I will tell my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” ’
Parallel Translations
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I will tell my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” ’
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and I will saye to my soule: Soule thou hast moch goodes layde vp in stoore for many yeares take thyne ease: eate drinke and be mery.
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And I wil say to my soule, Soule, thou hast much goods laide vp for many yeeres: liue at ease, eate, drinke and take thy pastime.
Cross-references (32)
Passages linked to Luke 12:19 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Proverbs 27:1 Don’t boast about tomorrow; for you don’t know what a day may bring.
- James 4:13-15 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow let’s go into this city, and spend a year there, trade, and make a profit.” Whereas you don’t know what your life will be like tomorrow. For what is your life? For you are a vapor that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away. For you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will both live, and do this or that.”
- Matthew 6:19-21 “Don’t lay up treasures for yourselves on the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume, and where thieves don’t break through and steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
- 1 Corinthians 15:32 If I fought with animals at Ephesus for human purposes, what does it profit me? If the dead are not raised, then “let’s eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
- Ecclesiastes 11:9 Rejoice, young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth, and walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes; but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
- Isaiah 5:11 Woe to those who rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink, who stay late into the night, until wine inflames them!
- Philippians 3:19 whose end is destruction, whose god is the belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who think about earthly things.
- James 5:5 You have lived in luxury on the earth, and taken your pleasure. You have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter.
- Psalms 62:10 Don’t trust in oppression. Don’t become vain in robbery. If riches increase, don’t set your heart on them.
- Proverbs 18:11 The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, like an unscalable wall in his own imagination.
- Job 31:24-25 “If I have made gold my hope, and have said to the fine gold, ‘You are my confidence;’ If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because my hand had gotten much;
- Isaiah 22:13 and behold, joy and gladness, killing cattle and killing sheep, eating meat and drinking wine: “Let’s eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die.”
- 2 Timothy 3:4 traitors, headstrong, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
- Revelation 18:7 However much she glorified herself, and grew wanton, so much give her of torment and mourning. For she says in her heart, ‘I sit a queen, and am no widow, and will in no way see mourning.’
- Deuteronomy 6:11-12 and houses full of all good things which you didn’t fill, and cisterns dug out which you didn’t dig, vineyards and olive trees which you didn’t plant, and you shall eat and be full; then beware lest you forget Yahweh, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
- Deuteronomy 8:12-14 lest, when you have eaten and are full, and have built fine houses and lived in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; then your heart might be lifted up, and you forget Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage;
- Job 14:1 “Man, who is born of a woman, is of few days, and full of trouble.
- Proverbs 23:5 Why do you set your eyes on that which is not? For it certainly sprouts wings like an eagle and flies in the sky.
- Isaiah 5:8 Woe to those who join house to house, who lay field to field, until there is no room, and you are made to dwell alone in the middle of the land!
- Hosea 12:8 Ephraim said, “Surely I have become rich, I have found myself wealth. In all my wealth they won’t find in me any iniquity that is sin.”
- James 5:1-3 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming on you. Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be for a testimony against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up your treasure in the last days.
- 1 Peter 4:3 For we have spent enough of our past time doing the desire of the Gentiles, and having walked in lewdness, lusts, drunken binges, orgies, carousings, and abominable idolatries.
- Psalms 49:18 Though while he lived he blessed his soul— and men praise you when you do well for yourself—
- Psalms 52:5-7 God will likewise destroy you forever. He will take you up, and pluck you out of your tent, and root you out of the land of the living. The righteous also will see it, and fear, and laugh at him, saying, “Behold, this is the man who didn’t make God his strength, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.”
- Amos 6:3-6 Those who put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near; Who lie on beds of ivory, and stretch themselves on their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the middle of the stall; who strum on the strings of a harp; who invent for themselves instruments of music, like David; who drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the best oils; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
- Habakkuk 1:16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net, and burns incense to his dragnet, because by them his life is luxurious, and his food is good.
