121 Under these circumstances , after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another , He began saying to His disciples first of all, " Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy . . 2 " But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed , and hidden that will not be known . 3 "Accordingly , whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light , and what you have whispered e e in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops .
4 "I say to you, My friends , do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no e more that they can do . 5 "But I will warn you whom to fear : fear the One who, after He has killed , has authority to cast into hell ; yes , I tell you, fear Him! 6 "Are not five sparrows sold for two cents ? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God . 7 " Indeed e , the very hairs of your head are all numbered . Do not fear ; you are more valuable than many sparrows .
8 "And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men , the Son of Man will confess him also before the angels of God ; 9 but he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God . 10 " And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man , it will be forgiven him; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit , it will not be forgiven him. 11 "When they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities , do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense , or what you are to say ; 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say ."
13 Someone in the crowd said to Him, "Teacher , tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me." 14 But He said to him, " Man , who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?" 15 Then He said to them, " Beware , and be on your guard against every form of greed ; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions ." 16 And He told them a parable , saying , "The land of a rich man was very productive . 17 "And he began reasoning to himself , saying , 'What shall I do , since I have no place to store my crops ?' 18 "Then he said , 'This is what I will do : I will tear down my barns and build larger ones , and there I will store all my grain and my goods . 19 'And I will say to my soul , "Soul , you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease , eat , drink and be merry ."' 20 "But God said to him, ' You fool ! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared ?' 21 "So is the man who stores up treasure for himself , and is not rich toward God ."
22 And He said to His disciples , " For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life , as to what you will eat ; nor for your body , as to what you will put on. 23 "For life is more than food , and the body more than clothing . 24 "Consider the ravens , for they neither sow nor reap ; they have no storeroom nor barn , and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds ! 25 "And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life's span ? 26 "If then you cannot e do even a very little thing , why do you worry about other matters ? 27 "Consider the lilies , how they grow : they neither toil nor spin ; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these . 28 "But if God so clothes the grass in the field , which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace , how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith ! 29 "And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink , and do not keep worrying . 30 "For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek ; 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 your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom . 33 " Sell your possessions and give to charity ; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven , where no thief comes near nor moth destroys . 34 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also .
35 " Be dressed in readiness , and keep your lamps lit . 36 "Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast , so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks . 37 "Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes ; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. 38 " Whether he comes in the second watch , or even in the third , and finds them so , blessed are those slaves. 39 " But be sure of this , that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming , he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 40 " You too , be ready ; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect ."
41 Peter said , "Lord , are You addressing this parable to us, or to everyone else as well ?" 42 And the Lord said , " Who then is the faithful and sensible steward , whom his master will put in charge of his servants , to give them their rations at the proper time ? 43 "Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes . 44 "Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions . 45 "But if that slave says in his heart , 'My master will be a long time in coming ,' and begins to beat the slaves e , both men and women , and to eat and drink and get drunk ; 46 the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know , and will cut him in pieces , and assign him a place with the unbelievers . 47 "And that slave who knew his master's will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will , will receive many lashes , 48 but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging , will receive but few . From everyone who has been given much , much will be required ; and to whom they entrusted much , of him they will ask all the more .
49 "I have come to cast fire upon the earth ; and how I wish it were already kindled ! 50 "But I have a baptism to undergo , and how distressed I am until it is accomplished ! 51 " Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth ? I tell you, no , but rather division ; 52 for from now on five members in one household will be 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 mother , mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law ."
54 And He was also saying to the crowds , " When you see a cloud rising in the west , immediately you say , 'A shower is coming ,' and so it turns out. 55 "And when you see a south wind blowing , you say , 'It will be a hot day,' and it turns out that way. 56 "You hypocrites ! You know how to analyze the appearance of the earth and the sky , but why do you not analyze this present time ?
57 "And why do you not even on your own initiative judge what is right ? 58 "For while you are going with your opponent to appear before the magistrate , on your way there make an effort to settle with him, so that he may not drag you before the judge , and the judge turn you over to the officer , and the officer throw you into prison . 59 "I say to you, you will not get out of there until you have paid the very last cent ."