Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods.
Parallel translations
- WEB He said, ‘This is what I will do. I will pull down my barns, and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
- KJV And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
- BSB Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and will build bigger ones, and there I will store up all my grain and my goods.
- ESV And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
- NKJV So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.
- NASB And he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and I will store all my grain and my goods there.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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
He resolves to tear down his barns and build bigger ones to store all his grain and goods. His solution is greater accumulation for himself alone.
Overview
The rich man's plan is to expand his storage capacity so he can keep ever more for himself. Notably absent is any sense of stewardship, gratitude to God, or generosity toward others. His vision extends no further than securing his own comfort, revealing a heart enslaved to possessions.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Jas 3:15This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, sensual, and demonic.
- Jas 4:15For you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will both live, and do this or that.”
- Luke 12:21So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
- Luke 18:6The Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge says.
- Luke 18:4He wouldn’t for a while, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God, nor respect man,
- Ps 17:14from men by your hand, Yahweh, from men of the world, whose portion is in this life. You fill the belly of your cherished ones. Your sons have plenty, and they store up wealth for their children.
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 12:18 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.