Luke 12:15

Bible in Basic English (1941)

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.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

Εἶπεν δὲ πρὸς αὐτούς, Ὁρᾶτε, καὶ φυλάσσεσθε ἀπὸ τῆς πλεονεξίας: ὅτι οὐκ ἐν τῷ περισσεύειν τινὶ ἡ ζωὴ αὐτοῦ ἐστὶν ἐκ τῶν ὑπαρχόντων αὐτοῦ.

Transliteration

Eipen de pros them, Horate, and phylassesthe apo the pleonexias: for not in the perisseuein to anyone the zōē of him estin from the hyparchontōn of him.

Grammar Details

• *Eipen*: aorist active indicative, 3rd singular - said
• *de*: postpositive conjunction - but/and/now
• *pros*: preposition + accusative - to/toward
• *Horate*: present active imperative, 2nd plural - see/look/take heed
• *phylassesthe*: present middle imperative, 2nd plural - guard yourselves
• *apo*: preposition + genitive - from
• *pleonexias*: genitive singular feminine - greed/covetousness
• *perisseuein*: present active infinitive - to abound/have abundance
• *zōē*: nominative singular feminine - life
• *estin*: present active indicative, 3rd singular - is
• *hyparchontōn*: present active participle, genitive plural neuter - possessions/belongings

Word Meanings

• *Horate*: see/beware/take heed
• *phylassesthe*: guard yourselves/be on guard/watch out
• *pleonexias*: greed/covetousness/avarice
• *perisseuein*: having abundance/overflowing/having excess
• *zōē*: life/existence
• *hyparchontōn*: possessions/goods/belongings

