Luke 12:58 (KJV)

Passage

When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, as thou art in the way, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him; lest he hale thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison.

Nearby Context

Luke 12:56 Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?

Luke 12:57 Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?

Luke 12:58 When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, as thou art in the way, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him; lest he hale thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison.

Luke 12:59 I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thou", "goest", "thine", "adversary", "magistrate", "give", and "diligence". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thou" and "goest", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 57's "Yea and why even of yourselves judge..." into verse 59's "I tell thee thou shalt not depart...", so "thou" and "goest" 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 "thou" and "goest" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.