1 Meanwhile, a crowd of many thousands came together, so that they were trampling on one another. He began to say to his disciples first, âBe on your guard against the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
2 There is nothing covered that wonât be uncovered, nothing hidden that wonât be made known.
3 Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in an ear in private rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.
4 âI say to you, my friends, donât fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more.
5 But I will show you the one to fear: Fear him who has authority to throw people into hell after death. Yes, I say to you, this is the one to fear!
6 Arenât five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in Godâs sight.
7 Indeed, the hairs of your head are all counted. Donât be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
8 âAnd I say to you, anyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God,
9 but whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God.
10 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
11 Whenever they bring you before synagogues and rulers and authorities, donât worry about how you should defend yourselves or what you should say.
12 For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what must be said.â
13 Someone from the crowd said to him, âTeacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.â
14 âFriend,â he said to him, âwho appointed me a judge or arbitrator over you? â
15 He then told them, âWatch out and be on guard against all greed, because oneâs life is not in the abundance of his possessions.â
16 Then he told them a parable: âA rich manâs land was very productive.
17 He thought to himself, âWhat should I do, since I donât have anywhere to store my crops?
18 I will do this,â he said. âIâll tear down my barns and build bigger ones and store all my grain and my goods there.
19 Then Iâll say to myself, âYou have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.â â
20 âBut God said to him, âYou fool! This very night your life is demanded of you. And the things you have preparedâwhose will they be? â
21 âThatâs how it is with the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.â
22 Then he said to his disciples, âTherefore I tell you, donât worry about your life, what you will eat; or about the body, what you will wear.
23 For life is more than food and the body more than clothing.
24 Consider the ravens: They donât sow or reap; they donât have a storeroom or a barn; yet God feeds them. Arenât you worth much more than the birds?
25 Can any of you add one moment to his life span by worrying?
26 If then youâre not able to do even a little thing, why worry about the rest?
27 âConsider how the wildflowers grow: They donât labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these.
28 If thatâs how God clothes the grass, which is in the field today and is thrown into the furnace tomorrow, how much more will he do for youâyou of little faith?
29 Donât strive for what you should eat and what you should drink, and donât be anxious.
30 For the Gentile world eagerly seeks all these things, and your Father knows that you need them.
31 âBut seek his kingdom, and these things will be provided for you.
32 Donât be afraid, little flock, because your Father delights to give you the kingdom.
33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Make money-bags for yourselves that wonât grow old, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
35 âBe ready for service and have your lamps lit.
36 You are to be like people waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet so that when he comes and knocks, they can open the door for him at once.
37 Blessed will be those servants the master finds alert when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will get ready, have them recline at the table, then come and serve them.
38 If he comes in the middle of the night, or even near dawn, and finds them alert, blessed are those servants.
39 But know this: If the homeowner had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.
40 You also be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.â
41 âLord,â Peter asked, âare you telling this parable to us or to everyone? â
42 The Lord said, âWho then is the faithful and sensible manager his master will put in charge of his household servants to give them their allotted food at the proper time?
43 Blessed is that servant whom the master finds doing his job when he comes.
44 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
45 But if that servant says in his heart, âMy master is delaying his coming,â and starts to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk,
46 that servantâs master will come on a day he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unfaithful.
47 And that servant who knew his masterâs will and didnât prepare himself or do it will be severely beaten.
48 But the one who did not know and did what deserved punishment will receive a light beating. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be expected.
49 âI came to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already set ablaze!
50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and how it consumes me until it is finished!
51 Do you think that I came here to bring peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.
52 From now on, five in one household will be divided: three against two, and two against three.
53 They will be divided, father against son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law. â
54 He also said to the crowds, âWhen you see a cloud rising in the west, right away you say, âA storm is coming,â and so it does.
55 And when the south wind is blowing, you say, âItâs going to be hot,â and it is.
56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but why donât you know how to interpret this present time?
57 âWhy donât you judge for yourselves what is right?
58 As you are going with your adversary to the ruler, make an effort to settle with him on the way. Then he wonât drag you before the judge, the judge hand you over to the bailiff, and the bailiff throw you into prison.
59 I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny.â