Referenced Verses

• 1 Tim 6:6-9 : 6 But true faith, with peace of mind, is of great profit: 7 For we came into the world with nothing, and we are not able to take anything out; 8 But if we have food and a roof over us, let that be enough. 9 But those who have a desire for wealth are falling into danger, and are taken as in a net by a number of foolish and damaging desires, through which men are overtaken by death and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all evil: and some whose hearts were fixed on it have been turned away from the faith, and been wounded with unnumbered sorrows.
• Heb 13:5 : 5 Be free from the love of money and pleased with the things which you have; for he himself has said, I will be with you at all times.
• Prov 16:16 : 16 How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! and to get knowledge is more to be desired than silver.
• Jer 22:17-18 : 17 But your eyes and your heart are fixed only on profit for yourself, on causing the death of him who has done no wrong, and on violent and cruel acts. 18 So this is what the Lord has said about Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah: They will make no weeping for him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they will make no weeping for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory!
• Ps 62:10 : 10 Have no faith in the rewards of evil-doing, or in profits wrongly made: if your wealth is increased, do not put your hopes on it.
• Ps 119:36-37 : 36 Let my heart be turned to your unchanging word, and not to evil desire. 37 Let my eyes be turned away from what is false; give me life in your ways.
• Prov 15:16 : 16 Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, than great wealth together with trouble.
• 2 Tim 3:2 : 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, uplifted in pride, given to bitter words, going against the authority of their fathers, never giving praise, having no religion,
• 2 Pet 2:3 : 3 And in their desire for profit they will come to you with words of deceit, like traders doing business in souls: whose punishment has been ready for a long time and their destruction is watching for them.
• Mic 2:2 : 2 They have a desire for fields and take them by force; and for houses and take them away: they are cruel to a man and his family, even to a man and his heritage.
• Hab 2:9 : 9 A curse on him who gets evil profits for his family, so that he may put his resting-place on high and be safe from the hand of the wrongdoer!
• Matt 6:25-26 : 25 So I say to you, Take no thought for your life, about food or drink, or about clothing for your body. Is not life more than food, and the body more than its clothing? 26 See the birds of heaven; they do not put seeds in the earth, they do not get in grain, or put it in store-houses; and your Father in heaven gives them food. Are you not of much more value than they?
• Mark 7:22 : 22 The taking of goods and of life, broken faith between husband and wife, the desire of wealth, wrongdoing, deceit, sins of the flesh, an evil eye, angry words, pride, foolish acts:
• Luke 8:14 : 14 And those which went among thorns are those who have given hearing, and go on their way, but they are overcome by cares and wealth and the pleasures of life, and they give no fruit.
• Luke 16:14 : 14 And the Pharisees, who had a great love of money, hearing these things, were making sport of him.
• Luke 21:34 : 34 But give attention to yourselves, for fear that your hearts become over-full of the pleasures of food and wine, and the cares of this life, and that day may come on you suddenly, and take you as in a net:
• 1 Cor 5:10-11 : 10 But I had not in mind the sinners who are outside the church, or those who have a desire for and take the property of others, or those who give worship to images; for it is not possible to keep away from such people without going out of the world completely: 11 But the sense of my letter was that if a brother had the name of being one who went after the desires of the flesh, or had the desire for other people's property, or was in the way of using violent language, or being the worse for drink, or took by force what was not his, you might not keep company with such a one, or take food with him.
• 1 Cor 6:10 : 10 Or is a thief, or the worse for drink, or makes use of strong language, or takes by force what is not his, will have any part in the kingdom of God.
• Eph 5:3-5 : 3 But evil acts of the flesh and all unclean things, or desire for others' property, let it not even be named among you, as is right for saints; 4 And let there be no low behaviour, or foolish talk, or words said in sport, which are not right, but in place of them the giving of praise. 5 Being certain of this, that no man who gives way to the passions of the flesh, no unclean person, or one who has desire for the property of others, or who gives worship to images, has any heritage in the kingdom of Christ and God.
• Col 3:5 : 5 Then put to death your bodies which are of the earth; wrong use of the flesh, unclean things, passion, evil desires and envy, which is the worship of strange gods;
• Prov 23:4-5 : 4 Take no care to get wealth; let there be an end to your desire for money. 5 Are your eyes lifted up to it? it is gone: for wealth takes to itself wings, like an eagle in flight up to heaven.
• Prov 28:16 : 16 The prince who has no sense is a cruel ruler; but he who has no desire to get profit for himself will have long life.
• Eccl 4:6-8 : 6 One hand full of rest is better than two hands full of trouble and desire for wind. 7 Then I came back, and I saw an example of what is to no purpose under the sun. 8 It is one who is by himself, without a second, and without son or brother; but there is no end to all his work, and he has never enough of wealth. For whom, then, am I working and keeping myself from pleasure? This again is to no purpose, and a bitter work.
• Eccl 5:10-16 : 10 When goods are increased, the number of those who take of them is increased; and what profit has the owner but to see them? 11 The sleep of a working man is sweet, if he has little food or much; but to him who is full, sleep will not come. 12 There is a great evil which I have seen under the sun--wealth kept by the owner to be his downfall. 13 And I saw the destruction of his wealth by an evil chance; and when he became the father of a son he had nothing in his hand. 14 As he came from his mother at birth, so does he go again; he gets from his work no reward which he may take away in his hand. 15 And this again is a great evil, that in all points as he came so will he go; and what profit has he in working for the wind? 16 All his days are in the dark, and he has much sorrow, pain, disease, and trouble.
• Jer 6:13 : 13 For from the least of them even to the greatest, everyone is given up to getting money; from the prophet even to the priest, everyone is working deceit.
• Josh 7:21 : 21 When I saw among their goods a fair robe of Babylon and two hundred shekels of silver, and a mass of gold, fifty shekels in weight, I was overcome by desire and took them; and they are put away in the earth in my tent, and the silver is under it.
• Job 2:4 : 4 And the Satan said in answer to the Lord, Skin for skin, all a man has he will give for his life.
• Job 31:24-25 : 24 If I made gold my hope, or if I ever said to the best gold, I have put my faith in you; 25 If I was glad because my wealth was great, and because my hand had got together a great store;
• Ps 10:3 : 3 For the evil-doer is lifted up because of the purpose of his heart, and he whose mind is fixed on wealth is turned away from the Lord, saying evil against him.
• Ps 37:16 : 16 The little which the good man has is better than the wealth of evil-doers.
• 2 Pet 2:14 : 14 Having eyes full of evil desire, never having enough of sin; turning feeble souls out of the true way; they are children of cursing, whose hearts are well used to bitter envy;