The Holy Bible

[11:37] When Jesus finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and sat down to eat.

[11:38] The Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus had not washed before eating.

[11:39] So the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of your cup and plate, but inside you are full of violence and evil.

[11:40] Fools! Did not God, who made the outside, also make the inside?

[11:41] But give what is in your cups and plates to the poor, and everything will be ritually clean for you.

[11:42] “How terrible for you Pharisees! You give to God one tenth of the seasoning herbs, such as mint and rue and all the other herbs, but you neglect justice and love for God. These you should practice, without neglecting the others.

[11:43] “How terrible for you Pharisees! You love the reserved seats in the synagogues and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces.

[11:44] How terrible for you! You are like unmarked graves which people walk on without knowing it.”

[11:45] One of the teachers of the Law said to him, “Teacher, when you say this, you insult us too!”

[11:46] Jesus answered, “How terrible also for you teachers of the Law! You put onto people's backs loads which are hard to carry, but you yourselves will not stretch out a finger to help them carry those loads.

[11:47] How terrible for you! You make fine tombs for the prophets—the very prophets your ancestors murdered.

[11:48] You yourselves admit, then, that you approve of what your ancestors did; they murdered the prophets, and you build their tombs.

[11:49] For this reason the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and messengers; they will kill some of them and persecute others.’

[11:50] So the people of this time will be punished for the murder of all the prophets killed since the creation of the world,

[11:51] from the murder of Abel to the murder of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the Holy Place. Yes, I tell you, the people of this time will be punished for them all!

[11:52] “How terrible for you teachers of the Law! You have kept the key that opens the door to the house of knowledge; you yourselves will not go in, and you stop those who are trying to go in!”

[11:53] When Jesus left that place, the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees began to criticize him bitterly and ask him questions about many things,

[11:54] trying to lay traps for him and catch him saying something wrong.

[12:1] As thousands of people crowded together, so that they were stepping on each other, Jesus said first to his disciples, “Be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees—I mean their hypocrisy.

[12:2] Whatever is covered up will be uncovered, and every secret will be made known.

[12:3] So then, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in broad daylight, and whatever you have whispered in private in a closed room will be shouted from the housetops.

[12:4] “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot afterward do anything worse.

[12:5] I will show you whom to fear: fear God, who, after killing, has the authority to throw into hell. Believe me, he is the one you must fear!

[12:6] “Aren't five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one sparrow is forgotten by God.

[12:7] Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth much more than many sparrows!

[12:8] “I assure you that those who declare publicly that they belong to me, the Son of Man will do the same for them before the angels of God.

[12:9] But those who reject me publicly, the Son of Man will also reject them before the angels of God.

[12:10] “Whoever says a word against the Son of Man can be forgiven; but whoever says evil things against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

[12:11] “When they bring you to be tried in the synagogues or before governors or rulers, do not be worried about how you will defend yourself or what you will say.

[12:12] For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”

[12:13] A man in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide with me the property our father left us.”

[12:14] Jesus answered him, “Friend, who gave me the right to judge or to divide the property between you two?”

[12:15] And he went on to say to them all, “Watch out and guard yourselves from every kind of greed; because your true life is not made up of the things you own, no matter how rich you may be.”

[12:16] Then Jesus told them this parable: “There was once a rich man who had land which bore good crops.

[12:17] He began to think to himself, ‘I don't have a place to keep all my crops. What can I do?

[12:18] This is what I will do,’ he told himself; ‘I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, where I will store the grain and all my other goods.

[12:19] Then I will say to myself, Lucky man! You have all the good things you need for many years. Take life easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!’

[12:20] But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night you will have to give up your life; then who will get all these things you have kept for yourself?’”

[12:21] And Jesus concluded, “This is how it is with those who pile up riches for themselves but are not rich in God's sight.”

[12:22] Then Jesus said to the disciples, “And so I tell you not to worry about the food you need to stay alive or about the clothes you need for your body.

[12:23] Life is much more important than food, and the body much more important than clothes.

[12:24] Look at the crows: they don't plant seeds or gather a harvest; they don't have storage rooms or barns; God feeds them! You are worth so much more than birds!

[12:25] Can any of you live a bit longer by worrying about it?

[12:26] If you can't manage even such a small thing, why worry about the other things?

[12:27] Look how the wild flowers grow: they don't work or make clothes for themselves. But I tell you that not even King Solomon with all his wealth had clothes as beautiful as one of these flowers.

[12:28] It is God who clothes the wild grass—grass that is here today and gone tomorrow, burned up in the oven. Won't he be all the more sure to clothe you? What little faith you have!

[12:29] “So don't be all upset, always concerned about what you will eat and drink.

[12:30] (For the pagans of this world are always concerned about all these things.) Your Father knows that you need these things.

[12:31] Instead, be concerned with his Kingdom, and he will provide you with these things.

[12:32] “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the Kingdom.

[12:33] Sell all your belongings and give the money to the poor. Provide for yourselves purses that don't wear out, and save your riches in heaven, where they will never decrease, because no thief can get to them, and no moth can destroy them.

[12:34] For your heart will always be where your riches are.

[12:35] “Be ready for whatever comes, dressed for action and with your lamps lit,

[12:36] like servants who are waiting for their master to come back from a wedding feast. When he comes and knocks, they will open the door for him at once.

[12:37] How happy are those servants whose master finds them awake and ready when he returns! I tell you, he will take off his coat, have them sit down, and will wait on them.

[12:38] How happy they are if he finds them ready, even if he should come at midnight or even later!

[12:39] And you can be sure that if the owner of a house knew the time when the thief would come, he would not let the thief break into his house.

[12:40] And you, too, must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you are not expecting him.”

[12:41] Peter said, “Lord, does this parable apply to us, or do you mean it for everyone?”

[12:42] The Lord answered, “Who, then, is the faithful and wise servant? He is the one that his master will put in charge, to run the household and give the other servants their share of the food at the proper time.

[12:43] How happy that servant is if his master finds him doing this when he comes home!

[12:44] Indeed, I tell you, the master will put that servant in charge of all his property.

[12:45] But if that servant says to himself that his master is taking a long time to come back and if he begins to beat the other servants, both the men and the women, and eats and drinks and gets drunk,

[12:46] then the master will come back one day when the servant does not expect him and at a time he does not know. The master will cut him in pieces and make him share the fate of the disobedient.

[12:47] “The servant who knows what his master wants him to do, but does not get himself ready and do it, will be punished with a heavy whipping.

[12:48] But the servant who does not know what his master wants, and yet does something for which he deserves a whipping, will be punished with a light whipping. Much is required from the person to whom much is given; much more is required from the person to whom much more is given.

[12:49] “I came to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already kindled!

[12:50] I have a baptism to receive, and how distressed I am until it is over!

[12:51] Do you suppose that I came to bring peace to the world? No, not peace, but division.

[12:52] From now on a family of five will be divided, three against two and two against three.

[12:53] Fathers will be against their sons, and sons against their fathers; mothers will be against their daughters, and daughters against their mothers; mothers-in-law will be against their daughters-in-law, and daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law.”