Luke 12:47 (LSB)

Passage

And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many beatings,

Nearby Context

Luke 12:45 But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master will be a long time in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk,

Luke 12:46 the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers.

Luke 12:47 And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many beatings,

Luke 12:48 but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a beating, will receive but a few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.

Luke 12:49 “I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "slave", "knew", "master", "ready", "accord", "receive", and "beatings". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "slave" and "knew", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 46's "the master of that slave will come..." into verse 48's "but the one who did not know...", so "slave" and "knew" 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 "slave" and "knew" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.