Luke 12:20

Luke 12:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
• New International Version (NIV)“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
• English Standard Version (ESV)But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?'
• New King James Version (NKJV)But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’

Context of Luke 12:20

18And he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and I will store all my grain and my goods there. 19And I will say to myself, “You have many goods stored up for many years to come; relax, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is demanded of you; and as for all that you have prepared, who will own it now?’ 21Such is the one who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich in relation to God.” 22And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I tell you, do not worry about your life, as to what you are to eat; nor for your body, as to what you are to wear.

Luke 12:20 word by word

εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ θεός· ἄφρων, ταύτῃ τῇ νυκτὶ τὴν ψυχήν σου ἀπαιτοῦσιν ἀπὸ σοῦ. ἃ δὲ ἡτοίμασας, τίνι ἔσται;Read the interlinear

• But Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• You foolἄφρωνaphrōn · foolishG878
• Thisοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• nightνύξnux · nightG3571
• your soulψυχήpsuchē · soulG5590
• is demandedἀπαιτέωapaiteō · to demandG523
• that you have preparedἑτοιμάζωhetoimazō · to make readyG2090
• whoτίςtis · which?G5101
• will ownεἰμίeimi · to beG1510

Cross-references for Luke 12:20

• Luke 16:22Now it happened that the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s arms; and the rich man also died and was buried.
• Exodus 16:9Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, ‘Come forward before the Lord, for He has heard your grumblings.’”
• 1 Samuel 25:36Then Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was having a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was cheerful within him, for he was very drunk; so she did not tell him anything at all until the morning light.
• 2 Samuel 13:28Then Absalom commanded his servants, saying, “See now, when Amnon’s heart is cheerful with wine, and I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon,’ then put him to death. Do not fear; have I not commanded you myself? Be courageous and be valiant.”
• 1 Kings 16:9And his servant Zimri, commander of half his chariots, conspired against him. Now Elah was in Tirzah drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, who was in charge of the household in Tirzah.
• Job 20:20“Because he knew no quiet within him, He does not retain anything he desires.
• Job 27:8For what is the hope of the godless when he makes an end of life, When God requires his life?
• Psalms 73:19How they are destroyed in a moment! They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors!
• Psalms 78:30Yet before they had abandoned their longing, While their food was in their mouths,
• Daniel 5:1Belshazzar the king held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in the presence of the thousand.
• Nahum 1:10Like tangled thorns, And like those who are drunken with their drink, They are consumed Like stubble completely dried up.
• Matthew 24:48But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’
• 1 Thessalonians 5:3While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction will come upon them like labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
• Luke 11:40You foolish ones, did He who made the outside not make the inside also?
• Jeremiah 17:11As a partridge that hatches eggs which it has not laid, So is a person who makes a fortune, but unjustly; In the middle of his days it will abandon him, And in the end he will be a fool.”
• James 4:14Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. For you are just a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away.

Commentaries on Luke 12:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Thou fool! - To imagine that a man's comfort and peace can depend upon temporal things; or to suppose that these can satisfy the wishes of an immortal spirit! This night - How awful was this saying! He had just made the necessary arrangements for the gratification of his sensual appetites; and, in the very night in which he had finally settled all his plans, his soul was called into the eternal world! What a dreadful awakening of a soul, long asleep in…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20Thou fool - If there is any supreme folly, it is this. As though riches could prolong life, or avert for a moment the approach of pain and death. This night … - What an awful sentence to a man who, as he thought, had got just ready to live and enjoy himself! In a single moment all his hopes were blasted, and his soul summoned to the bar of his long-forgotten God. So, many are surprised as suddenly and as unprepared. They are snatched from their pleasures…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. 19-20myself (Literally soul): The man was speaking to himself. You fool! In Scripture, a fool is not someone with low intelligence, but someone who dishonors and disobeys God (Psalm 14:1–5). your life will be required of you: The man believed his soul was secure, but God was not pleased with him.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 12:20

• Commandments
• Confidence
• Covetousness
• Death
• Fool
• Gluttony
• Happiness
• Jesus Continued
• Jesus, the Christ
• Presumption
• Rich, the
• Self-Delusion
• Self-Indulgence
• Sensuality

In the dictionaries

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

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