Chapter 12
1 At which, a throng of ten thousand being assembled
so as to be trampling one another, He begins to be saying to His disciples first,
"Take heed to yourselves of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
2 Now nothing is covered up which shall not be revealed,
and hidden which shall not be known,
3 because whatever you say in the darkness shall be heard
in the light, and what you speak in the ear in the storerooms shall be heralded on the
housetops.
4 "Now I am saying to you, My friends, be not afraid
of those who are killing the body and after this do not have anything more excessive that
they can do.
5 Now I shall be intimating to you of Whom you may be
afraid: Be afraid of Him Who, after killing, has authority to be casting into Gehenna.
Yea, I am saying to you, of this One be afraid!
6 "Are not five sparrows selling for two pence?-and
not one of them is forgotten in God's sight.
7 But even the hairs of your head have all been numbered.
Then do not fear! You are of more consequence than many sparrows.
8 "Now I am saying to you that everyone whoever
shall be avowing Me in front of men, him shall the Son of Mankind also be avowing in front
of the messengers of God.
9 Now he who is disowning Me before men will be renounced
before the messengers of God.
10 And everyone who shall be declaring a word against the
Son of Mankind, it shall be pardoned him, yet the one who blasphemes against the holy
spirit shall not be pardoned.
11 "Now whenever they may be bringing you before the
synagogues and the chiefs and the authorities, you should not be worrying about how or
what your defense should be or what you may say,
12 for the holy spirit will be teaching you in the same
hour what you must be saying."
13 Now someone out of the throng said to Him,
"Teacher, tell my brother to part the enjoyment of the allotment with me."
14 Now He said to him, "Man! who constitutes Me a
judge or a parter over you?"
15 Now He said to them, "See and guard against all
greed, for one's life is not in the superfluity of his possessions."
16 Now He told them a parable, saying, "The country
place of a certain rich man bears well.
17 And he reasoned in himself, saying, 'What shall I be
doing, seeing that I have no where to gather my fruits?'
18 And he said, 'This will I be doing: I will pull down
my barns, and greater ones will I build, and I will gather there all my grain and my good
things.
19 And I will be declaring to my soul, "Soul, many
good things have you laid up for many years. Rest, eat, drink, make merry."'
20 "Yet God said to him, 'Imprudent one! In this
night your soul are they demanding from you. Now, what you make ready, whose will it be?'
21 Thus is he who is hoarding for himself and is not rich
for God."
22 Now He said to His disciples, "Therefore I am
saying to you, Do not worry about the soul, what you may be eating, nor yet about your
body, what you should be putting on,
23 for the soul is more than nourishment and the body
than apparel.
24 Consider the ravens, that they are not sowing, neither
are they reaping, for which there is no storeroom nor yet barn, and God is nurturing them.
Of how much more consequence are you than the flying creatures!
25 Now who of you by worrying is able to add on to his
stature one cubit?
26 If, then, you are not even able for the least, why are
you worrying about the rest?
27 "Consider the anemones, how they are growing.
They are not toiling, neither are they spinning; yet I am saying to you that not even
Solomon in all his glory was clothed as one of these.
28 Now if God is thus garbing the grass in the field,
which is today and tomorrow is cast into the stove, how much rather you, scant of faith?
29 "And do not you be seeking what you may be eating
and what you may be drinking, and be not in suspense.
30 For, for all these the nations of the world are
seeking. Now your Father is aware that you need these.
31 However, be seeking the kingdom of God, and all these
things will be added to you.
32 "Do not fear, little flocklet, for it delights
your Father to give you the kingdom.
33 Sell your possessions and give alms. Make yourselves
purses which do not age, a treasure which does not default, in the heavens where a thief
is not nearing, neither moth is causing decay.
34 For wherever your treasure is, there will your heart
be also.
35 "Let your loins be girded about and lamps be
burning,
36 and you be like men anticipating their own lord, when
he should break loose from the wedding festivities, that at his coming and knocking, they
should immediately be opening to him.
37 Happy are those slaves, whom the Lord, coming, will be
finding watching. Verily, I am saying to you that He will be girding Himself about and
causing them to recline, and, coming by, will be serving them.
38 "And if He should be coming in the second watch,
and if in the third watch, and should be finding them thus, happy are those slaves.
39 Now this you know, that if the householder were aware
at what hour the thief is coming, he would watch and would not let his house be tunneled
into.
40 You also become ready, then, for, in an hour which you
are not supposing, the Son of Mankind is coming."
41 Now Peter said to Him, "Lord, to us art Thou
saying this parable, or also to all?"
42 And the Lord said, "Who, consequently, is the
faithful and prudent administrator, whom the lord will be placing over his attendance, to
be giving them the measure of grain in season.?
43 Happy is that slave, whom his lord, coming, will be
finding doing thus.
44 Truly, I am saying to you that over all his
possessions will he be placing him.
45 "Now if that slave should be saying in his heart,
'My lord is delaying his coming,' and should be beginning both to beat the boys and the
maids and to be eating and drinking and to be drunk,
46 the lord of that slave will be arriving on a day for
which he is not hoping and at an hour which he does not know, and shall be cutting him
asunder and shall be appointing his part with the unfaithful.
47 "Now that slave who knows the will of his lord
and does not make ready, nor yet does aught with a view to his will, shall have many
lashes.
48 Now he who does not know, yet does what deserves
blows, shall have few lashes. Now to everyone to whom much was given, from him much will
be sought, and to whom they committed much, more excessively will they be requesting of
him.
49 "Fire came I to be casting on the earth, and what
will I, if it were already kindled?
50 Yet a baptism have I to be baptized with, and how I am
being pressed till it should be accomplished!
51 Are you supposing that I came along to give peace to
the earth? No, I am saying to you, but rather division,
52 For from now on there will be five in one home
divided, three against two, and two against three will be divided,
53 father against son and son against father, and mother
against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."
54 Now He said to the throngs, also, "Whenever you
should be perceiving a cloud rising in the west, immediately you are saying that 'A
rainstorm is coming,' and it is occurring thus.
55 And whenever it is blowing from the south, you are
saying that 'There will be a scorching heat,' and it is occurring.
56 Hypocrites! The aspect of the sky and the earth you
are aware how to be testing, yet this era you are not aware how to be testing!
57 Now why, even of yourselves, are you not deciding what
is just?
58 For as you are going away with your plaintiff to a
magistrate, take action on the way to be cleared from him, lest at some time he may be
dragging you to the judge, and the judge will be giving you over to the sheriff, and the
sheriff will be casting you into jail.
59 I am saying to you, Under no circumstances may you be
coming out thence till you may be paying even the last mite." |