Luke 12:22-14:24

New King James Version

Do Not Worry^(A)

²² Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, ^(B)do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. ²³ Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. ²⁴ Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and ^(C)God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? ²⁵ And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? ²⁶ If you then are not able to do the least, why ^[a]are you anxious for the rest? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even ^(D)Solomon in all his glory was not ^[b]arrayed like one of these. ²⁸ If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of ^(E)little faith?

²⁹ “And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. ³⁰ For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father ^(F)knows that you need these things. ^31 (G)But seek ^[c]the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.

³² “Do not fear, little flock, for ^(H)it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. ^33 (I)Sell what you have and give ^(J)alms; ^(K)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. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The Faithful Servant and the Evil Servant^(L)

^35 (M)“Let your waist be girded and ^(N)your lamps burning; ³⁶ and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. ^37 (O)Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. ³⁸ And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. ^39 (P)But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would ^[d]have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. ^40 (Q)Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

⁴¹ Then Peter said to Him, “Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?”

⁴² And the Lord said, ^(R)“Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food ^[e]in due season? ⁴³ Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. ^44 (S)Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. ^45 (T)But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, ⁴⁶ the master of that servant will come on a ^(U)day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. ⁴⁷ And ^(V)that servant who ^(W)knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. ^48 (X)But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.

Christ Brings Division^(Y)

^49 (Z)“I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! ⁵⁰ But ^(AA)I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is ^(AB)accomplished! ^51 (AC)Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, ^(AD)but rather division. ^52 (AE)For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. ^53 (AF)Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

Discern the Time^(AG)

⁵⁴ Then He also said to the multitudes, ^(AH)“Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming’; and so it is. ⁵⁵ And when you see the ^(AI)south wind blow, you say, ‘There will be hot weather’; and there is. ⁵⁶ Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern ^(AJ)this time?

Make Peace with Your Adversary

⁵⁷ “Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right? ^58 (AK)When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort ^(AL)along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. ⁵⁹ I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite.”

Repent or Perish

13 There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had ^[f]mingled with their sacrifices. ² And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? ³ I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. ⁴ Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? ⁵ I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”

The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

⁶ He also spoke this parable: ^(AM)“A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. ⁷ Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it ^[g]use up the ground?’ ⁸ But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. ^9 [h]And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can ^(AN)cut it down.’ ”

A Spirit of Infirmity

¹⁰ Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. ¹¹ And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way ^[i]raise herself up. ¹² But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your ^(AO)infirmity.” ^13 (AP)And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.

¹⁴ But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had ^(AQ)healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, ^(AR)“There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and ^(AS)not on the Sabbath day.”

¹⁵ The Lord then answered him and said, ^[j]“Hypocrite! ^(AT)Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? ¹⁶ So ought not this woman, ^(AU)being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound—think of it—for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?” ¹⁷ And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were ^(AV)done by Him.

The Parable of the Mustard Seed^(AW)

^18 (AX)Then He said, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? ¹⁹ It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a ^[k]large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”

The Parable of the Leaven^(AY)

²⁰ And again He said, “To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? ²¹ It is like ^[l]leaven, which a woman took and hid in three ^(AZ)measures^[m] of meal till it was all leavened.”

The Narrow Way^(BA)

^22 (BB)And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. ²³ Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there ^(BC)few who are saved?”

And He said to them, ^24 (BD)“Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for ^(BE)many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. ^25 (BF)When once the Master of the house has risen up and ^(BG)shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ^(BH)‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ^(BI)‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ ²⁶ then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ ^27 (BJ)But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. ^(BK)Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ ^28 (BL)There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, ^(BM)when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. ²⁹ They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God. ^30 (BN)And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.”

^31 [n]On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, “Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You.”

³² And He said to them, “Go, tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day ^(BO)I shall be ^[o]perfected.’ ³³ Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.

Jesus Laments over Jerusalem^(BP)

^34 (BQ)“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing! ³⁵ See! ^(BR)Your house is left to you desolate; and ^[p]assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, ^(BS)‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”

A Man with Dropsy Healed on the Sabbath

14 Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely. ² And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy. ³ And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, ^(BT)“Is it lawful to heal on the ^[q]Sabbath?”

⁴ But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go. ⁵ Then He answered them, saying, ^(BU)“Which of you, having a ^[r]donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” ⁶ And they could not answer Him regarding these things.

Take the Lowly Place

⁷ So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them: ⁸ “When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; ⁹ and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. ^10 (BV)But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. ^11 (BW)For whoever exalts himself will be ^[s]humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

¹² Then He also said to him who invited Him, “When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid. ¹³ But when you give a feast, invite ^(BX)the poor, the ^[t]maimed, the lame, the blind. ¹⁴ And you will be ^(BY)blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

The Parable of the Great Supper^(BZ)

¹⁵ Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, ^(CA)“Blessed is he who shall eat ^[u]bread in the kingdom of God!”

^16 (CB)Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, ¹⁷ and ^(CC)sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ ¹⁸ But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ ¹⁹ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’ ²⁰ Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ ²¹ So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the ^[v]maimed and the lame and the blind.’ ²² And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’ ²³ Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. ²⁴ For I say to you ^(CD)that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.’ ”