Luke Chapter 12 verse 15 Holy Bible
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.
read chapter 12 in ASV
And he said to them, Take care to keep yourselves free from the desire for property; for a man's life is not made up of the number of things which he has.
read chapter 12 in BBE
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.
read chapter 12 in DARBY
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.
read chapter 12 in KJV
read chapter 12 in WBT
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."
read chapter 12 in WEB
And he said unto them, `Observe, and beware of the covetousness, because not in the abundance of one's goods is his life.'
read chapter 12 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 15. - 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. The older authorities read, "beware of every kind of covetousness." No vice is more terribly illustrated in the Old Testament story than this. Prominent illustrations of ruin overtaking the covetous man, even in this life, are Balaam, Achan, and Gehazi. Has not this ever been one of the besetting sins of the chosen race, then as now, now as then? Jesus, as the Reader of hearts, saw what was at the bottom of the question: greed, rather than a fiery indignation at a wrong endured. "A man's life." His true life, would be a fair paraphrase of the Greek word used here. The Master's own life, landless, homeless, penniless, illustrated nobly these words. That life, as far as earth was concerned, was his deliberate choice. The world, Christian as well as pagan, in each succeeding age, with a remarkable agreement, utterly declines to recognize the great Teacher's view of life here. To make his meaning perfectly clear, the Lord told them the following parable-story, which reads like an experience or memory of something which had actually happened.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(15) Take heed, and beware of covetousness.--The better MSS. give, "of all (i.e., every form of) -covetousness." Our Lord's words show that He had read the secret of the man's heart. Greed was there, with all its subtle temptations, leading the man to think that "life" was not worth living unless he had a superfluity of goods. The general truth is illustrated by a parable, obviously selected by St. Luke, as specially enforcing the truth which he held to be of primary importance. (See Introduction.)
