Luke 12:26
in Luke 12So if you cannot do such a small thing, why do you worry about the rest?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
If then ye are not able to do even that which is least, why are ye anxious concerning the rest?
KJV
If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?
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This verse in Luke 12
Commentary
10 notes on this verseAnd if you cannot add even the least thing, why do you worry about the rest? It is obvious that just as God grants growth in stature, so too will He provide the rest.
This site's exposition
Who of you by worrying
on Luke 12:25-26
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life exposes anxiety by its own arithmetic. The Greek word rendered life can mean stature or the span of a lifetime, and either reading leaves worry accomplishing nothing.
This site's exposition
why do you worry about the rest
Theophylact reasons that the God who grants growth in stature will also provide the rest. Bede, cited by Bonaventure, says to leave the clothing of the body to the One who made it. Worry adds nothing.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(de Qu. Ev. l. ii. qu. 28.) But in speaking concerning increasing the stature of the body, He refers to that which is least, that is, to God, to make bodies.
If no one has by his own skill contrived a bodily stature for himself, but can not add even the shortest delay to the prefixed limit of his time of life, why should we be vainly anxious about the necessaries of life?
The Medieval Church1 voice
Therefore he adds: If therefore you cannot do even the least thing, why are you anxious about the rest? As if to say: in vain and foolishly. Bede: "Leave the clothing of the body to him who made it reach this measure." Nevertheless, this argument …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
If ye then be not able to do that which is least,....
He stirs them up to watchfulness for their Master's coming, from the consideration of the reward of those who are then found faithful, and the punishment of those who are found unfaithful,
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1858)
We have in these verses—a collection of striking arguments against over-anxiety about the things of this world. At first sight they may seem to some minds simple and common. But the more they are pondered—the more weighty will they appear. An abiding recollection of them would save many Christians an immense amount of trouble. Christ bids us consider the RAVENS. "They neither sow nor reap. They have neither storehouse nor barn. But God feeds them."
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1858)
proposed
We have in these verses—a collection of striking arguments against over-anxiety about the things of this world. At first sight they may seem to some minds simple and common. But the more they are pondered—the more weighty will they appear. An abiding recollection of them would save many Christians an immense amount of trouble. Christ bids us consider the RAVENS. "They neither sow nor reap. They have neither storehouse nor barn. But God feeds them." Now if the Maker of all things provides for the needs of birds, and orders things so that they have a daily supply of food—then we surely ought not to fear that He will let His spiritual children starve! Christ bids us look at the LILIES. "They do not toil nor spin—yet Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." Now if God every year provides these flowers with a fresh supply of living leaves and blossoms—then we surely ought not to doubt His power and willingness to furnish His believing children with all needful clothing. Christ bids us to remember that a Christian should be ashamed of being as worried as the heathen are. The pagan world may well be worried about food, and clothing and the like. They are sunk in deep ignorance, and know nothing of the real nature of God. But the man who can say of God, "He is my Father," and of Christ, "He is my Savior—ought surely to be above such anxieties and cares. A clear faith in God's providential care, should produce a light trustful heart. Finally, Christ bids us think of the perfect knowledge of God. Our Father knows that we have need of food and clothing. That thought alone, ought to make us content. All our needs are perfectly known to the Lord of Heaven and earth. He can relieve those needs—whenever He sees fit. He will relieve them—whenever it is good for our souls.
The words behind it
10 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| εἰ | ei | If | G1487 → | 508 times |
| οὖν | oun | then | G3767 → | 497 times |
| οὐδὲ | oude | not even | G3761 → | 141 times |
| ἐλάχιστον | elachiston | [the] least | G1646 → | 14 times |
| δύνασθε, | dunasthe | you are able [to do], | G1410 → | 207 times |
| τί | ti | why | G5101 → | 563 times |
| περὶ | peri | about | G4012 → | 332 times |
| τῶν | ton | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| λοιπῶν | loipon | rest | G3062 → | 39 times |
| μεριμνᾶτε;¶ | merimnate | are you anxious? | G3309 → | 19 times |
εἰIf
eiG1487 →508 times
οὖνthen
ounG3767 →497 times
οὐδὲnot even
oudeG3761 →141 times
ἐλάχιστον[the] least
elachistonG1646 →14 times
δύνασθε,you are able [to do],
dunastheG1410 →207 times
τίwhy
tiG5101 →563 times
περὶabout
periG4012 →332 times
τῶνthe
tonG3588 →19766 times
λοιπῶνrest
loiponG3062 →39 times
μεριμνᾶτε;¶are you anxious?
merimnateG3309 →19 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Peter 5:7Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
it leads to
- Psalms 55:22
Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.
- Philippians 4:6
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
- Psalms 37:5
Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will do it.
- Psalms 56:3–4
When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.
- Matthew 6:25–26
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more…
- Psalms 55:22
Through
Ecclesiastes 7:13Consider the work of God: Who can straighten what He has bent?
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 1:15
What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
- Job 12:14
What He tears down cannot be rebuilt; the man He imprisons cannot be released.
- Ecclesiastes 1:15
Through
Psalms 39:6Surely every man goes about like a phantom; surely he bustles in vain; he heaps up riches not knowing who will haul them away.
it leads to
- Luke 12:20–21
But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’
- Luke 12:20–21
Where this verse is studied
About Luke
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Gospels; Augustine of Hippo, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bonaventure, Commentary on Luke, Chapter 12; Eusebius of Caesarea, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Luke.