Luke 12:54 (YLT)

Passage

And he said also to the multitudes, `When ye may see the cloud rising from the west, immediately ye say, A shower doth come, and it is so;

Nearby Context

Luke 12:52 for there shall be henceforth five in one house divided--three against two, and two against three;

Luke 12:53 a father shall be divided against a son, and a son against a father, a mother against a daughter, and a daughter against a mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.'

Luke 12:54 And he said also to the multitudes, `When ye may see the cloud rising from the west, immediately ye say, A shower doth come, and it is so;

Luke 12:55 and when--a south wind blowing, ye say, that there will be heat, and it is;

Luke 12:56 hypocrites! the face of the earth and of the heaven ye have known to make proof of, but this time--how do ye not make proof of <FI>it<Fi> ?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "said", "multitudes", "cloud", "rising", "west", "immediately", "shower", and "doth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "said" and "multitudes", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 53's "a father shall be divided against a..." into verse 55's "and when--a south wind blowing ye say...", so "said" and "multitudes" 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 "multitudes" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.