Bible Strands
Luke 12:19
Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The rich man addresses his own soul (ψυχῇ μου) in the moment after deciding to build larger barns, treating himself as a separate addressee who can be comforted by stored goods.
The words — ψυχῇ (psuchē), dative singular, "to the soul," marks the self-address as though the soul were a distinct person to be spoken to; ἔχεις (echeis), "you have," present indicative, asserts current possession as a settled fact.
The thread — Proverbs 27:1 forbids boasting about tomorrow; James 4:13 quotes the same "today or tomorrow" planning; Matthew 6:19 warns against storing treasures on earth.
Why it lands — The verse isolates the assumption that accumulated goods can be made to serve one's own future comfort, and it asks the reader to check whether their plans rest on the same premise.
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 I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 27:1 Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.
- James 4:13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.”
- Matthew 6:19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
- 1 Corinthians 15:32 If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for human motives, what did I gain? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
- Ecclesiastes 11:9 Rejoice, O young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.
- Isaiah 5:11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning in pursuit of strong drink, who linger into the evening, to be inflamed by wine.
- Philippians 3:19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things.
- James 5:5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter.
- Psalms 62:10 Place no trust in extortion or false hope in stolen goods. If your riches increase, do not set your heart upon them.
- Proverbs 18:11 A rich man’s wealth is his fortified city; it is like a high wall in his imagination.