Luke 12 Meanwhile as the people had gathered in tens of thousands, so that they were trampling upon one another, He began to say, first of all, to His disciples: "Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, hypocrisy.

Williams⁽ⁱ⁾ ¹ Meanwhile as the people had gathered in tens of thousands, so that they were trampling upon one another, He began to say, first of all, to His disciples: "Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, hypocrisy. ² There is nothing covered up that will not be uncovered, nor secret that will not be made known; ³ because what you have spoken in darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in people's ears, behind closed doors, will be proclaimed from the housetops. ⁴ So I tell you, my friends, never be afraid of those who kill the body but after that have nothing more that they can do. ⁵ But I will show you whom to fear. Fear Him who, after killing you, has power to hurl you down to the pit; yes, I tell you, fear Him. ⁶ Are not sparrows sold five for two cents? And yet not one of them is forgotten by God! ⁷ Yes, the very hairs on your heads have all been counted by God! Stop being afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. ⁸ I tell you, everyone who owns me before men the Son of Man will own before the angels of God; ⁹ but anyone who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God. ¹⁰ And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but no one who speaks abusively about the Holy Spirit will be forgiven. ¹¹ Now when they are bringing you before the synagogues or the magistrates or the authorities, never worry about how to defend yourselves, or what to say, ¹² for at that very moment the Holy Spirit will teach you what you ought to say." ¹³ Just then a man in the crowd said to Him, "Tell my brother to share with me our inheritance." ¹⁴ But He said to him, "Man, who made me a judge or umpire in your affairs?" ¹⁵ And then He said to them, "Be ever on the alert and always on your guard against every form of greed, because a man's life does not consist in his possessions, even though they are abundant." ¹⁶ Then He told them a story, as follows: "A certain rich man's lands yielded bountifully. ¹⁷ So he began to argue with himself, 'What am I to do, because I have nowhere to store my crops?' ¹⁸ Then he said, 'This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and in them I will store all my grains and my goods. ¹⁹ Then I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Go on taking your ease; continue to eat, drink, and enjoy yourself."' ²⁰ But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your soul is to be demanded of you. Then who will have all that you have prepared?' ²¹ So it is with the man who continues to pile up possessions for himself, and is not rich in God." ²² Then He said to His disciples: "Stop worrying, then, about life, as to what you will have to eat, or about your body, as to what you will have to wear. ²³ Your life is worth more than food, and your body more than clothes. ²⁴ Just think of the ravens! For they neither sow nor reap, they have no storehouses nor barns, and yet God continues to feed them. How much more are you worth than the birds! ²⁵ Which of you by worrying can add a single minute to his life? ²⁶ So if you cannot do this very little thing, why should you worry about the rest? ²⁷ Just think of how the lilies grow. They do not toil nor spin. But, I tell you, not even Solomon, in all his splendor, was ever dressed like one of them. ²⁸ Now if God so gorgeously dresses the wild grass which today is green but tomorrow is tossed into the furnace, how much more surely will He clothe you, O you with little faith? ²⁹ So you must stop seeking what to eat and what to drink, and must stop being in suspense about these things. ³⁰ For all these are the very things the nations of the world are greedily trying to get, and surely your Father well knows that you need them. ³¹ But continue to seek His will, and these things will be yours besides. ³² Stop being afraid, my little flock, for your Father has gladly chosen to give you the kingdom. ³³ Sell your property and give to charity. Provide for yourselves purses that will never wear out, riches that never fail in heaven, where a thief cannot come near nor a moth destroy, ³⁴ For wherever your treasure is, there too your heart will be. ³⁵ "You must keep your belts tight and your lamps burning, ³⁶ and be like men waiting for their master when he comes home from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks, they at once may open the door for him. ³⁷ Happy are those slaves whom the master, when he comes, will find on the watch for him. I solemnly say to you, he will tighten his belt and have them sit at table, and he will go around and wait on them. ³⁸ Whether he comes before or after midnight, if he finds them so, happy are they. ³⁹ But be sure of this, that if the master of the house had known what time the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁰ So you, too, must always be ready, for at an hour that you are not expecting, the Son of Man will come." ⁴¹ Peter said to Him, "Lord, do you mean this story for us, or is it for everybody?" ⁴² And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful, thoughtful manager whom his master will put in charge of his household, to give out the supplies at the proper time? ⁴³ Happy is that slave whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. ⁴⁴ I tell you truly, he will put him in charge of all his property. ⁴⁵ But if that slave says to himself, my Master is not coming back for a long time, and begins to beat the men and women slaves, and to eat and drink and get drunk, ⁴⁶ his master will come back some day when he is not expecting him, and at an hour of which he is not aware, and will cut him in two, and give him his share with the unfaithful. ⁴⁷ That slave who knows his master's wishes and does not get ready or act upon them will be severely punished. ⁴⁸ But the one who does wrong without knowing it will be lightly punished. Much will be demanded from anyone to whom much has been given; yea, people will demand much more from anyone to whom they have entrusted much. ⁴⁹ "It is fire that I have come to bring upon the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! ⁵⁰ I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how I am pressed with anguish till it is accomplished! ⁵¹ Do you think that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not so at all, but rather discord. ⁵² For from now on, five in a house will be divided, three against two, and two against three. ⁵³ Father will be against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law." ⁵⁴ And He said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, at once you say, 'It is going to rain,' and it does. ⁵⁵ And when you see a south wind blowing, you say, 'It is going to be very hot,' and so it is. ⁵⁶ You hypocrites! You know how to interpret day by day the look of earth and sky. Then how is it that you do not know how to interpret the present crisis? ⁵⁷ Why do you not of yourselves decide what is right? ⁵⁸ For instance, when you are on the way to court with your opponent, take the utmost pains on the way to get entirely rid of him, so that he may not rush you before the judge, and the judge turn you over to the sheriff, and the sheriff put you in prison. ⁵⁹ I tell you, you will never get out of it until you have paid the last penny!"