^12:15Then³⁶ he said to them, “Watch out and guard yourself from³⁷ all types of greed,³⁸ because one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” ^12:16He then³⁹ told them a parable:⁴⁰ “The land of a certain rich man produced⁴¹ an abundant crop, ^12:17so⁴² he thought to himself,⁴³ ‘What should I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’⁴⁴^12:18Then⁴⁵ he said, ‘I⁴⁶ will do this: I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ^12:19And I will say to myself,⁴⁷ “You have plenty of goods stored up for many years; relax, eat, drink, celebrate!” ’ ^12:20But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life⁴⁸ will be demanded back from⁴⁹ you, but who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’⁵⁰^12:21So it is with the one who stores up riches for himself,⁵¹ but is not rich toward God.”

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Footnotes

36 Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
37 See L&N 13.154 for this use of the middle voice of φυλάσσω (phulassō) in this verse.
38 Or “avarice,” “covetousness.” Note the warning covers more than money and gets at the root attitude—the strong desire to acquire more and more possessions and experiences.
39 Grk “And he.” Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the connection to the preceding statement.
40 Grk “a parable, saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated here.
41 Or “yielded a plentiful harvest.”
42 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate that this is a result of the preceding statement.
43 Grk “to himself, saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated here.
44 I have nowhere to store my crops. The thinking here is prudent in terms of recognizing the problem. The issue in the parable will be the rich man’s solution, particularly the arrogance reflected in v. 19.
45 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
46 Note how often the first person pronoun is present in these verses. The farmer is totally self absorbed.
47 Grk “to my soul,” which is repeated as a vocative in the following statement, but is left untranslated as redundant.
48 Grk “your soul,” but ψυχή (psuchē) is frequently used of one’s physical life. It clearly has that meaning in this context.
49 Or “required back.” This term, ἀπαιτέω (apaiteō), has an economic feel to it and is often used of a debt being called in for repayment ( 1).
50 Grk “the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” The words “for yourself” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
51 It is selfishness that is rebuked here, in the accumulation of riches for himself. Recall the emphasis on the first person pronouns throughout the parable.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

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.”

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

“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. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ’

“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?’

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

CSBChristian Standard Bible

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.”

Then he told them a parable: “A rich man’s land was very productive. He thought to himself, ‘What should I do, since I don’t have anywhere to store my crops? 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. Then I’ll say to myself, “You have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.” ’

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

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

NLTNew Living Translation

Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”

Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ 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. 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!” ’

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

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

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

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.” And he told a parable to them, saying, “The land of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. And he reasoned to himself, saying, ‘What should I do? For I do not have anywhere I can gather in my crops.’ 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. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many possessions stored up for many years. Relax, eat, drink, celebrate!” ’ 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?’ So is the one who stores up treasure for himself, and who is not rich toward God!”

KJV 1900King James Version

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. And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 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. 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. 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? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

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