Luke 12

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Meanwhile the people had gathered in their thousands so that they were treading on one another. Andhe began to speak, first of al to his disciples. 'Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees -- theirhypocrisy.	1 Then, as great crowds were standing so close that they were stepping on one another, he began to say to his disciples: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
2 Everything now covered up will be uncovered, and everything now hidden wil be made clear.	2 For there is nothing covered, which will not be revealed, nor anything hidden, which will not be known.
3 For this reason, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you havewhispered in hidden places wil be proclaimed from the housetops.	3 For the things that you have spoken in darkness will be declared in the light. And what you have said in the ear in bedrooms will be proclaimed from the housetops.
4 'To you my friends I say: Do not be afraid of those who kil the body and after that can do no more.	4 So I say to you, my friends: Do not be fearful of those who kill the body, and afterwards have no more that they can do.
5 I wil tel you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has kil ed, has the power to cast into hel . Yes, I telyou, he is the one to fear.	5 But I will reveal to you whom you should fear. Fear him who, after he will have killed, has the power to cast into Hell. So I say to you: Fear him.
6 Can you not buy five sparrows for two pennies? And yet not one is forgotten in God's sight.	6 Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins? And yet not one of these is forgotten in the sight of God.
7 Why, every hair on your head has been counted. There is no need to be afraid: you are worth morethan many sparrows.	7 But even the very hairs of your head have all been numbered. Therefore, do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.
8 'I tel you, if anyone openly declares himself for me in the presence of human beings, the Son of manwil declare himself for him in the presence of God's angels.	8 But I say to you: Everyone who will have confessed me before men, the Son of man will also confess him before the Angels of God.
9 But anyone who disowns me in the presence of human beings wil be disowned in the presence ofGod's angels.	9 But everyone who will have denied me before men, he will be denied before the Angels of God.
10 'Everyone who says a word against the Son of man will be forgiven, but no one who blasphemesagainst the Holy Spirit wil be forgiven.	10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of man, it will be forgiven of him. But of him who will have blasphemed against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.
11 'When they take you before synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how todefend yourselves or what to say,	11 And when they will lead you to the synagogues, and to magistrates and authorities, do not choose to be worried about how or what you will answer, or about what you might say.
12 because when the time comes, the Holy Spirit wil teach you what you should say.'	12 For the Holy Spirit will teach you, in the same hour, what you must say.”
13 A man in the crowd said to him, 'Master, tel my brother to give me a share of our inheritance.'	13 And someone from the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”
14 He said to him, 'My friend, who appointed me your judge, or the arbitrator of your claims?'	14 But he said to him, “Man, who has appointed me as judge or arbitrator over you?”
15 Then he said to them, 'Watch, and be on your guard against avarice of any kind, for life does notconsist in possessions, even when someone has more than he needs.'	15 So he said to them: “Be cautious and wary of all avarice. For a person’s life is not found in the abundance of the things that he possesses.”
16 Then he told them a parable, 'There was once a rich man who, having had a good harvest from hisland,	16 Then he spoke to them using a comparison, saying: “The fertile land of a certain wealthy man produced crops.
17 thought to himself, "What am I to do? I have not enough room to store my crops."	17 And he thought within himself, saying: ‘What should I do? For I have nowhere to gather together my crops.’
18 Then he said, "This is what I will do: I wil pul down my barns and build bigger ones, and store al mygrain and my goods in them,	18 And he said: ‘This is what I will do. I will tear down my barns and build larger ones. And into these, I will gather all the things that have been grown for me, as well as my goods.
19 and I will say to my soul: My soul, you have plenty of good things laid by for many years to come;take things easy, eat, drink, have a good time."	19 And I will say to my soul: Soul, you have many goods, stored up for many years. Relax, eat, drink, and be cheerful.’
20 But God said to him, "Fool! This very night the demand wil be made for your soul; and this hoard ofyours, whose wil it be then?"	20 But God said to him: ‘Foolish one, this very night they require your soul of you. To whom, then, will those things belong, which you have prepared?’
21 So it is when someone stores up treasure for himself instead of becoming rich in the sight of God.'	21 So it is with him who stores up for himself, and is not wealthy with God.”
22 Then he said to his disciples, 'That is why I am tel ing you not to worry about your life and what youare to eat, nor about your body and how you are to clothe it.	22 And he said to his disciples: “And so I say to you: Do not choose to be anxious about your life, as to what you may eat, nor about your body, as to what you will wear.
23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.	23 Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.
24 Think of the ravens. They do not sow or reap; they have no storehouses and no barns; yet God feedsthem. And how much more you are worth than the birds!	24 Consider the ravens. For they neither sow nor reap; there is no storehouse or barn for them. And yet God pastures them. How much more are you, compared to them?
25 Can any of you, however much you worry, add a single cubit to your span of life?	25 But which of you, by thinking, is able to add one cubit to his stature?
26 If a very smal thing is beyond your powers, why worry about the rest?	26 Therefore, if you are not capable, in what is so little, why be anxious about the rest?
27 Think how the flowers grow; they never have to spin or weave; yet, I assure you, not even Solomon inal his royal robes was clothed like one of them.	27 Consider the lilies, how they grow. They neither work nor weave. But I say to you, not even Solomon, in all his glory, was clothed like one of these.
28 Now if that is how God clothes a flower which is growing wild today and is thrown into the furnacetomorrow, how much more wil he look after you, who have so little faith!	28 Therefore, if God so clothes the grass, which is in the field today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, how much more you, O little in faith?
29 But you must not set your hearts on things to eat and things to drink; nor must you worry.	29 And so, do not choose to inquire as to what you will eat, or what you will drink. And do not choose to be lifted up on high.
