Luke 12:15
13 Someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
14 But Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed Me judge or executor between you?”
And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
16 Then He told them a parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced an abundance.
17 So he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, since I have nowhere to store my crops?’
Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
- KJV
- And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
- WEB
- He said to them, “Beware! Keep yourselves from covetousness, for a man’s life doesn’t consist of the abundance of the things which he possesses.”
- ASV
- And he said unto them, Take heed, and keep yourselves from all covetousness: for a man`s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
- DARBY
- And he said to them, Take heed and keep yourselves from all covetousness, for [it is] not because a man is in abundance [that] his life is in his possessions.
- BLB
- And He said to them, “Beware, and keep yourselves from all covetousness, because not to anyone is his life in the abundance of that which he possesses.”
- ÅB
- Og han sa til dem: Se til og ta dere i vare for all havesyke! for ingen har sitt liv av sitt gods, om han er nokså rik.
- OTB
- Så sa Han til dem, “Vokt dere og vær på vakt mot enhver form for grådighet; for livet handler ikke om å samle en overflod av eiendeler.”
- B1930
- Og han sa til dem: Se til og ta eder i vare for all havesyke! for ingen har sitt liv av sitt gods, om han er nokså rik.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Hebrews 13:5
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”
Read in context1 Timothy 6:6–10
Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain.
Read in contextPsalms 119:36–37
Turn my heart to Your testimonies and not to covetous gain.
Read in contextProverbs 16:16
How much better to acquire wisdom than gold! To gain understanding is more desirable than silver.
Read in contextProverbs 15:16
Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure with turmoil.
Read in contextMatthew 6:25–26
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
Read in contextLuke 16:14
The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all of this and were scoffing at Jesus.
Read in contextEcclesiastes 5:10–16
He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile.
Read in context