- Luke 16:19 “Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, living in luxury every day.
- Luke 21:34 “So be careful, or your hearts will be loaded down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day will come on you suddenly.
- 1 Timothy 5:6 But she who gives herself to pleasure is dead while she lives.
- 1 Timothy 6:17 Charge those who are rich in this present world that they not be arrogant, nor have their hope set on the uncertainty of riches, but on the living God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy;
- Job 21:11-13 They send out their little ones like a flock. Their children dance. They sing to the tambourine and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the pipe. They spend their days in prosperity. In an instant they go down to Sheol.
- Psalms 49:5-13 Why should I fear in the days of evil, when iniquity at my heels surrounds me? Those who trust in their wealth, and boast in the multitude of their riches— none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give God a ransom for him. For the redemption of their life is costly, no payment is ever enough, that he should live on forever, that he should not see corruption. For he sees that wise men die; likewise the fool and the senseless perish, and leave their wealth to others. Their inward thought is that their houses will endure forever, and their dwelling places to all generations. They name their lands after themselves. But man, despite his riches, doesn’t endure. He is like the animals that perish. This is the destiny of those who are foolish, and of those who approve their sayings.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Be merry and make good cheer.
Be merry and make good cheer.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul,…
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
Ver. 19. Eat and drink, and be merry] A right epicure, one that had made his gut his god; another Sardanapahs, that did eat that in earth which he digested in hell, as Augustine hath it. How many, alas, are there, that having one foot in the grave and the other in hell, do yet put far away thoughts of either! These, when they should be building their tombs, are building their tabernacles, Donec mors vitae studiura praevertat, longa conantes opprimat. (Sen. Consol. ad Marc. xi.)
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And I will say to my soul,.... Himself, see…
And I will say to my soul,.... Himself, see Psa 49:18 or to his sensual appetite, which he sought to indulge and gratify, for he was wholly a sensual and carnal man:
soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years: he foolishly promises himself a long life, when no man can boast of tomorrow, or knows what a day will bring forth; or can assure himself he shall live a day, an hour, or moment longer: and he also depended upon the safety of his goods, thus laid up; whereas his barns might be consumed by fire at once, or his goods be devoured by vermin, or plundered by thieves, and by various ways taken out of his hands; for riches are uncertain things, and make themselves wings and fly away:
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take thine case, eat, drink, and be merry; spend thy life in ease, luxury, and mirth; put away the evil day far from thee: never trouble thyself about a future state, tomorrow shall be as this day, and much more abundantly; and thou hast enough to make thyself happy, and let nothing disturb thee, and give a loose to all sensual pleasures, and carnal joys. This is the language of epicure among the Jews, and is forbidden to be used, especially on fast days; for so it is said, (i).
"let not a man say I will go to my house, "and I will eat and drink", (and say) , "peace to thee, O my soul"; if he does so, of him the Scripture says, Isa 22:13 "Behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die---surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you, till ye die, &c."''
(i) T. Bab. Taanith, fol. 11. 1.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 19. Soul, thou hast much goods] Great possessions…
Verse 19. Soul, thou hast much goods] Great possessions are generally accompanied with pride, idleness, and luxury; and these are the greatest enemies to salvation. Moderate poverty, as one justly observes, is a great talent in order to salvation; but it is one which nobody desires.
Take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.] This was exactly the creed of the ancient Atheists and Epicureans. Ede, bibe, lude; post mortem nulla voluptas. What a wretched portion for an immortal spirit! and yet those who know not God have no other, and many of them not even this.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Much goods - Much property. Enough to last a…
Much goods - Much property. Enough to last a long while, so that there is no need of anxiety or labor.
Take thine ease - Be free from care about the future. Have no anxiety about coming to want.
