Luke 12:11-21

11 ¹And when they ²bring you before the synagogues and ³the rulers and ⁴the authorities, ⁵do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say,

12 ⁶for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."

The Parable of the Rich Fool

13 ⁷Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."

14 But he said to him, ⁸"Man, ⁹who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?"

15 And he said to them, ¹⁰"Take 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, ¹¹"The land of a rich man produced plentifully,

17 and he thought to himself, ¹²'What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?'

18 And he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my ¹³barns 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 ¹⁴for many years; relax, ¹⁵eat, drink, be merry.'

20 But God said to him, ¹⁶'Fool! ¹⁷This night ¹⁸your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, ¹⁹whose will they be?'

21 So is the one ²⁰who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God."

Cross References

• 1. Matthew 10:17, 19; [Luke 21:12, 14; Mark 13:11]
• 2. See Matthew 23:34
• 3. Titus 3:1
• 4. Titus 3:1
• 5. See ver. 22
• 6. See Matthew 10:19, 20
• 7. Luke 11:27
• 8. Micah 6:8; Romans 2:1, 3; Romans 9:20
• 9. [Exodus 2:14; Acts 7:27]
• 10. 1 Timothy 6:6-11; [Hebrews 13:5]
• 11. [Psalms 49:16-20]
• 12. [Ecclesiastes 5:10]
• 13. ver. 24
• 14. [Proverbs 27:1; James 4:13-15]
• 15. Ecclesiastes 2:24; Ecclesiastes 11:9; 1 Corinthians 15:32; [Luke 15:23]
• 16. Jeremiah 17:11; [Matthew 16:26]
• 17. [See ver. 19 above]
• 18. Job 27:8
• 19. Psalms 39:6; [Job 27:17-22; Ecclesiastes 2:18, 21]
• 20. Matthew 6:19, 20