New King James Version
Luke 12:21
21“So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
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 Living Translation (NLT)“Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”
Context of Luke 12:21
19And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ 20But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” 22Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. 23Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.
Read all of Luke 12Luke 12:21 word by word
οὕτως ὁ θησαυρίζων ἑαυτῷ καὶ μὴ εἰς θεὸν πλουτῶν.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Luke 12:21
- Luke 12:33Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.
- Luke 6:24“But woe to you who are rich, For you have received your consolation.
- Hosea 10:1Israel empties his vine; He brings forth fruit for himself. According to the multitude of his fruit He has increased the altars; According to the bounty of his land They have embellished his sacred pillars.
- Habakkuk 2:9“Woe to him who covets evil gain for his house, That he may set his nest on high, That he may be delivered from the power of disaster!
- Matthew 6:19“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;
- Romans 2:5But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,
- 1 Timothy 6:19storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
- James 5:1Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you!
- Luke 16:11Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
- 2 Corinthians 6:10as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
- 1 Timothy 6:18Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share,
- James 2:5Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?
- Revelation 2:9“I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are 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
In the dictionaries
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries