What Does Luke 12:21 Mean in the King James?
So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The verse measures wealth by its destination: a life can fill its storehouse for itself and still be poor toward God.
THE MEANING
This verse names a life that gathers its reserves around itself yet remains poor in its relation to God. Richness is not only what is held; it is also what one’s resources are turned toward. It speaks now wherever self-protection has become the final destination of everything gathered.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the belief that a larger reserve for oneself proves a richer life. Accumulation can secure possessions while leaving a person poor toward God.
THE ROOT
θησαυρίζων
thēsaurizōn
GROWS FROM
θησαυρ-
thēsaur-
To store up or treasure; the word belongs to the same family as the Greek word for a treasure or storehouse.
“layeth up treasure” in this verse is thēsaurizōn. The verb is built on the word for treasure or storehouse: it means turning what you have into a reserve. Here that reserve is gathered for the self, making its direction as revealing as its size.
ALSO GROWS
thēsauros: Treasure; storehouse
θησαυρός
The related noun makes the storage image visible: what is gathered becomes a reserve.
apothēsaurizō: Store away; lay up in store
ἀποθησαυρίζω
This related verb appears in 1 Timothy 6:19, where good works are described as laying up a foundation for the future.
πλουτῶν εἰς θεόν
ploutōn eis theon
GROWS FROM
πλουτ-
plout-
To be rich or abound in resources; from πλοῦτος (ploutos), wealth.
“rich toward God” in this verse is ploutōn eis theon. The phrase gives wealth a direction: the person is rich “toward God” (εἰς θεόν, eis theon), describing a relation, not merely a tally of property. The contrast is between what gathers around the self and what counts as wealth in relation to God.
ALSO GROWS
ploutos: Wealth; abundance
πλοῦτος
The related noun names the abundance whose direction this verse weighs.
ploutizō: Enrich; make rich
πλουτίζω
This related verb shows that the word family includes both possessing abundance and becoming enriched.
THE PATTERN
A person’s wealth is disclosed by the direction of what is stored and shared, not by the size of the reserve.
There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.THE THREAD
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:Matthew uses the same Greek verb, θησαυρίζω (thēsaurizō), “to store up,” translated here as “lay up.” The shared word makes the direction of the reserve the point: Luke names treasure gathered for the self, while Matthew places the treasure in heaven.
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