Luke 12:1–21

Beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees

12In the meantime, ^twhen so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, ^u“Beware of ^vthe leaven of the Pharisees, ^wwhich is hypocrisy. ^2xNothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. ³Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in ^yprivate rooms shall be proclaimed on ^zthe housetops.

Have No Fear

⁴“I tell you, my friends, ^ado not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. ⁵But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him ^bwho, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell.¹ Yes, I tell you, fear him! ⁶Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?² And ^cnot one of them is forgotten before God. ⁷Why, ^deven the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; ^eyou are of more value than many sparrows.

Acknowledge Christ Before Men

⁸“And I tell you, ^feveryone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge ^gbefore the angels of God, ⁹but ^hthe one who denies me before men ⁱwill be denied ^gbefore the angels of God. ¹⁰And ^jeveryone who speaks a word ^kagainst the Son of Man ^lwill be forgiven, but the one who ^mblasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. ¹¹ⁿAnd when they ^obring you before the synagogues and ^pthe rulers and ^pthe authorities, ^qdo not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, ^12rfor the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

The Parable of the Rich Fool

^13sSomeone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” ¹⁴But he said to him, ^t“Man, ^uwho made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵And he said to them, ^v“Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” ¹⁶And he told them a parable, saying, ^w“The land of a rich man produced plentifully, ¹⁷and he thought to himself, ^x‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ¹⁸And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my ^ybarns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up ^zfor many years; relax, ^aeat, drink, be merry.” ’ ²⁰But God said to him, ^b‘Fool! ^zThis night ^cyour soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, ^dwhose will they be?’ ²¹So is the one ^ewho lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”