Luke 12:21

12:21 So it is with the one who stores up riches for himself, ¹  but is not rich toward God.”

Luke 9:47

9:47 But when Jesus discerned their innermost thoughts, ²  he took a child, had him stand by ³  his side,

Luke 12:17

12:17 so ⁴  he thought to himself, ⁵  ‘What should I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ⁶ 

Luke 19:12

19:12 Therefore he said, “A nobleman ⁷  went to a distant country to receive ⁸  for himself a kingdom and then return. ⁹ 

¹ sn It is selfishness that is rebuked here, in the accumulation of riches for himself. Recall the emphasis on the first person pronouns throughout the parable.

² tn Grk “knowing the thoughts of their hearts” (an idiom).

³ tn On this use of παρά (para), see BDF §239.1.1.

³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate that this is a result of the preceding statement.

⁴ tn Grk “to himself, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated here.

⁵ sn I have nowhere to store my crops. The thinking here is prudent in terms of recognizing the problem. The issue in the parable will be the rich man’s solution, particularly the arrogance reflected in v. 19.

⁴ tn Grk “a man of noble birth” or “a man of noble status” (L&N 87.27).

⁵ sn Note that the receiving of the kingdom takes place in the far country. This suggests that those in the far country recognize and acknowledge the king when his own citizens did not want him as king (v. 14; cf. John 1:11-12).

⁶ sn The background to this story about the nobleman who went…to receive for himself a kingdom had some parallels in the area’s recent history: Archelaus was appointed ethnarch of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea in 4 b.c., but the people did not like him. Herod the Great also made a similar journey to Rome where he was crowned King of Judea in 40 b.c., although he was not able to claim his kingdom until 37 b.c.