CHRIST'S DOCTRINE OF HYPOCRISY, OF THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD, OF WORLDLY
CARES, AND OF THE TIMES.
1 [12:1]AT that time, the multitude being assembled by ten thousands,
so that they trod one on another, he said to his disciples, Beware,
first, of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy; [12:2]for
there is nothing concealed that shall not be revealed, nor hid that
shall not be known. [12:3]Whatever, therefore, you have said in the
darkness, shall be heard in the light; and what you have spoken to the
ear in private rooms, shall be proclaimed on the houses. [12:4]And I
tell you, my friends, fear not those that kill the body, and after this
have [power] to do nothing more. [12:5]But I will show you whom to
fear; Fear him, who after killing has power to cast into hell; yes, I
tell you, Fear him. [12:6]Are not five sparrows sold for two assarions
[3 cents], and one of them is not forgotten before God? [12:7]But even
the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore, for you
are of more value than many sparrows.
2 [12:8]And I tell you, that whoever shall confess me before men, him
will the Son of man confess before the angels of God; [12:9]but he that
has denied me before men, shall be denied before the angels of God.
[12:10]And every one that speaks a word against the Son of man shall
have forgiveness; but he that blasphemes against the Holy Spirit shall
not be forgiven. [12:11]And when they bring you to the synagogues, and
powers, and authorities, be not anxious how you shall defend
yourselves, or what you shall say; [12:12]for the Holy Spirit shall
teach you in that hour what you ought to say.
3 [12:13]And one of the multitude said to him, Teacher, tell my brother
to divide with me the inheritance. [12:14]And he said to him, Man, who
made me a judge or a divider over you? [12:15]And he said to them, See,
and beware of all covetousness; for one's life depends not on the
abundance of his property. [12:16]And he told them a parable, saying,
The farm of a certain rich man produced abundantly; [12:17]and he
reasoned in himself, saying, What shall I do, for I have no place where
I shall bring together my fruits? [12:18]And he said, I will do this; I
will take down my storehouses and build greater; and there will I bring
together all my produce and my goods; [12:19]and I will say to my soul,
Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years rest, eat, drink, and
enjoy yourself. [12:20]But God said to him, Foolish man, this night
they shall require your soul from you; and who then will have the goods
which you have provided? [12:21]So is every one that lays up treasures
for himself and is not rich in God.
4 [12:22]And he said to his disciples, I tell you, therefore, be not
anxious for your soul what you shall eat, nor for the body what you
shall put on. [12:23]Is not the soul more than the food, and the body
than the clothing? [12:24]Consider the ravens; for they neither sow nor
reap, and they have no private room, no storehouse; and God feeds them.
How much are you better than the birds! [12:25]And which of you can add
a cubit to his stature? [12:26]And if you cannot do the least, why are
you anxious for the rest? [12:27]Consider the lilies; how they neither
spin nor weave; but I tell you that Solomon in all his glory was not
arrayed like one of them. [12:28]And if God so clothes the grass in the
field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, will he
not much more clothe you, men of little faith? [12:29]And seek not
what you shall eat, and what you shall drink, and be not of a doubtful
mind; [12:30]for all these things do the nations of the world seek; and
your Father knows that you need them. [12:31]But seek his kingdom, and
these shall be added to you. [12:32]Fear not, little flock, for your
Father is well pleased to give you the kingdom. [12:33]Sell your
property and bestow charity; make yourselves purses that become not
old, and a treasury that fails not, in heaven, where no thief
approaches, nor moth destroys; [12:34]for where your treasury is, there
will your heart be also.
5 [12:35]Stand with your loins girded, and your candles lighted,
[12:36]and be like men waiting for the coming of their lord, when he
shall return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may
open to him immediately. [12:37] Blessed are those servants whom their
lord when he comes shall find watching. I tell you truly, that he will
gird himself, and cause them to recline, and he will come and wait upon
them. [12:38]And if he comes in the second watch, and comes in the
third watch, and finds them thus, blessed are they. [12:39]But know
this, that if the householder had known at what hour the thief comes,
he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken
through. [12:40]Be you also ready; for in an hour when you think not
the Son of man comes.
6 [12:41]And Peter said to him, Lord, do you speak this parable to us,
or also to all? [12:42]And the Lord said, Who then is a faithful, a
wise steward, whom the lord shall place over his family, to give them
their proper food in due time? [12:43]Blessed is that servant whom his
lord when he comes shall find so doing. [12:44]I tell you truly, that
he will set him over all his property. [12:45]But if that servant says
in his heart, My lord delays to come, and begins to beat the younger
servants, and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk,
[12:46]the lord of that servant will come in a day that he looks not
for him, and at an hour that he knows not of, and will punish him
severely, and give him his part with the faithless. [12:47]And that
servant who knew his lord's will and prepared not himself, nor did
according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes; [12:48]but he
that knew not, and did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with
few. And from any one to whom much is given, much will be demanded; and
of him with whom men have deposited much, they will ask more.
7 [12:49]I have come to send a fire on the earth; and what will I if it
is already kindled? [12:50]But I have a baptism to be baptized with;
and how am I straitened till it is fully accomplished! [12:51]Do you
think that I have come to give peace on the earth? I tell you, no; but
rather division. [12:52]For from this time there shall be five in one
house divided, three against two, and two shall be divided against
three; [12:53]a father against a son, and a son against a father; a
mother against the daughter, and a daughter against the mother; a
mother-in-law against the daughter-in-law, and a daughter-in-law
against the mother-in-law.
8 [12:54]And he also said to the multitudes, When you see a cloud rise
in the west you immediately say, There comes a shower; and it is so.
[12:55]And when the south wind blows you say, There will be heat; and
there is. [12:56] Hypocrites! You know how to distinguish the
appearance of the earth and sky, and how do you not distinguish this
time? [12:57]And why even of yourselves do you not judge what is right?
[12:58]For when you go with your adversary to a ruler, on the way labor
to be released from him, lest he take you to the judge, and the judge
deliver you to the officer, and the officer cast you into prison;
[12:59] I tell you that you shall not go out thence till you have paid
even the last lepton [2 mill].