Luke 12:13-15:32

^12:13 And someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

¹⁴ But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵ He said to them, “Beware. Keep yourselves from all covetousness, for a man’s life does not consist of the abundance of the things which he possesses.”

¹⁶ He spoke a parable to them, saying, “The ground of a certain rich man brought forth abundantly. ¹⁷ He reasoned within himself, saying, ‘What will I do, because I do not have room to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ He said, ‘This is what I will do. I will pull down my barns, and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹ I will tell my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.”‘

²⁰ “But God said to him, ‘You foolish one, tonight your soul is required of you. The things which you have prepared—whose will they be?’ ²¹ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

²² He said to his talmidim, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious for your life, what you will eat, nor yet for your body, what you will wear. ²³ Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. ²⁴ Consider the ravens: they do not sow, they do not reap, they have no warehouse or barn, and God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than birds. ²⁵ Which of you by being anxious can add a cubit to his height? ²⁶ If then you are not able to do even the least things, why are you anxious about the rest? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow. They do not toil, neither do they spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ²⁸ But if this is how God clothes the grass in the field, which today exists, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith? ²⁹ Do not seek what you will eat or what you will drink; neither be anxious. ³⁰ For the nations of the world seek after all of these things, but your Father knows that you need these things. ³¹ But seek his Kingdom, and these things will be added to you. ³² Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. ³³ Sell that which you have, and do tzedakah. Make for yourselves purses which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches, neither moth destroys. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

³⁵ “Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning. ³⁶ Be like people watching for their lord, when he returns from the marriage feast; that, when he comes and knocks, they may immediately open to him. ³⁷ Blessed are those servants, whom the lord will find watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, that he will dress himself, and make them recline, and will come and serve them. ³⁸ And if he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are they. ³⁹ But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what hour the thief was coming, he would have watched and not have allowed his house to be broken into. ⁴⁰ Therefore be ready also, for the Son of Man is coming in an hour that you do not expect him.”

⁴¹ Peter said to him, “Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everybody?”

⁴² The Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his lord will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the right times? ⁴³ Blessed is that servant whom his lord will find doing so when he comes. ⁴⁴ Truly I tell you, that he will set him over all that he has. ⁴⁵ But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My lord delays his coming,’ and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, and to eat and drink, and to be drunk, ⁴⁶ then the lord of that servant will come in a day when he is not expecting him, and in an hour that he does not know, and will cut him in two, and place his portion with the unfaithful. ⁴⁷ That servant, who knew his lord’s will, and did not prepare, nor do what he wanted, will be beaten with many stripes, ⁴⁸ but he who did not know, and did things worthy of stripes, will be beaten with few stripes. To whomever much is given, of him will much be required; and to whom much was entrusted, of him more will be asked.

⁴⁹ “I came to throw fire on the earth. I wish it were already kindled. ⁵⁰ But I have an immersion to be immersed with, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished. ⁵¹ Do you think that I have come to give peace in the earth? I tell you, no, but rather division. ⁵² For from now on, there will be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. ⁵³ They will be divided, father against son, and son against father; mother against daughter, and daughter against her mother; mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

⁵⁴ He said to the crowds also, “When you see a cloud rising from the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it happens. ⁵⁵ When a south wind blows, you say, ‘There will be a scorching heat,’ and it happens. ⁵⁶ Hypocrites. You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but why do you not know how to interpret this time? ⁵⁷ Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? ⁵⁸ For when you are going with your adversary before the magistrate, try diligently on the way to be released from him, lest perhaps he drag you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. ⁵⁹ I tell you, you will by no means get out of there, until you have paid the very last penny.”

^13:1 Now there were some present at the same time who told him about the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. ² And he answered and said to them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered these things? ³ I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all perish in the same way. ⁴ Or those eighteen, on whom the tower in Siloam fell, and killed them; do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who dwell in Jerusalem? ⁵ I tell you, no, but, unless you repent, you will all perish in the same way.”

⁶ He spoke this parable. “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it, and found none. ⁷ He said to the vine dresser, ‘Look, these three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and found none. Cut it down. Why does it waste the soil?’ ⁸ He answered, ‘Lord, leave it alone this year also, until I dig around it, and fertilize it. ⁹ And if it bears fruit next time, [fine]; but if not, you can cut it down.'”

¹⁰ He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath day. ¹¹ And look, a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and she was bent over, and could in no way straighten herself up. ¹² When Yeshua saw her, he called her, and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.” ¹³ He laid his hands on her, and immediately she stood up straight, and glorified God.

₁₄ The ruler of the synagogue, being indignant because Yeshua had healed on the Sabbath, said to the crowd, “There are six days when work should be done. Therefore come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.”

¹⁵ Therefore the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites. Does not each one of you free his ox or his donkey from the stall on the Sabbath, and lead him away to water? ¹⁶ Ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan had bound, look, eighteen years, be freed from this bondage on the Sabbath day?”

¹⁷ As he said these things, all his adversaries were disappointed, and all the crowd rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.

¹⁸ Then he said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? And to what can I compare it? ¹⁹ It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and put in his own garden. It grew, and became a tree, and the birds of the sky lodged in its branches.”

²⁰ And again he said, “To what can I compare the Kingdom of God? ²¹ It is like yeast, which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.”

²² He went on his way through cities and villages, teaching, and traveling on to Jerusalem. ²³ One said to him, “Lord, are they few who are saved?”

