Luke 12:20 (DRB)

Passage

But God said to him: Thou fool, this night do they require thy soul of thee. And whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?

Nearby Context

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.

Luke 12:19 And I will say to my soul: Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years. Take thy rest: eat, drink, make good cheer.

Luke 12:20 But God said to him: Thou fool, this night do they require thy soul of thee. And whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?

Luke 12:21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself and is not rich towards God.

Luke 12:22 And he said to his disciples: Therefore I say to you: Be not solicitous for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall put on.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "said", "thou", "fool", "night", "require", "soul", "thee", and "whose". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "said" and "thou", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "And I will say to my soul..." into verse 21's "So is he that layeth up treasure...", so "said" and "thou" 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 "said" and "thou" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.