Luk 12 | NASB2020 | STEP | Under these circumstances , after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another , He began saying to His disciples first of all, “ Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees , which is hypocrisy .

1 Under these circumstances, after ^{▼▼Lit myriads}so many thousands of ^{▼▼Lit the crowd}people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “ ^cBeware of the ^{▼▼I.e., fermented dough}leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 ^eBut there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. 3 Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have ^{▼▼Lit spoken to the ear}whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on ^gthe housetops.

4 “Now I say to you, ^hMy friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom to fear: ⁱfear the One who, after He has killed someone, has the power to throw that person into ^{▼▼Gr Gehenna
,} ^khell; yes, I tell you, fear ^{▼▼Lit this one}Him! 6 Are ^mfive sparrows not sold for two ^{▼▼A Roman copper coin (singular assarion), about 1/16 of a laborer’s daily wage}assaria? And yet not one of them has gone unnoticed in the sight of God. 7 ^oBut even the hairs of your head are all counted. ^{▼▼Or Stop being afraid}Do not fear; you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.

8 “Now I say to you, everyone who ^qconfesses Me before people, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God; 9 but ^rthe one who denies Me before people will be denied ^sbefore the angels of God. 10 ^tAnd everyone who ^{▼▼Lit will speak}speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him. 11 Now when they bring you before ^vthe synagogues and the officials and the authorities, do not ^wworry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say; 12 for ^xthe Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

Greed Denounced

13 Now someone ^{▼▼Lit from}in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” 14 But He said to him, “ ^{▼▼Lit Man, who
,} ^aaYou there --who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over the two of you?” 15 But He said to them, “ ^abBeware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one is affluent does his life consist of his possessions.” 16 And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. 17 And he began thinking to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and I will store all my grain and my goods there. 19 And I will say to ^{▼▼Lit my soul, “Soul, you have...”}myself, “ ^adYou have many goods stored up for many years to come; relax, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘ ^aeYou fool! This very night ^{▼▼Lit they are demanding your soul from you
,} ^agyour soul is demanded of you; and ^ahas for all that you have prepared, who will own it now?’ 21 Such is the one who ^aistores up treasure for himself, and is not rich in relation to God.”

22 And He said to His disciples, “ ^ajFor this reason I tell you, ^{▼▼Or stop being worried}do not worry about your ^{▼▼Lit soul}life, as to what you are to eat; nor for your body, as to what you are to wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. 24 Consider the ^amravens, that they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor ^anbarn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! 25 And which of you by worrying can add a ^{▼▼Lit cubit (about 18 in. or 45 cm)
,} ^apday to his ^{▼▼Or height}life’s span? 26 Therefore if you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about the other things? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither labor nor ^{▼▼I.e., spin thread for cloth}spin; but I tell you, not even ^asSolomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 28 Now if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? ^atYou of little faith! 29 And do not ^{▼▼Or keep seeking}seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not ^avkeep worrying. 30 For ^{▼▼Or these things all the nations of the world}all these things are what the nations of the world ^{▼▼Or wish for}eagerly seek; and your Father knows that you need these things. 31 But ^{▼▼Or continually seek}seek His kingdom, and ^azthese things will be ^{▼▼Or added to}provided to you. 32 ^{▼▼Or Stop being afraid
,} ^bcDo not be afraid, ^bdlittle flock, because ^beyour Father has chosen to give you the kingdom.

33 “ ^bfSell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts that do not wear out, ^bgan inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor does a moth destroy. 34 For ^bhwhere your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Be in Readiness

35 “ ^{▼▼Lit Have your waist belted
,} ^bjBe prepared, and keep your ^bklamps lit. 36 You are also to be like people who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door for him when he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find ^blon the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that ^bmhe will ^{▼▼Lit belt himself up}prepare himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and he will come up and serve them. 38 ^boWhether he comes in the ^{▼▼I.e., 9 p.m. to midnight}second watch, or even in the ^{▼▼I.e., midnight to 3 a.m.}third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

39 “ ^brBut ^{▼▼Lit know}be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be ^btbroken into. 40 ^buYou too, be ready; because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not think He will.”

41 Peter said, “Lord, are You telling this parable to us, or ^bvto everyone else as well?” 42 And ^bwthe Lord said, “ ^bxWho then is the faithful and sensible ^bysteward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that ^bzslave whom his ^{▼▼Or lord}master finds so doing when he comes. 44 Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 45 But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master will take a long time to come,’ and he begins to beat the other slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; 46 then the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect, and at an hour that he does not know, and will ^{▼▼Possibly referring to other extreme punishment}cut him in two, and assign ^{▼▼Lit his part with}him a place with the unbelievers. 47 And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accordance with his will, will ^cdreceive many blows, 48 but the one who did not ^ceknow it, and committed acts deserving of ^{▼▼Lit blows}a beating, will receive only a few blows. ^cgFrom everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.

Christ Divides People

49 “I ^{▼▼Or came}have come to cast fire upon the earth; and ^{▼▼Lit what do I wish if...?}how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a ^cjbaptism ^{▼▼Lit with which to be baptized}to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! 51 ^clDo you think that I came to provide peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division; 52 for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, ^cmfather 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.”

54 And He was also saying to the crowds, “ ^cnWhenever you see a cloud rising ^{▼▼I.e., from the Mediterranean}in the west, you immediately say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it turns out. 55 And whenever you feel a ^{▼▼I.e., from the desert}south wind blowing, you say, ‘It will be a ^cqhot day,’ and it turns out that way. 56 You hypocrites! ^crYou know how to analyze the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how is it that you do not know how to analyze this present time?

57 “And ^cswhy do you not even judge by yourselves what is right? 58 For ^ctwhen you are going with your accuser to appear before the magistrate, on the way, make an effort to ^{▼▼Lit be rid of him}settle with him, so that he does not drag you before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59 I tell you, you will not get out of there until you have paid up ^{▼▼Lit even the last}the very last ^{▼▼The smallest Greek copper coin, about 1/128 of a laborer’s daily wage
,} ^cxlepton.”