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12 At which time the myriads of the multitude having been gathered together, so as to tread upon one another, he began to say unto his disciples, first, `Take heed to yourselves of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy;

and there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known;

because whatever in the darkness ye said, in the light shall be heard: and what to the ear ye spake in the inner-chambers, shall be proclaimed upon the house-tops.

`And I say to you, my friends, be not afraid of those killing the body, and after these things are not having anything over to do;

but I will show to you, whom ye may fear; Fear him who, after the killing, is having authority to cast to the gehenna; yes, I say to you, Fear ye Him.

`Are not five sparrows sold for two assars? and one of them is not forgotten before God,

but even the hairs of your head have been all numbered; therefore fear ye not, than many sparrows ye are of more value.

`And I say to you, Every one -- whoever may confess with me before men, the Son of Man also shall confess with him before the messengers of God,

and he who hath denied me before men, shall be denied before the messengers of God,

10 and every one whoever shall say a word to the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven to him, but to him who to the Holy Spirit did speak evil, it shall not be forgiven.

11 `And when they bring you before the synagogues, and the rulers, and the authorities, be not anxious how or what ye may reply, or what ye may say,

12 for the Holy Spirit shall teach you in that hour what it behoveth [you] to say.'

13 And a certain one said to him, out of the multitude, `Teacher, say to my brother to divide with me the inheritance.'

14 And he said to him, `Man, who set me a judge or a divider over you?'

15 And he said unto them, `Observe, and beware of the covetousness, because not in the abundance of one's goods is his life.'

16 And he spake a simile unto them, saying, `Of a certain rich man the field brought forth well;

17 and he was reasoning within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have not where I shall gather together my fruits?

18 and he said, This I will do, I will take down my storehouses, and greater ones I will build, and I will gather together there all my products and my good things,

19 and I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast many good things laid up for many years, be resting, eat, drink, be merry.

20 `And God said to him, Unthinking one! this night thy soul they shall require from thee, and what things thou didst prepare -- to whom shall they be?

21 so [is] he who is treasuring up to himself, and is not rich toward God.'

22 And he said unto his disciples, `Because of this, to you I say, Be not anxious for your life, what ye may eat; nor for the body, what ye may put on;

23 the life is more than the nourishment, and the body than the clothing.

24 `Consider the ravens, that they sow not, nor reap, to which there is no barn nor storehouse, and God doth nourish them; how much better are ye than the fowls?

25 and who of you, being anxious, is able to add to his age one cubit?

26 If, then, ye are not able for the least -- why for the rest are ye anxious?

27 `Consider the lilies, how do they grow? they labour not, nor do they spin, and I say to you, not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these;

28 and if the herbage in the field, that to-day is, and to-morrow into an oven is cast, God doth so clothe, how much more you -- ye of little faith?

29 `And ye -- seek not what ye may eat, or what ye may drink, and be not in suspense,

30 for all these things do the nations of the world seek after, and your Father hath known that ye have need of these things;

31 but, seek ye the reign of God, and all these things shall be added to you.

32 `Fear not, little flock, because your Father did delight to give you the reign;

33 sell your goods, and give alms, make to yourselves bags that become not old, a treasure unfailing in the heavens, where thief doth not come near, nor moth destroy;

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

35 `Let your loins be girded, and the lamps burning,

36 and ye like to men waiting for their lord, when he shall return out of the wedding feasts, that he having come and knocked, immediately they may open to him.

37 `Happy those servants, whom the lord, having come, shall find watching; verily I say to you, that he will gird himself, and will cause them to recline (at meat), and having come near, will minister to them;

38 and if he may come in the second watch, and in the third watch he may come, and may find [it] so, happy are those servants.

39 `And this know, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief doth come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken through;

40 and ye, then, become ye ready, because at the hour ye think not, the Son of Man doth come.'

41 And Peter said to him, `Sir, unto us this simile dost thou speak, or also unto all?'

42 And the Lord said, `Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the lord shall set over his household, to give in season the wheat measure?

43 Happy that servant, whom his lord, having come, shall find doing so;

44 truly I say to you, that over all his goods he will set him.

45 `And if that servant may say in his heart, My lord doth delay to come, and may begin to beat the men-servants and the maid-servants, to eat also, and to drink, and to be drunken;

46 the lord of that servant will come in a day in which he doth not look for [him], and in an hour that he doth not know, and will cut him off, and his portion with the unfaithful he will appoint.

47 `And that servant, who having known his lord's will, and not having prepared, nor having gone according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes,

48 and he who, not having known, and having done things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few; and to every one to whom much was given, much shall be required from him; and to whom they did commit much, more abundantly they will ask of him.

49 `Fire I came to cast to the earth, and what will I if already it was kindled?

50 but I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I pressed till it may be completed!

51 `Think ye that peace I came to give in the earth? no, I say to you, but rather division;

52 for there shall be henceforth five in one house divided -- three against two, and two against three;

53 a father shall be divided against a son, and a son against a father, a mother against a daughter, and a daughter against a mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.'

54 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;

55 and when -- a south wind blowing, ye say, that there will be heat, and it is;

56 hypocrites! the face of the earth and of the heaven ye have known to make proof of, but this time -- how do ye not make proof of [it]?

57 `And why, also, of yourselves, judge ye not what is righteous?

58 for, as thou art going away with thy opponent to the ruler, in the way give diligence to be released from him, lest he may drag thee unto the judge, and the judge may deliver thee to the officer, and the officer may cast thee into prison;

59 I say to thee, thou mayest not come forth thence till even the last mite thou mayest give back.'

Warnings and Encouragements(A)

12 Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be[a] on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.(B) There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.(C) What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.

“I tell you, my friends,(D) do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.(E) Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.(F) Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.(G)

“I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God.(H) But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned(I) before the angels of God. 10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man(J) will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.(K)

11 “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say,(L) 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”(M)

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 replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”(N)

16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool!(O) This very night your life will be demanded from you.(P) Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’(Q)

21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”(R)

Do Not Worry(S)

22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them.(T) And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life[b]? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

27 “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor(U) was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith!(V) 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father(W) knows that you need them.(X) 31 But seek his kingdom,(Y) and these things will be given to you as well.(Z)

32 “Do not be afraid,(AA) little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.(AB) 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor.(AC) Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven(AD) that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.(AE) 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.(AF)

Watchfulness(AG)(AH)

35 “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes.(AI) Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them.(AJ) 38 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. 39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief(AK) was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready,(AL) because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

41 Peter asked, “Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?”

42 The Lord(AM) answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? 43 It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. 44 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 45 But suppose the servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time in coming,’ and he then begins to beat the other servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk. 46 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of.(AN) He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.

47 “The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows.(AO) 48 But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows.(AP) From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.

Not Peace but Division(AQ)

49 “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism(AR) to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed!(AS) 51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They 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.”(AT)

Interpreting the Times

54 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.(AU) 55 And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?(AV)

57 “Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right? 58 As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled on the way, or your adversary may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison.(AW) 59 I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”(AX)

Footnotes

  1. Luke 12:1 Or speak to his disciples, saying: “First of all, be
  2. Luke 12:25 Or single cubit to your height