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Luke 12:13–21

The Parable of the Rich Fool

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

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Luke 12:13–21 — The New International Version (NIV)

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

14 Jesus replied, Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

16 And he told them this parable: The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself,What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

18 Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself,You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ’

20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

21 This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

Luke 12:13–21 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

13 And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. 14 And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? 15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. 16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

Luke 12:13–21 — New Living Translation (NLT)

13 Then someone called from the crowd, “Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father’s estate with me.”

14 Jesus replied, Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?” 15 Then he said, Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”

16 Then he told them a story: A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. 17 He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ 18 Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. 19 And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!” ’

20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’

21 Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

Luke 12:13–21 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

13 Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

14 But He said to him, Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” 15 And He said to them, Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”

16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’

21 So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Luke 12:13–21 — New Century Version (NCV)

13 Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide with me the property our father left us.”

14 But Jesus said to him, “Who said I should judge or decide between you?” 15 Then Jesus said to them, “Be careful and guard against all kinds of greed. Life is not measured by how much one owns.”

16 Then Jesus told this story: “There was a rich man who had some land, which grew a good crop. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What will I do? I have no place to keep all my crops.’ 18 Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and other goods. 19 Then I can say to myself, “I have enough good things stored to last for many years. Rest, eat, drink, and enjoy life!” ’

20 “But God said to him, ‘Foolish man! Tonight your life will be taken from you. So who will get those things you have prepared for yourself?’

21 “This is how it will be for those who store up things for themselves and are not rich toward God.”

Luke 12:13–21 — American Standard Version (ASV)

13 And one out of the multitude said unto him, Teacher, bid my brother divide the inheritance with me. 14 But he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? 15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and keep yourselves from all covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. 16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17 and he reasoned within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have not where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, be merry. 20 But God said unto him, Thou foolish one, this night is thy soul required of thee; and the things which thou hast prepared, whose shall they be? 21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

Luke 12:13–21 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

13 And a person said to him out of the crowd, Teacher, speak to my brother to divide the inheritance with me. 14 But he said to him, Man, who established me as a judge or a divider over you? 15 And he said to them, Take heed and keep yourselves from all covetousness, for it is not because a man is in abundance that his life is in his possessions. 16 And he spoke a parable to them, saying, The land of a certain rich man brought forth abundantly. 17 And he reasoned within himself saying, What shall I do? for I have not a place where I shall lay up my fruits. 18 And he said, This will I do: I will take away my granaries and build greater, and there I will lay up all my produce and my good things; 19 and I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much good things laid by for many years; repose thyself, eat, drink, be merry. 20 But God said to him, Fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee; and whose shall be what thou hast prepared? 21 Thus is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

Luke 12:13–21 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to give me my share of the inheritance that our father left us.” 

14 Jesus said to him, “Who appointed me to be your judge or to divide ⸤your inheritance⸥?” 

15 He told the people, “Be careful to guard yourselves from every kind of greed. Life is not about having a lot of material possessions.” 

16 Then he used this illustration. He said, “A rich man had land that produced good crops. 17 He thought, ‘What should I do? I don’t have enough room to store my crops.’ 18 He said, ‘I know what I’ll do. I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones so that I can store all my grain and goods in them. 19 Then I’ll say to myself, “You’ve stored up a lot of good things for years to come. Take life easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.” ’ 

20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! I will demand your life from you tonight! Now who will get what you’ve accumulated?’ 21 That’s how it is when a person has material riches but is not rich in his relationship with God.” 

Luke 12:13–21 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

13 Someone from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

14 Friend,” He said to him, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 He then told them, Watch out and be on guard against all greed because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.”

16 Then He told them a parable: A rich man’s land was very productive. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What should I do, since I don’t have anywhere to store my crops? 18 I will do this,’ he said. ‘I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones and store all my grain and my goods there. 19 Then I’ll say to myself, “You have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.” ’

20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is demanded of you. And the things you have preparedwhose will they be?’

21 That’s how it is with the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Luke 12:13–21 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” 16 Then he told them a parable: The land of a rich man produced abundantly. 17 And he thought to himself, What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ 18 Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ 20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

Luke 12:13–21 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

13 Now someone from the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me!” 14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Watch out and guard yourselves from all greediness, because not even when someone has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.” 16 And he told a parable to them, saying, “The land of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 And he reasoned to himself, saying, ‘What should I do? For I do not have anywhere I can gather in my crops.’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and I will gather in there all my grain and possessions. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many possessions stored up for many years. Relax, eat, drink, celebrate!” ’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your life is demanded from you, and the things which you have prepared—whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who stores up treasure for himself, and who is not rich toward God!”

Luke 12:13–21 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

13 Someone in the crowd spoke to Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “tell my brother to divide the family property with me.”

14 Jesus replied, “Friend, who made me a judge or umpire between you?”

15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against wanting to have more and more things. Life is not made up of how much a person has.”

16 Then Jesus told them a story. He said, “A certain rich man’s land produced a good crop. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have any place to store my crops.’

18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my storerooms and build bigger ones. I will store all my grain and my other things in them. 19 I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things stored away for many years. Take life easy. Eat, drink and have a good time.” ’

20 “But God said to him, ‘You foolish man! This very night I will take your life away from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

21 “That is how it will be for anyone who stores things away for himself but is not rich in God’s eyes.”

Luke 12:13–21 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

13 Someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.”

14 But He said to him, Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?”

15 Then He said to them, Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance 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 reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’

18 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 my grain and my goods.

19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.” ’

20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’

21 So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”


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