30 It is the gentiles of this world who set their hearts on al these things. Your Father wel knows youneed them.	30 For all these things are sought by the Gentiles of the world. And your Father knows that you have need of these things.
31 No; set your hearts on his kingdom, and these other things will be given you as well.	31 Yet truly, seek first the kingdom of God, and his justice, and all these things shall be added to you.
32 'There is no need to be afraid, little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom.	32 Do not be afraid, little flock; for it has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom.
33 'Sel your possessions and give to those in need. Get yourselves purses that do not wear out,treasure that wil not fail you, in heaven where no thief can reach it and no moth destroy it.	33 Sell what you possess, and give alms. Make for yourselves purses that will not wear out, a treasure that will not fall short, in heaven, where no thief approaches, and no moth corrupts.
34 For wherever your treasure is, that is where your heart wil be too.	34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
35 'See that you have your belts done up and your lamps lit.	35 Let your waists be girded, and let lamps be burning in your hands.
36 Be like people waiting for their master to return from the wedding feast, ready to open the door assoon as he comes and knocks.	36 And let you yourselves be like men awaiting their lord, when he will return from the wedding; so that, when he arrives and knocks, they may open to him promptly.
37 Blessed those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. In truth I tel you, he wil do uphis belt, sit them down at table and wait on them.	37 Blessed are those servants whom the Lord, when he returns, will find being vigilant. Amen I say to you, that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, while he, continuing on, will minister to them.
38 It may be in the second watch that he comes, or in the third, but blessed are those servants if he findsthem ready.	38 And if he will return in the second watch, or if in the third watch, and if he will find them to be so: then blessed are those servants.
39 You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what time the burglar wouldcome, he would not have let anyone break through the wall of his house.	39 But know this: that if the father of the family knew at what hour the thief would arrive, he would certainly stand watch, and he would not permit his house to be broken into.
40 You too must stand ready, because the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.'	40 You also must be prepared. For the Son of man will return at an hour that you will not realize.”
41 Peter said, 'Lord, do you mean this parable for us, or for everyone?'	41 Then Peter said to him, “Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or also to everyone?”
42 The Lord replied, 'Who, then, is the wise and trustworthy steward whom the master wil place over hishousehold to give them at the proper time their al owance of food?	42 So the Lord said: “Who do you think is the faithful and prudent steward, whom his Lord has appointed over his family, in order to give them their measure of wheat in due time?
43 Blessed that servant if his master's arrival finds him doing exactly that.	43 Blessed is that servant if, when his Lord will return, he will find him acting in this manner.
44 I tel you truly, he wil put him in charge of everything that he owns.	44 Truly I say to you, that he will appoint him over all that he possesses.
45 But if the servant says to himself, "My master is taking his time coming," and sets about beating themenservants and the servant-girls, and eating and drinking and getting drunk,	45 But if that servant will have said in his heart, ‘My Lord has made a delay in his return,’ and if he has begun to strike the men and women servants, and to eat and drink, and to be inebriated,
46 his master wil come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know. The master willcut him off and send him to the same fate as the unfaithful.	46 then the Lord of that servant will return on a day which he hoped not, and at an hour which he knew not. And he will separate him, and he will place his portion with that of the unfaithful.
47 'The servant who knows what his master wants, but has got nothing ready and done nothing inaccord with those wishes, wil be given a great many strokes of the lash.	47 And that servant, who knew the will of his Lord, and who did not prepare and did not act according to his will, will be beaten many times over.
48 The one who did not know, but has acted in such a way that he deserves a beating, will be givenfewer strokes. When someone is given a great deal, a great deal wil be demanded of that person; whensomeone is entrusted with a great deal, of that person even more will be expected.	48 Yet he who did not know, and who acted in a way that deserves a beating, will be beaten fewer times. So then, of all to whom much has been given, much will be required. And of those to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be asked.
49 'I have come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already!	49 I have come to cast a fire upon the earth. And what should I desire, except that it may be kindled?
50 There is a baptism I must stil receive, and what constraint I am under until it is completed!	50 And I have a baptism, with which I am to be baptized. And how I am constrained, even until it may be accomplished!
51 'Do you suppose that I am here to bring peace on earth? No, I tel you, but rather division.	51 Do you think that I have come to give peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but division.
52 For from now on, a household of five will be divided: three against two and two against three;	52 For from this time on, there will be five in one house: divided as three against two, and as two against three.
53 father opposed to son, son to father, mother to daughter, daughter to mother, mother-in-law todaughter-in-law, daughter-in-law to mother-in-law.'	53 A father will be divided against a son, and a son against his father; a mother against a daughter and a daughter against a mother; a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”
54 He said again to the crowds, 'When you see a cloud looming up in the west you say at once that rainis coming, and so it does.	54 And he also said to the crowds: “When you see a cloud rising from the setting of the sun, immediately you say, ‘A rain cloud is coming.’ And so it does.
55 And when the wind is from the south you say it's going to be hot, and it is.	55 And when a south wind is blowing, you say, ‘It will be hot.’ And so it is.
56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the face of the earth and the sky. How is it you do not knowhow to interpret these times?	56 You hypocrites! You discern the face of the heavens, and of the earth, yet how is it that you do not discern this time?
57 'Why not judge for yourselves what is upright?	57 And why do you not, even among yourselves, judge what is just?
58 For example: when you are going to court with your opponent, make an effort to settle with him on theway, or he may drag you before the judge and the judge hand you over to the officer and the officer have youthrown into prison.	58 So, when you are going with your adversary to the ruler, while you are on the way, make an effort to be freed from him, lest perhaps he may lead you to the judge, and the judge may deliver you to the officer, and the officer may cast you into prison.
59 I tel you, you wil not get out til you have paid the very last penny.'	59 I tell you, you will not depart from there, until you have paid the very last coin.”