Luke 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, “aBeware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
2 “aBut 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 1whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon athe housetops.
4 “I say to you, aMy friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do.
5 “But I will 1warn you whom to fear: afear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into 2bhell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!
6 “Are not afive sparrows sold for two 1cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God.
7 “aIndeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.
8 “And I say to you, everyone who aconfesses Me before men, the Son of Man will confess him also before the angels of God;
9 but ahe who denies Me before men will be denied bbefore the angels of God.
10 “aAnd everyone who 1speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him.
11 “When they bring you before athe synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not bworry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say;
12 for athe Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
13 Someone 1in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.”
14 But He said to him, “aMan, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?”
15 Then He said to them, “aBeware, 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, ayou have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.” ’
20 “But God said to him, ‘aYou fool! This very night 1byour soul is required of you; and cnow who will own what you have prepared?’
21 “So is the man who astores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
22 And He said to His disciples, “aFor this reason I say to you, 1do not worry about your 2life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on.
23 “For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.
24 “Consider the aravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor bbarn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds!
25 “And which of you by worrying can add a single 1ahour to his 2life’s span?
26 “If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters?
27 “Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even aSolomon in all his glory clothed
Luke 13
1 Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood aPilate had 1mixed with their sacrifices.
2 And Jesus said to them, “aDo you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate?
3 “I tell you, no, but unless you 1repent, you will all likewise perish.
4 “Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in aSiloam fell and killed them were worse 1bculprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem?
5 “I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
6 And He began telling this parable: “A man had aa fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any.
7 “And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree 1without finding any. aCut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’
8 “And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer;
9 and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.’ ”
10 And He was ateaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.
11 And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had aa sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all.
12 When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your sickness.”
13 And He alaid His hands on her; and immediately she was made erect again and began bglorifying God.
14 But athe synagogue official, indignant because Jesus bhad healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, “cThere are six days in which work should be done; so come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day.”
15 But athe Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites, bdoes not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water him?
16 “And this woman, aa daughter of Abraham as she is, whom bSatan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?”
17 As He said this, all His opponents were being humiliated; and athe entire crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by Him.
Parables of Mustard Seed and Leaven
18 So aHe was saying, “bWhat is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it?
19 “It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and threw into his own garden; and it grew and became a tree, and athe birds of the 1air nested in its branches.”
20 And again He said, “aTo what shall I compare the kingdom of God?
21 “aIt is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in bthree 1pecks of flour until it was all leavened.”
22 And He was passing through from one city and village to another, teaching, and aproceeding on His way to Jerusalem.
23 And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?” And He said to them,
24 “aStrive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
25 “Once the head of the house gets up and ashuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘bLord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘cI do not know where you are from.’
26 “Then you will abegin
Luke 21
1 aAnd He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury.
2 And He saw a poor widow putting 1in atwo 2small copper coins.
3 And He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them;
4 for they all out of their 1surplus put into the 2offering; but she out of her poverty put in all 3that she had ato live on.”
5 aAnd while some were talking about the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful stones and votive gifts, He said,
6 “As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which athere will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down.”
7 They questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the 1sign when these things are about to take place?”
8 And He said, “See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘aI am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ bDo not go after them.
9 “When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately.”
10 Then He continued by saying to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom,
11 and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great 1signs from heaven.
12 “But before all these things, athey will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, 1bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake.
13 “aIt will lead to 1an opportunity for your testimony.
14 “aSo make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves;
15 for aI will give you 1utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.
16 “But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death,
17 and you will be hated by all because of My name.
18 “Yet anot a hair of your head will perish.
19 “aBy your endurance you will gain your 1lives.
20 “But when you see Jerusalem asurrounded by armies, then 1recognize that her desolation is near.
21 “Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of 1the city must leave, and athose who are in the country must not enter 1the city;
22 because these are adays of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled.
23 “Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for athere will be great distress upon the 1land and wrath to this people;
24 and they will fall by athe edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and bJerusalem will be ctrampled under foot by the Gentiles until dthe times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
25 “There will be 1signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves,
26 men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the 1world; for the powers of 2the heavens will be shaken.
27 “aThen they will see bthe Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
28 “But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because ayour redemption is drawing near.”