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Eat, drink, and be merry - This was just the doctrine of the ancient Epicureans and atheists, and it is, alas! too often the doctrine of those who are rich. They think that all that is valuable in life is to eat, and drink, and be cheerful or merry. Hence, their chief anxiety is to obtain the “delicacies of the season “ - the luxuries of the world; to secure the productions of every clime at any expense, and to be distinguished for splendid repasts and a magnificent style of living. What a portion is this for an immortal soul! What folly to think that “all” that a man lives for is to satisfy his sensual appetites; to forget that he has an intellect to be cultivated, a heart to be purified, a soul to be saved!
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Much goods, &c. It is evident how far this…
Much goods, &c. It is evident how far this poor man was mistaken, when he called these things goods, which with more reason ought to be esteemed evils. The only things that can rightly be called goods, are humility, modesty, and its other attendants. The opposite to these ought to be esteemed evils; and riches we ought to consider as indifferent. (St. John Chrysostom)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 19. Soul—Neither he nor his soul has a thought…
19. Soul—Neither he nor his soul has a thought of anything but the enjoyments he now enumerates.
Ease, eat, drink, and be merry— Indolence, gluttony, drunkenness, and licentiousness; in these four things lie this man’s conception of life.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 19. I will say to my soul, Soul] “What…
19. I will say to my soul, Soul] “What folly! Had thy soul been a sty, what else couldst thou have promised to it? Art thou so bestial, so ignorant of the soul’s goods, that thou pledgest it the foods of the flesh? And dost thou convey to thy soul, the things which the draught receiveth?” St Basil.
for many years] “Boast not thyself of to morrow,” Pro_27:1.
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take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry] More energetically in the four words of the original, rest, eat, drink, enjoy. His motive is the same as that of the selfish and cynical Epicureans, who say, “Let us eat and drink;” but the reason he assigns is different. They snatch pleasure, “for to morrow we die” (1Co_15:32); he because he hopes to be “happy” for “many years.” For similar warnings see Jas_4:13-17; Jas_5:1-3; Ecc_11:9.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (19) Eat, drink, and be merry.—The words remind us…
(19) Eat, drink, and be merry.—The words remind us of St. Paul’s “Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die” (1Co_15:32), and may possibly have suggested them. There is, however, a suggestive difference in the context. Extremes meet, and the life of self-indulgence may spring either from an undue expectation of a lengthened life, or from unduly dwelling on the fact of its shortness, without taking into account the judgment that comes after it. The latter, as in the “carpe diem” of Horace (Odes, i. 11, 8), was the current language of popular Epicureanism; the former seems to have been more characteristic of a corrupt Judaism. (Comp. Jas_4:13.) In acting on it the Jew with his far outlook, as he dreamt, into the future, was sinking to the level of the dissolute heathen, who was content to live in and for the present only.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou…
And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years. "What folly!" writes St. Basil. "Had thy soul been a sty, what else couldst thou have promised to it? Art thou so ignorant of what really belongs to the soul, that thou offerest to it the foods of the body? And givest thou to thy soul the things which the draught receives?" Many years. How little did that poor fool, so wise in all matters of earthly business, suspect the awful doom was so close to him! He forgot Solomon"s words, "Boast not thyself of to-morrow". (Pro_27:1) Take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. "Extremes meet," suggests Dean Plumptre; "and the life of self-indulgence may spring either from an undue expectation of a lengthened life" (as was the ease here), "or from unduly dwelling on its shortness, without taking into account the judgment that comes after it. The latter, as in the "carpe diem" of Horace ("Odes," 1:11. 8), was the current language of popular epicureanism"; (see St. Paul"s reproduction of this thought, 1Co_15:32) "the former seems to have been more characteristic of a corrupt Judaism."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 12:19-20 My friend: Literally Soul. The man was speaking…
12:19-20 My friend: Literally Soul. The man was speaking to himself. • You fool! In Scripture, a fool is not someone with a low intelligence, but one who dishonors and disobeys God (Ps 14:1-5). • You will die (literally Your soul will be demanded from you): The man was satisfied with his soul, but God was not.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.