Luke 12

Meanwhile, a crowd of tens of thousands gathered, so that they were trampling one another. He began by saying to his disciples, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. So whatever you have said in darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in inner rooms will be proclaimed from the rooftops. I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body and afterward can do nothing more. But I will show you whom to fear: Fear the one who, after killing, has authority to throw into Gehenna. Yes, I tell you, fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. Even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before people will also be acknowledged by the Son of Man before the angels of God. But whoever denies me before people will be denied before the angels of God. Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. When they bring you before synagogues, rulers, and authorities, do not worry about how or what to answer in your defense, or what to say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you must say.” Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Man, who appointed me a judge or divider over you?” He said to them, “Watch out and guard against every kind of greed, for a person’s life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” He told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have nowhere to store my crops.’ Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all the grain and my goods, and I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Rest, eat, drink, and be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This very night your life is demanded from you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is with the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” He 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. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: They neither sow nor reap, and they have no storeroom or barn, yet God feeds them. How much more valuable you are than the birds! Which of you by worrying can add a single moment to his life? If, then, you cannot do even the smallest thing, why worry about the rest? Consider how the lilies grow: They neither labor nor spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these. If God so clothes the grass that is in the field today and thrown into the oven tomorrow, how much more will he clothe you, you of little faith! Do not keep seeking what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not be anxious. For the nations of the world seek all these things, but your Father knows you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give alms. Make yourselves money pouches that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Keep your clothing belted at the waist and your lamps burning, and be like people waiting for their master to return from the wedding, so that when he comes and knocks, they may open for him immediately. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will belt his clothing, have them recline at the table, and come and serve them. If he comes in the second watch or in the third and finds them so, blessed are they. But know this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. You too must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us, or for everyone as well?” The Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise steward whom the master will put over his household servants, to give them their food allowance at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds doing so when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will put him over all his possessions. But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master is taking a long time to come,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, to eat and drink and get drunk, that slave’s master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know. He will cut him in two and assign him a place with the unfaithful. The slave who knew his master’s will, yet neither prepared nor acted according to it, will receive many blows. But the one who did not know and did things deserving blows will receive few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, more will be demanded. I came to cast fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! Do you think I came to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. For from now on five in one house will be divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided: father 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.” He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it happens. And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but how is it that you do not know how to interpret this time? Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? As you go with your adversary before the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. I tell you, you will not get out of there until you have paid even the last small coin.”

Rights and attribution