Luke 12:35–48

You Must Be Ready

^35a“Stay dressed for action⁵ and ^bkeep your lamps burning, ³⁶and be like men who are ^cwaiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and ^dknocks. ^37eBlessed are those servants⁶ whom the master finds ^eawake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, ^fhe will dress himself for service and ^ghave them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. ³⁸If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! ^39hBut know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour ⁱthe thief was coming, he⁷ would not have left his house to be broken into. ⁴⁰You also must be ^jready, for ^kthe Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

⁴¹Peter said, “Lord, ^lare you telling this parable for us or for all?” ⁴²And the Lord said, “Who then is ^mthe faithful and ^mwise ⁿmanager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? ^43oBlessed is that servant⁸ whom his master will find so doing when he comes. ⁴⁴Truly, I say to you, ^phe will set him over all his possessions. ⁴⁵But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master ^qis delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and ^rget drunk, ⁴⁶the master of that servant will come ^son a day when he does not expect him and ^sat an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. ^47tAnd that servant who ^uknew his master’s will but ^vdid not get ready ^uor act according to his will, will receive a ^wsevere beating. ^48xBut the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, ^ywill receive a light beating. ^zEveryone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.