Luke 12:20 (KJV)

Passage

But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then 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 build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.

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.

Luke 12:20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then 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 toward God.

Luke 12:22 And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "said", "thou", "fool", "night", "soul", "shall", "required", and "thee". 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.