12:1 Under these circumstances, after ①so many thousands of ②people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the ③leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
▷ ①Lit myriads ②Lit the crowd ③I.e., fermented dough
12:2 But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.
12:3 Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have ①whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.
▷ ①Lit spoken to the ear
12:4 “Now I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do.
12:5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed someone, has the power to throw that person into ①hell; yes, I tell you, fear ②Him!
▷ ①Gr Gehenna ②Lit this one
12:6 Are five sparrows not sold for two ①assaria? And yet not one of them has gone unnoticed in the sight of God.
▷ ①A Roman copper coin (singular assarion), about 1/16 of a laborer’s daily wage
12:7 But even the hairs of your head are all counted. ①Do not fear; you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.
▷ ①Or Stop being afraid
12:8 “Now I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before people, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God;
12:9 but the one who denies Me before people will be denied before the angels of God.
12:10 And everyone who ①speaks 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.
▷ ①Lit will speak
12:11 Now when they bring you before the synagogues and the officials and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say;
12:12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
12:13 Now someone ①in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.”
▷ ①Lit from
12:14 But He said to him, “ ①You there—who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over the two of you?”
▷ ①Lit Man, who
12:15 But He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one is affluent does his life consist of his possessions.”
12:16 And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive.
12:17 And he began thinking to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’
12:18 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.
12:19 And I will say to ①myself, “You have many goods stored up for many years to come; relax, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!” ’
▷ ①Lit my soul, “Soul, you have...”
12:20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night ①your soul is demanded of you; and as for all that you have prepared, who will own it now?’
▷ ①Lit they are demanding your soul from you
12:21 Such is the one who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich in relation to God.”
12:22 And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I tell you, ①do not worry about your ②life, as to what you are to eat; nor for your body, as to what you are to wear.
▷ ①Or stop being worried ②Lit soul
12:23 For life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.
12:24 Consider the ravens, that they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds!
12:25 And which of you by worrying can add a ①day to his ②life’s span?
▷ ①Lit cubit (about 18 in. or 45 cm) ②Or height
12:26 Therefore if you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about the other things?
12:27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither labor nor ①spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.
▷ ①I.e., spin thread for cloth
12:28 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? You of little faith!
12:29 And do not ①seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying.
▷ ①Or keep seeking
12:30 For ①all these things are what the nations of the world ②eagerly seek; and your Father knows that you need these things.
▷ ①Or these things all the nations of the world ②Or wish for
12:31 But ①seek His kingdom, and these things will be ②provided to you.
▷ ①Or continually seek ②Or added to
12:32 ①Do not be afraid, little flock, because your Father has chosen to give you the kingdom.
▷ ①Or Stop being afraid
12:33 “Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor does a moth destroy.
12:34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
12:35 “ ①Be prepared, and keep your lamps lit.
▷ ①Lit Have your waist belted
12:36 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.
12:37 Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will ①prepare himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and he will come up and serve them.
▷ ①Lit belt himself up
12:38 Whether he comes in the ①second watch, or even in the ②third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
▷ ①I.e., 9 p.m. to midnight ②I.e., midnight to 3 a.m.
12:39 “But ①be 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 broken into.
▷ ①Lit know
12:40 You too, be ready; because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not think He will.”
12:41 Peter said, “Lord, are You telling this parable to us, or to everyone else as well?”
12:42 And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time?
12:43 Blessed is that slave whom his ①master finds so doing when he comes.
▷ ①Or lord
12:44 Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
12:45 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;
12:46 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 ①cut him in two, and assign ②him a place with the unbelievers.
▷ ①Possibly referring to other extreme punishment ②Lit his part with
12:47 And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accordance with his will, will receive many blows,
12:48 but the one who did not know it, and committed acts deserving of ①a beating, will receive only a few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.
▷ ①Lit blows
12:49 “I ①have come to cast fire upon the earth; and ②how I wish it were already kindled!
▷ ①Or came ②Lit what do I wish if...?
12:50 But I have a baptism ①to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!
▷ ①Lit with which to be baptized
12:51 Do you think that I came to provide peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division;
12:52 for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three.
12:53 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.”
12:54 And He was also saying to the crowds, “Whenever you see a cloud rising ①in the west, you immediately say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it turns out.
▷ ①I.e., from the Mediterranean
12:55 And whenever you feel a ①south wind blowing, you say, ‘It will be a hot day,’ and it turns out that way.
▷ ①I.e., from the desert
12:56 You hypocrites! You 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?
12:57 “And why do you not even judge by yourselves what is right?
12:58 For when you are going with your accuser to appear before the magistrate, on the way, make an effort to ①settle 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.
▷ ①Lit be rid of him
12:59 I tell you, you will not get out of there until you have paid up ①the very last ②lepton.”
▷ ①Lit even the last ②The smallest Greek copper coin, about 1/128 of a laborer’s daily wage