And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
Parallel translations
- WEB He spoke a parable to them, saying, “The ground of a certain rich man produced abundantly.
- BSB Then He told them a parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced an abundance.
- NKJV Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.
- NASB And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive.
- NLT Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus tells a parable of a rich man whose land produced an abundant harvest. The story exposes the folly of trusting in earthly wealth.
Overview
The parable opens with a man already wealthy who receives an unusually large crop, a picture of worldly prosperity. There is nothing wrong with the harvest itself; the issue will be the man's response to it. Jesus uses this scenario to illustrate the warning against covetousness and the danger of living as though this life is all there is.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Gen 26:12–14Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.
- Hos 2:8For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal.
- Gen 41:47–49And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls.
- Job 12:6The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure; into whose hand God bringeth abundantly.
- Ps 73:12Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches.
- Ps 73:3For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
- Matt 5:45That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
- Acts 14:17Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 12:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.