Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?
Parallel translations
- WEB Consider the ravens: they don’t sow, they don’t reap, they have no warehouse or barn, and God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than birds!
- BSB Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storehouse or barn; yet God feeds them. How much more valuable you are than the birds!
- NKJV Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds?
- NASB Consider the ravens, that 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!
- NLT Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds!
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
Consider the ravens: they do not sow or store, yet God feeds them, and you are far more valuable. God's provision for creation assures His care for His people.
Overview
Jesus argues from the lesser to the greater: if God feeds even ravens, which do no farming, He will surely provide for His people, who are worth far more. The point is not idleness but trust in the Father's faithful provision. This grounds freedom from anxiety in the character of a caring, generous God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Ps 147:9He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.
- Luke 12:7But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.
- Matt 10:31Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
- Job 38:41Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.
- Ps 145:15–16The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.
- Job 35:11Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven?
- 1 Kgs 17:1–6And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.
- Luke 12:30–32For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.
- Mark 6:26And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath’s sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her.
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 12:24 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
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