He said to them, ²⁴ “Strive to enter in by the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will seek to enter in, and will not be able. ²⁵ When once the master of the house has risen up, and has shut the door, and you begin to stand outside, and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us.’ then he will answer and tell you, ‘I do not know you or where you come from.’ ²⁶ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ ²⁷ But he will reply, ‘I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity.’ ²⁸ There will be weeping and grinding of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets, in the Kingdom of God, and yourselves being thrown outside. ²⁹ They will come from the east, west, north, and south, and will sit down in the Kingdom of God. ³⁰ And look, there are some who are last who will be first, and there are some who are first who will be last.”

³¹ In that same hour some Pharisees came, saying to him, “Get out of here, and go away, for Herod wants to kill you.”

³² And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Look, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I complete my mission. ³³ Nevertheless I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the next day, for it cannot be that a prophet perish outside of Jerusalem.’

³⁴ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that kills the prophets, and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together, like a hen gathers her own brood under her wings, and you refused. ³⁵ Look, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'”

^14:1 And it happened, when he went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees on a Sabbath to eat bread, that they were watching him. ² And look, a certain man who had dropsy was in front of him. ³ Yeshua, answering, spoke to the Law scholars and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?”

⁴ But they were silent.

He took him, and healed him, and let him go. ⁵ He answered them, “Which of you, if your son or an ox fell into a well, would not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?”

⁶ They could not answer him regarding these things.

⁷ He spoke a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the best seats, and said to them, ⁸ “When you are invited by anyone to a marriage feast, do not sit in the best seat, since perhaps someone more honorable than you might be invited by him, ⁹ and he who invited both of you would come and tell you, ‘Make room for this person.’ Then you would begin, with shame, to take the lowest place. ¹⁰ But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes, he may tell you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. ¹¹ For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

¹² He also said to the one who had invited him, “When you make a dinner or a supper, do not call your friends, nor your brothers, nor your kinsmen, nor rich neighbors, or perhaps they might also return the favor, and pay you back. ¹³ But when you make a feast, ask the poor, the maimed, the lame, or the blind; ¹⁴ and you will be blessed, because they do not have the resources to repay you. For you will be repaid in the resurrection of the righteous.”

¹⁵ Now when one of those who were reclining with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is he who will eat bread in the Kingdom of God.”

¹⁶ But he said to him, “A certain man made a great supper, and he invited many people. ¹⁷ And he sent his servant at the hour for supper to tell those who were invited, ‘Come, for everything is ready now.’ ¹⁸ They all as one began to make excuses.

“The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please have me excused.’

¹⁹ “Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I must go try them out. Please have me excused.’

²⁰ “Another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’

²¹ “That servant came, and told his lord these things. 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 the poor, maimed, blind, and lame.’

²² “The servant said, ‘Lord, it is done as you commanded, and there is still room.’

²³ “The lord 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 tell you that none of those individuals who were invited will taste of my supper.'”

²⁵ Now large crowds were going with him. He turned and said to them, ²⁶ “If anyone comes to me, and does not hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be my talmid. ²⁷ Whoever does not bear his own cross, and come after me, cannot be my talmid. ²⁸ For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? ²⁹ Or perhaps, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, everyone who sees begins to mock him, ³⁰ saying, ‘This man began to build, and was not able to finish.’ ³¹ Or what king, as he goes to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? ³² Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an envoy, and asks for conditions of peace. ³³ So therefore whoever of you who does not renounce all that he has, he cannot be my talmid. ³⁴ Salt is good, but if the salt becomes flat and tasteless, with what do you season it? ³⁵ It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. It is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

^15:1 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming close to him to hear him. ² The Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, “This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them.”

³ He told them this parable. ⁴ “Which one of you, if you had one hundred sheep, and lost one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one that was lost, until he found it? ⁵ When he has found it, he carries it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ⁶ When he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.’ ⁷ I tell you that even so there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance. ⁸ Or what woman, if she had ten drachma coins, if she lost one drachma coin, would not light a lamp, sweep the house, and seek diligently until she found it? ⁹ When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the drachma which I had lost.’ ¹⁰ Even so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner repenting.”

¹¹ He said, “A certain man had two sons. ¹² The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of your property.’ He divided his livelihood between them. ¹³ Not many days after, the younger son gathered all of this together and traveled into a far country. There he wasted his property with riotous living. ¹⁴ When he had spent all of it, there arose a severe famine in that country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ He went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ And he wanted to fill himself with the carob pods that the pigs ate, but no one gave him any. ¹⁷ But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough to spare, and I’m dying here with hunger. ¹⁸ I will get up and go to my father, and will tell him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”‘

²⁰ “He arose, and came to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. ²¹ The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²² “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quickly, bring out the best robe, and put it on him. Put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. ²³ Bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat, and celebrate; ²⁴ for this, my son, was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found.’ They began to celebrate.

²⁵ “Now his elder son was in the field. As he came near to the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ He called one of the servants to him, and asked what was going on. ²⁷ He said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and healthy.’ ²⁸ But he was angry, and would not go in. Therefore his father came out, and pleaded with him. ²⁹ But he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed a commandment of yours, but you never gave me a goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But when this, your son, came, who has devoured your living with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’

³¹ “He said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. ³² But it was appropriate to celebrate and be glad, for this brother of yours was dead and is alive; and he was lost, and is found.'”