Luke 12:21

Luke 12:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
• New International Version (NIV)“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God."
• New King James Version (NKJV)“So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Context of Luke 12:21

19Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ 20But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’ This is how it will be for anyone who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.” 22Then Jesus 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. 23For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.

Luke 12:21 word by word

οὕτως ὁ θησαυρίζων ἑαυτῷ καὶ μὴ εἰς θεὸν πλουτῶν.Read the interlinear

• This is howοὕτωςhoutō · thus(-ly)G3779
• anyone whoὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• stores up treasureθησαυρίζωthēsaurizō · to store upG2343
• for himselfἑαυτοῦheautou · themselfG1438
• butκαίkai · andG2532
• is not richμήmē · notG3361
• is not richπλουτέωplouteō · be richG4147
• towardεἰςeis · towardG1519
• Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316

Cross-references for Luke 12:21

• Luke 12:33Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves with purses that will not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.
• Luke 6:24But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.
• Hosea 10:1Israel was a luxuriant vine, yielding fruit for himself. The more his fruit increased, the more he increased the altars. The better his land produced, the better he made the sacred pillars.
• Habakkuk 2:9Woe to him who builds his house by unjust gain, to place his nest on high and escape the hand of disaster!
• Matthew 6:19Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
• Romans 2:5But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
• 1 Timothy 6:19treasuring up for themselves a firm foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.
• James 5:1Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you.
• Luke 16:11So if you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will entrust you with true riches?
• 2 Corinthians 6:10sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.
• 1 Timothy 6:18Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, and to be generous and ready to share,
• James 2:5Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?
• Revelation 2:9I know your affliction and your poverty—though you are rich! And I am aware of the slander of those who falsely claim to be Jews, but are in fact a synagogue of Satan.

Commentaries on Luke 12:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21So is he - That is, thus will it be. This is not an individual case; all who make this life their portion, and who are destitute of the peace and salvation of God, shall, sooner or later, be surprised in the same way. Layeth up treasure for himself - This is the essential characteristic of a covetous man: he desires riches; he gets them; he lays them up, not for the necessary uses to which they might be devoted, but for himself; to please himself, and to…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21So is he - This is the portion or the doom. Layeth up treasure for himself - Acquires riches for his own use - for “himself.” This is the characteristic of the covetous man. It is all for “himself.” His plans terminate there. He lives only for himself, and acts only with regard to his own interest. Rich toward God - Has no inheritance in the kingdom of God - no riches laid up in heaven. His affections are all fixed on this world, and he has none for God…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-21Verses 13-21 Christ's kingdom is spiritual, and not of this world. Christianity does not meddle with politics; it obliges all to do justly, but wordly dominion is not founded in grace. It does not encourage expectations of worldly advantages by religion. The rewards of Christ's disciples are of another nature. Covetousness is a sin we need constantly to be warned against; for happiness and comfort do not depend on the wealth of this world. The things of…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 13-21This parable shows the danger of trusting in riches instead of in God.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 20-2120-21. this night, &c.--This sudden cutting short of his career is designed to express not only the folly of building securely upon the future, but of throwing one's whole soul into what may at any moment be gone. "Thy soul shall be required of thee" is put in opposition to his own treatment of it, "I will say to my soul, Soul," &c. whose shall those things be, &c.--Compare Psa 39:6, "He heapeth up riches and knoweth not who shall gather them."Read the comment

Topics related to Luke 12:21

• Commandments
• Covetousness
• Jesus Continued
• Jesus, the Christ
• Rich, the

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Ask
• Beat
• Divide
• Divider
• Forewarn
• Hell
• Hypocrisy
• Teach

Commentaries on Luke 12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings