Luke 12:19
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.
Study Note
Study Note
The rich fool's interior monologue — 'Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry' — represents the most economically elaborated example in the Synoptic Gospels of what Jesus elsewhere calls storing up treasure for oneself without being 'rich toward God' (verse 21). The address to his own 'soul' ('psyche') captures the irony: material accumulation is treated as the source of the soul's security, while God pronounces that very night the soul's required departure. The parable inverts the wisdom tradition's approval of prudent saving, not to condemn planning but to expose the illusion that any human provision can secure life against death. The verse has been central to Christian reflection on the limits of economic security and the claims of divine ownership over accumulated wealth.
Other Translations
And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, be merry.
and I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast many good things laid up for many years, be resting, eat, drink, be merry.
And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have a great amount of goods in store, enough for a number of years; be at rest, take food and wine and be happy.
Cross References
And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and …
Then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house …
Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein;
Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God, which brought thee forth out of the …
Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.
They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance.
They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave.
If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence;
If I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because mine hand had gotten much;
Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?