What does Luke 12:19 mean? (2024)

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ESVAnd I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry."’

NIVAnd I’ll say to myself, "You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." ’

NASBAnd I will say to myself, 'You have many goods stored up for many years to come; relax, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!'?’

CSBThen I’ll say to myself, "You have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself."’

NLTAnd I’ll sit back and say to myself, 'My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!'’

KJVAnd I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

NKJVAnd I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’

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The parable of the rich fool teaches how not to look at life. A farmer is already rich thanks to fertile land. One year, his crops are so great that he can tear down his barns, build bigger ones, and live off what he has for several years. His error is not in having money, but in an attitude that only cares about worldly wealth. He does not know that this very night, he will lose his life. All his possessions will go to someone else, and because he spent all his time accumulating wealth, he has no relationship with God (Luke 12:13–21).

The farmer is not sinning by being rich or even saving up for his future (Proverbs 6:6–9). His attitude and worldview are wrong. He is covetous: he wants more than his due. The tone of the story suggests he never considered any other use of his wealth than self-comfort.

Even more tragic, the farmer has let his possessions distract him from his standing with God. He's going to use his time to "relax, eat, drink, be merry." He's not going to consider his life and whether he has wronged the people around him. He's not going to repent from his sins or ask God how he can use his time and resources to serve Him and others (Luke 12:21).

The worst is that he is dedicating his soul to this endeavor. He is focusing on the pleasures of life that are temporary. But his soul—his whole self—will live on. His body and emotions may find enjoyment now, but his entire being is looking at eternity without God.

He doesn't know that his life and pleasures on earth will be truly short; in fact, he will die this night (Luke 12:20). None of us know when we will die. Jesus goes on to remind the crowd that people die all the time with no warning and through no fault of their own. God is not slow in fulfilling His promises; He is patient. He doesn't want anyone to die without Him (2 Peter 3:9). But everyone will run out of time to reconcile with God (Luke 13:1–9).

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