Luke 12:3-48

3Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have 1whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on 2the housetops.

4“Now I say to you, 3My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5But I will warn you whom to fear: 4fear the One who, after He has killed someone, has the power to throw that person into 56hell; yes, I tell you, fear 7Him! 6Are 8five sparrows not sold for two 9assaria? And yet not one of them has gone unnoticed in the sight of God. 710But even the hairs of your head are all counted. 11Do not fear; you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.

8“Now I say to you, everyone who 12confesses Me before people, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God; 9but 13the one who denies Me before people will be denied 14before the angels of God. 1015And everyone who 16speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him. 11Now when they bring you before 17the synagogues and the officials and the authorities, do not 18worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say; 12for 19the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

13Now someone 20in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” 14But He said to him, “2122You there--who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over the two of you?” 15But He said to them, “23Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one is affluent does his life consist of his possessions.” 16And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. 17And he began thinking to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ 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 24myself, “25You have many goods stored up for many years to come; relax, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!”’ 20But God said to him, ‘26You fool! This very night 2728your soul is demanded of you; and 29as for all that you have prepared, who will own it now?’ 21Such is the one who 30stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich in relation to God.”

22And He said to His disciples, “31For this reason I tell you, 32do not worry about your 33life, as to what you are to eat; nor for your body, as to what you are to wear. 23For life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. 24Consider the 34ravens, that they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor 35barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! 25And which of you by worrying can add a 3637day to his 38life’s span? 26Therefore if you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about the other things? 27Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither labor nor 39spin; but I tell you, not even 40Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 28Now if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? 41You of little faith! 29And do not 42seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not 43keep worrying. 30For 44all these things are what the nations of the world 45eagerly seek; and your Father knows that you need these things. 31But 46seek His kingdom, and 47these things will be 48provided to you. 324950Do not be afraid, 51little flock, because 52your Father has chosen to give you the kingdom.

33“53Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts that do not wear out, 54an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor does a moth destroy. 34For 55where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

35“5657Be prepared, and keep your 58lamps lit. 36You are also to be like people who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door for him when he comes and knocks. 37Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find 59on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that 60he will 61prepare himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and he will come up and serve them. 3862Whether he comes in the 63second watch, or even in the 64third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

39“65But 66be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be 67broken into. 4068You too, be ready; because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not think He will.”

41Peter said, “Lord, are You telling this parable to us, or 69to everyone else as well?” 42And 70the Lord said, “71Who then is the faithful and sensible 72steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? 43Blessed is that 73slave whom his 74master finds so doing when he comes. 44Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 45But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master will take a long time to come,’ and he begins to beat the other slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; 46then the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect, and at an hour that he does not know, and will 75cut him in two, and assign 76him a place with the unbelievers. 47And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accordance with his will, will 77receive many blows, 48but the one who did not 78know it, and committed acts deserving of 79a beating, will receive only a few blows. 80From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.