Parallel Bible results for "Luke 12"

Luke 12

English Standard Version ESV

1 In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

2 Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.

3 Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.

4 "I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do.

5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!

6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God.

7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

8 "And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God,

9 but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

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

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

13 Someone in 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 arbitrator over you?"

15 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."

16 And he told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man produced plentifully,

17 and he thought to himself, '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 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, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?'

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

22 And he said to his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on.

23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.

24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!

25 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

26 If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?

27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

28 But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!

29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried.

30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them.

31 Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

32 "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.

34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

35 "Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning,

36 and be like men who are waiting 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 knocks.

37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.

38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants!

39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into.

40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

41 Peter said, "Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all?"

42 And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time?

43 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.

44 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.

45 But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk,

46 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful.

47 And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating.

48 But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

49 "I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled!

50 I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!

51 Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.

52 For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three.

53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."

54 He also said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, 'A shower is coming.' And so it happens.

55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, 'There will be scorching heat,' and it happens.

56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

57 "And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?

58 As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison.

59 I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny."

The Message Bible MSG

1 By this time the crowd, unwieldy and stepping on each other's toes, numbered into the thousands. But Jesus' primary concern was his disciples. He said to them, "Watch yourselves carefully so you don't get contaminated with Pharisee yeast, Pharisee phoniness.

2 You can't keep your true self hidden forever; before long you'll be exposed. You can't hide behind a religious mask forever; sooner or later the mask will slip and your true face will be known.

3 You can't whisper one thing in private and preach the opposite in public; the day's coming when those whispers will be repeated all over town.

4 "I'm speaking to you as dear friends. Don't be bluffed into silence or insincerity by the threats of religious bullies. True, they can kill you, but then what can they do? There's nothing they can do to your soul, your core being.

5 Save your fear for God, who holds your entire life - body and soul - in his hands.

6 "What's the price of two or three pet canaries? Some loose change, right? But God never overlooks a single one.

7 And he pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail - even numbering the hairs on your head! So don't be intimidated by all this bully talk. You're worth more than a million canaries.

8 "Stand up for me among the people you meet and the Son of Man will stand up for you before all God's angels.

9 But if you pretend you don't know me, do you think I'll defend you before God's angels?

10 "If you bad-mouth the Son of Man out of misunderstanding or ignorance, that can be overlooked. But if you're knowingly attacking God himself, taking aim at the Holy Spirit, that won't be overlooked.

11 "When they drag you into their meeting places, or into police courts and before judges, don't worry about defending yourselves - what you'll say or how you'll say it.

12 The right words will be there. The Holy Spirit will give you the right words when the time comes."

13 Someone out of the crowd said, "Teacher, order my brother to give me a fair share of the family inheritance."

14 He replied, "Mister, what makes you think it's any of my business to be a judge or mediator for you?"

15 Speaking to the people, he went on, "Take care! Protect yourself against the least bit of greed. Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot."

16 Then he told them this story: "The farm of a certain rich man produced a terrific crop.

17 He talked to himself: 'What can I do? My barn isn't big enough for this harvest.'

18 Then he said, 'Here's what I'll do: I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I'll gather in all my grain and goods,

19 and I'll say to myself, Self, you've done well! You've got it made and can now retire. Take it easy and have the time of your life!'

20 "Just then God showed up and said, 'Fool! Tonight you die. And your barnful of goods - who gets it?'

21 "That's what happens when you fill your barn with Self and not with God."

22 He continued this subject with his disciples. "Don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or if the clothes in your closet are in fashion.

23 There is far more to your inner life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body.

24 Look at the ravens, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, carefree in the care of God. And you count far more.

25 "Has anyone by fussing before the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch?

26 If fussing can't even do that, why fuss at all?

27 Walk into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They don't fuss with their appearance - but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

28 If God gives such attention to the wildflowers, most of them never even seen, don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?

29 "What I'm trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God's giving.

30 People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works.

31 Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

32 Don't be afraid of missing out. You're my dearest friends! The Father wants to give you the very kingdom itself.

33 "Be generous. Give to the poor. Get yourselves a bank that can't go bankrupt, a bank in heaven far from bankrobbers, safe from embezzlers, a bank you can bank on.

34 It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.

35 "Keep your shirts on; keep the lights on!

36 Be like house servants waiting for their master to come back from his honeymoon, awake and ready to open the door when he arrives and knocks.

37 Lucky the servants whom the master finds on watch! He'll put on an apron, sit them at the table, and serve them a meal, sharing his wedding feast with them.

38 It doesn't matter what time of the night he arrives; they're awake - and so blessed!

39 "You know that if the house owner had known what night the burglar was coming, he wouldn't have stayed out late and left the place unlocked.

40 So don't you be slovenly and careless. Just when you don't expect him, the Son of Man will show up."

41 Peter said, "Master, are you telling this story just for us? Or is it for everybody?"

42 The Master said, "Let me ask you: Who is the dependable manager, full of common sense, that the master puts in charge of his staff to feed them well and on time?

43 He is a blessed man if when the master shows up he's doing his job.

44

45 But if he says to himself, 'The master is certainly taking his time,' begins maltreating the servants and maids, throws parties for his friends, and gets drunk,

46 the master will walk in when he least expects it, give him the thrashing of his life, and put him back in the kitchen peeling potatoes.

47 "The servant who knows what his master wants and ignores it, or insolently does whatever he pleases, will be thoroughly thrashed.

48 But if he does a poor job through ignorance, he'll get off with a slap on the hand. Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities!

49 "I've come to start a fire on this earth - how I wish it were blazing right now!

50 I've come to change everything, turn everything rightside up - how I long for it to be finished!

51 Do you think I came to smooth things over and make everything nice? Not so. I've come to disrupt and confront!

52 From now on, when you find five in a house, it will be - Three against two, and two against three;

53 Father against son, and son against father; Mother against daughter, and daughter against mother; Mother-in-law against bride, and bride against mother-in-law."

54 Then he turned to the crowd: "When you see clouds coming in from the west, you say, 'Storm's coming' - and you're right.

55 And when the wind comes out of the south, you say, 'This'll be a hot one' - and you're right.

56 Frauds! You know how to tell a change in the weather, so don't tell me you can't tell a change in the season, the God-season we're in right now.

57 "You don't have to be a genius to understand these things. Just use your common sense,

58 the kind you'd use if, while being taken to court, you decided to settle up with your accuser on the way, knowing that if the case went to the judge you'd probably go to jail

59 and pay every last penny of the fine. That's the kind of decision I'm asking you to make."