1Underthesecircumstances, after so manythousands of people had gatheredtogether that they were stepping on oneanother, He begansaying to His disciplesfirst of all, "1Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees,which is hypocrisy. .
2
"2But there is nothingcovered 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 whispered** in the innerrooms will be proclaimed upon 3the housetops.
4
"I say to you, 4My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that haveno*more that they can do.
5
"But I will warn you whom to fear: 5fear the One who, after He has killed, hasauthority to cast into 6hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!
6
"Are not 7fivesparrowssold for twocents? Yet not one of them is forgottenbeforeGod.
7
"8Indeed*, the veryhairs of your head are allnumbered. Do not fear; you are morevaluable than manysparrows.
8
"And I say to you, everyonewho9confesses Me beforemen, the Son of Man will confess him alsobefore the angels of God;
9
but 10he who denies Me beforemen will be denied11before the angels of God.
10
"12And everyonewhospeaks a wordagainst the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but he who blasphemesagainst the HolySpirit, it will not be forgiven him.
11
"When they bring you before13the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not 14worry about howorwhat you are to speak in your defense, orwhat you are to say;
12
for 15the HolySpirit will teach you in that veryhourwhat you ought to say."
Covetousness Denounced
13Someone in the crowdsaid to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me."
14
But He said to him, "16Man, whoappointed Me a judgeorarbitratorover you?"
15
Then He said to them, "17Beware, and be on your guardagainsteveryform of greed; for not even whenonehas an abundance does his lifeconsist of his possessions."
16
And He told them a parable, saying, "The land of a richman was veryproductive.
17
"And he began reasoning to himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I havenoplace to store my crops?'
18
"Then he said, 'This is what I will do: I will teardown my barns and buildlargerones, and there I will storeall my grain and my goods.
19
'And I will say to my soul, "Soul, 18you havemanygoodslaid up for manyyears to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry."'
20
"But Godsaid to him, '19You fool! This very night20your soul is required of you; and 21now who will own what you have prepared?'
21
"So is the man who 22stores up treasure for himself, and is not richtowardGod."
22
And He said to His disciples, "23For thisreason I say to you, do not worryabout your life, 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 bodymore than clothing.
24
"Consider the 24ravens, for they neithersownorreap; they have nostoreroomnor25barn, and yet Godfeeds them; howmuchmorevaluable you are than the birds!
25
"And which of you by worryingcanadd a single 26hour to his life'sspan?
26
"Ifthen you cannot* do even a verylittlething, why do you worryaboutothermatters?
27
"Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neithertoilnorspin; but I tell you, not even27Solomon in all his gloryclothed himself likeone of these.
28
"But ifGodsoclothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, howmuchmore will He clothe you? 28You men of littlefaith!
29
"And do not seekwhat you will eat and what you will drink, and do not 29keep worrying.
30
"For allthesethings the nations of the worldeagerlyseek; but your Fatherknows that you needthesethings.
31
"But seek His kingdom, and 30thesethings will be added to you.