Luke 12:18

Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and will build bigger ones, and there I will store up all my grain and my goods.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The unnamed rich man speaks to himself after concluding he has nowhere to store his harvest. This declaration occurs during Jesus’ teaching on greed, immediately following the man’s internal debate about his crops.

The words — καθελῶ (kathelō) translates literally to “I will tear down,” and ἀποθήκας (apothēkas) means “barns” or storage buildings. These terms describe the man’s concrete plan to demolish his current storage and construct larger private reserves.

The thread — The text’s warning against self-directed accumulation runs directly into Luke 12:21, which declares such hoarding leaves a person not rich toward God. James 4:15 and James 3:15 further contrast this earthly planning with reliance on the Lord’s will and heavenly wisdom.

Why it lands — The text records a man making a complete plan without mentioning God, then storing his surplus for his own comfort. It requires the reader to confront whether their future planning operates independently of divine authority.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

James 3:15 Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.
James 4:15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that.”
Luke 12:21 This is how it will be for anyone who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.”
Luke 18:6 And the Lord said, “Listen to the words of the unjust judge.
Psalms 17:14 from such men, O LORD, by Your hand—from men of the world whose portion is in this life. May You fill the bellies of Your treasured ones and satisfy their sons, so they leave their abundance to their children.
Luke 18:4 For a while he refused, but later he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect men,