Luke 12:16 (DRB)

Passage

And he spoke a similitude to them, saying: The land of a certain rich man brought forth plenty of fruits.

Nearby Context

Luke 12:14 But he said to him: Man, who hath appointed me judge or divider over you?

Luke 12:15 And he said to them: Take heed and beware of all covetousness: for a man's life doth not consist in the abundance of things which he possesseth.

Luke 12:16 And he spoke a similitude to them, saying: The land of a certain rich man brought forth plenty of fruits.

Luke 12:17 And he thought within himself, saying: What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

Luke 12:18 And he said: This will I do: I will pull down my barns and will build greater: and into them will I gather all things that are grown to me and my goods.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "spoke", "similitude", "saying", "land", "certain", "rich", "brought", and "forth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "spoke" and "similitude", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "And he said to them Take heed..." into verse 17's "And he thought within himself saying What...", so "spoke" and "similitude" 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 "spoke" and "similitude" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.