Luke 12:23 (DBY)

Passage

The life is more than food, and the body than raiment.

Nearby Context

Luke 12:21 Thus is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

Luke 12:22 And he said to his disciples, For this cause I say unto you, Be not careful for life, what ye shall eat, nor for the body, what ye shall put on.

Luke 12:23 The life is more than food, and the body than raiment.

Luke 12:24 Consider the ravens, that they sow not nor reap; which have neither storehouse nor granary; and God feeds them. How much better are *ye* than the birds?

Luke 12:25 But which of you by being careful can add to his stature one cubit?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "life", "than", "food", "body", and "raiment". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "life" and "than", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "And he said to his disciples For..." into verse 24's "Consider the ravens that they sow not...", so "life" and "than" belong inside that flow. In Luke context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "life" and "than" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.