Parallel Bible results for "luke 12"

Luke 12

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1 Meanwhile, when the crowd gathered by the thousands, so that they trampled on one another, he began to speak first to his disciples, "Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, their hypocrisy.
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 Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known.
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 Therefore whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed from the housetops.
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 tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more.
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 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!
5 Save your fear for God, who holds your entire life - body and soul - in his hands.
6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God's sight.
6 "What's the price of two or three pet canaries? Some loose change, right? But God never overlooks a single one.
7 But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
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 "And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God;
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 whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God.
9 But if you pretend you don't know me, do you think I'll defend you before God's angels?
10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
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 bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, do not worry about how you are to defend yourselves or what you are to say;
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 for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what you ought to say."
12 The right words will be there. The Holy Spirit will give you the right words when the time comes."
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me."
13 Someone out of the crowd said, "Teacher, order my brother to give me a fair share of the family inheritance."
14 But he said to him, "Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?"
14 He replied, "Mister, what makes you think it's any of my business to be a judge or mediator for 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."
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 a parable: "The land of a rich man produced abundantly.
16 Then he told them this story: "The farm of a certain rich man produced a terrific crop.
17 And he thought to himself, "What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?'
17 He talked to himself: 'What can I do? My barn isn't big enough for this harvest.'
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.
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 will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.'
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 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?'
20 "Just then God showed up and said, 'Fool! Tonight you die. And your barnful of goods - who gets it?'
21 So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God."
21 "That's what happens when you fill your barn with Self and not with God."
22 He said to his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear.
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 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.
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 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!
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 And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?
25 "Has anyone by fussing before the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch?
26 If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest?
26 If fussing can't even do that, why fuss at all?
27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.
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 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith!
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 And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying.
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 For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them.
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 Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
31 Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
32 Don't be afraid of missing out. You're my dearest friends! The Father wants to give you the very kingdom itself.
33 Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
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 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
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 "Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit;
35 "Keep your shirts on; keep the lights on!
36 be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks.
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 Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them.
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 If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
38 It doesn't matter what time of the night he arrives; they're awake - and so blessed!
39 "But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.
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 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour."
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, "Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?"
41 Peter said, "Master, are you telling this story just for us? Or is it for everybody?"
42 And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful and prudent manager whom his master will put in charge of his slaves, to give them their allowance of food at the proper time?
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 Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives.
43 He is a blessed man if when the master shows up he's doing his job.
44 Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions.
44
45 But if that slave says to himself, "My master is delayed in coming,' and if he begins to beat the other slaves, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk,
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 of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and put him with the unfaithful.
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 That slave who knew what his master wanted, but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted, will receive a severe beating.
47 "The servant who knows what his master wants and ignores it, or insolently does whatever he pleases, will be thoroughly thrashed.
48 But the one who did not know and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating. From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.
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 came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!
49 "I've come to start a fire on this earth - how I wish it were blazing right now!
50 I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed!
50 I've come to change everything, turn everything rightside up - how I long for it to be finished!
51 Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!
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 five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three;
52 From now on, when you find five in a house, it will be - 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."
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 He also said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, "It is going to rain'; and so it happens.
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 you see the south wind blowing, you say, "There will be scorching heat'; and it happens.
55 And when the wind comes out of the south, you say, 'This'll be a hot one' - and you're right.
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?
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 "And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?
57 "You don't have to be a genius to understand these things. Just use your common sense,
58 Thus, when you go with your accuser before a magistrate, on the way make an effort to settle the case, or you may be dragged before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you in prison.
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 I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny."
59 and pay every last penny of the fine. That's the kind of decision I'm asking you to make."
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.