servants whom the Lord, when he returns, will find being vigilant. Amen I say to you, that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, while he, continuing on, will minister to them.

38 And if he will return in the second watch, or if in the third watch, and if he will find them to be so: then blessed are those servants.

39 But know this: that if the father of the family knew at what hour the thief would arrive, he would certainly stand watch, and he would not permit his house to be broken into.

40 You also must be prepared. For the Son of man will return at an hour that you will not realize.”