Luke 12:31-49

³¹Instead, be concerned about letting God completely direct your life. Then he will also give you enough of the things you need.

³²You who are my disciples are like a small flock of sheep, and I am like your shepherd. So you should not be afraid. Your Father in heaven wants to let you rule with him in heaven.

³³So now sell the things that you own. Give the money that you get for those things to poor people. If you do that, it will be as though you are providing for yourselves purses that will not wear out, and God will give you a treasure in heaven that will always be safe. There, no thief can come near to steal it, and no termite can destroy it.

³⁴Remember that the things that you think are the most valuable are the things that you will be constantly concerned about.”

³⁵“Be always ready for doing God's work MET, like people who have put on their work clothes and are ready during the day, with their lamps burning all night.

³⁶Be ready for me to return MET, like servants who are waiting for their master to return after being at a wedding feast for several days. They are waiting to open the door for him and start working for him again as soon as he arrives and knocks at the door.

³⁷If those servants are awake when he returns, he will be very pleased with them. I will tell you this: He will put on the kind of clothes that servants wear and tell them to sit down, and he will serve them a meal.

³⁸Even if he comes between midnight and sunrise, if he finds that his servants are awake and ready for him, he will be very pleased with them.

³⁹But you must also remember this: If owners of a house knew what time a thief was coming, they would stay awake and would not allow their house to be broken into and their goods to be stolen { the thief to break into the house and steal their goods}.

⁴⁰Similarly, you must be ready for me to return, because I, the one who came from heaven, will come again at a time when you do not expect me to come.”

⁴¹Peter said, “Lord, are you (sg) speaking this illustration only for us or for everyone else also?”

⁴²The Lord replied, “ I am saying it for you and for anyone else MET, RHQ who is like a faithful and wise manager in his master's house. His master appoints him to supervise affairs in his house and to give all the other servants their food at the proper time. Then he leaves on a long trip.

⁴³If the servant is doing that work when his master returns, his master will be very pleased with him.

⁴⁴I tell you this: His master will appoint him to supervise all of his affairs permanently.

⁴⁵But that servant might think to himself, ‘My master has been away for a long time, so he probably will not return soon and find out what I am doing.’ Then he might start to beat the other servants, both male and female ones. He might also start to eat a lot of food and get drunk.

⁴⁶If he does that, and if his master returns on a day when the servant does not expect him, then his master will ◄cut him into two pieces/punish him severely► HYP and put him in the place where he puts all those who do not serve him faithfully.

⁴⁷Every servant who knows what his master wants him to do but who does not get himself ready and does not do what his master desires will be beaten severely { The master will beat severely every servant who knows what his master wants him to do but who does not get himself ready and does not do what his master desires}.

⁴⁸But every servant who did not know what his master wanted him to do, and who did things for which he deserved to be punished, will be beaten lightly { the master will beat lightly every servant who did not know what his master wanted him to do and did the things for which he deserved that his master would beat him}. God will treat his people similarly, because he expects a lot from those people whom he has allowed to understand a lot. People who entrust things to others' care expect those people to care for those things very well. Similarly, God expects a lot from those people whom he has allowed to understand a lot. Furthermore, he expects the most from people to whom he has given the most ability.”

⁴⁹“I came to earth to cause there to be trials MET, which will purify you as fire purifies metal (OR, to cause judgment/divisions among you). I wish that the time when you will be purified {when God will purify you} (OR, when divisions will be caused {to cause divisions among people}) had already begun.