Luke 12:15

Luke 12:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
• New International Version (NIV)Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)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."
• New King James Version (NKJV)And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”

Context of Luke 12:15

13Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, I have a problem with my brother. Our father has died. Tell my brother to give me my part of the things that our father left us.’ 14Jesus replied, ‘It is not my job to say which of you is right or wrong. And it is not my job to say how much each of you should have.’ Then he said to all the people, ‘Be very careful! Do not want more things than you really need. A person's life is worth more than the things that he has, even if he is very rich.’ 16Jesus then told them a story: ‘A man had some very good ground, where he planted seeds. The plants grew very well. When they became ripe, he had much more than he planted. 17He thought about how much he would soon have. “I have nowhere to store all the food from my plants,” he said to himself.

Luke 12:15 word by word

Εἶπεν δὲ πρὸς αὐτούς· ὁρᾶτε καὶ φυλάσσεσθε ἀπὸ πάσης πλεονεξίας, ὅτι οὐκ ἐν τῷ περισσεύειν τινὶ ἡ ζωὴ αὐτοῦ ἐστιν ἐκ τῶν ὑπαρχόντων αὐτῷ.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Andδέde · thenG1161
• he saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• untoπρόςpros · to/withG4314
• themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• Take heedὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• bewareφυλάσσωphulassō · to keep/guard: protectG5442
• ofἀπόapo · away fromG575
• covetousnessπλεονεξίαpleonexia · greedinessG4124
• forὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
• a man’sτιςtis · oneG5100
• lifeζωήzōē · lifeG2222
• consistethεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• notοὐou · noG3756
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• the abundanceπερισσεύωperisseuō · to exceedG4052
• ofἐκek ex · out fromG1537
• the things whichὑπάρχωhuparchō · be alreadyG5225

Cross-references for Luke 12:15

• Luke 8:14Some seeds fell among thorn bushes. This is like some other people who hear the message from God. But they start to have many troubles in their minds about how they will live. They want to get more money and more things. They think that this will make them happy. So they do not let God's message change them. They are like plants that do not grow into strong plants.
• Luke 16:14The Pharisees heard all this. They loved money very much, so they laughed at Jesus. They said to him, ‘You are wrong.’
• Luke 21:34But be careful, and watch how you live. Do not eat or drink too much. Do not waste your time like that. Do not waste time by having troubles in your mind about your life. If you do, that day will surprise you. It will come when you are not looking.
• Joshua 7:21I found a beautiful coat from Babylon, and I found 200 silver coins, and a piece of gold that weighed half a kilogram. I wanted them so much that I took them for myself. I hid them in the ground in my tent. The silver coins are under the other things.’
• Job 31:24I have not trusted in money or in gold. I have never thought that they would make me strong.
• Psalms 10:3Not only do wicked people boast because they get the things that they want. They also praise robbers, and they curse the Lord.
• Psalms 62:10Do not cheat people, or rob them to get money! That will not give you anything that you can trust to help you. Even if you become very rich, do not think it is important.
• Psalms 119:36Help me to love your rules. That is better for me than riches.
• Proverbs 23:47. Do not work so hard to become rich that you make yourself ill. Be wise and rest when you need to.
• Proverbs 28:16If a ruler is cruel, it shows that he is not wise. But a ruler who refuses bribes will rule for a long time.
• Jeremiah 6:13‘They all cheat other people to get what they want. Important people and ordinary people do that. Prophets and priests do that. They love to deceive people.
• Jeremiah 22:17‘But you always want to cheat people, so that you can get more riches for yourself. You make plans to kill people who have not done anything wrong. You hurt people in cruel ways.’
• Micah 2:2When they want fields, they take them from other people. When they want houses, they take them. These cruel people take other people's homes and fields; then those people's families have nothing.
• Habakkuk 2:9It will be very bad for anyone who cheats other people so that he can make his family rich. He thinks that his riches will make him safe. He thinks that he is too high up for any trouble to reach him.
• Mark 7:22They have sex with another man's wife. They are greedy. They are cruel to other people. They deceive people. They live like wild animals. They are jealous of other people. They say bad things about other people. They are proud and foolish.
• 1 Corinthians 5:10But I was not talking about people who do not know God. Those people have sex in wrong ways. They want many things to please themselves. They deceive people and they rob them. They worship idols. You could not keep away from all people like that, unless you left this world!

Commentaries on Luke 12:15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15Beware of covetousness - Or rather, Beware of all inordinate desires. I add , all, on the authority of ABDKLM-Q, twenty-three others, both the Syriac, all the Persic, all the Arabic, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Vulgate, all the Itala, and several of the primitive fathers. Inordinate desires. , from , more, and , to have; the desire to have more and more, let a person possess whatever he may. Such a disposition of mind is never satisfied; for, as soon as…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15Beware of covetousness - One of these brothers, no doubt, was guilty of this sin; and our Saviour, as was his custom, took occasion to warn his disciples of its danger. Covetousness - An unlawful desire of the property of another; also a desire of gain or riches beyond what is necessary for our wants. It is a violation of the tenth commandment Exodus 20:17, and is expressly called idolatry Colossians 3:5. Compare, also, Ephesians 5:3, and Hebrews 13:5. A…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. 15Guard yourselves against every form of greed: See Exodus 20:17; Deuteronomy 5:21; Job 31:24–25; Psalm 49; Ecclesiastes 2:1–11.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. unto them--the multitude around Him (Lu 12:1). of covetousness--The best copies have "all," that is, "every kind of covetousness"; because as this was one of the more plausible forms of it, so He would strike at once at the root of the evil. a man's life, &c.--a singularly weighty maxim, and not less so because its meaning and its truth are equally evident.Read the comment

Topics related to Luke 12:15

• Commandments
• Covetousness
• Jesus, the Christ
• Rich, the
• Riches
• Watchfulness

In the dictionaries

• Ask
• Beat
• Divide
• Divider
• Forewarn
• Hell
• Hypocrisy
• Teach
• Visit
• Watch

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