Bible Strands
Luke 12:33
Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves with purses that will not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses his disciples, bracketed by "do not be afraid" (v.32) and "where your treasure is, there your heart will be" (v.34).
The words — πωλήσατε (pōlēsate), aorist imperative, is a decisive command to sell, not a suggestion to consider selling. ὑπάρχοντα (huparchonta) means "what is present with you" — one's material substance.
The thread — The identical command is directed at the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:21 and Luke 18:22, and the early community enacts it collectively in Acts 2:45.
Why it lands — It asks the reader to treat material wealth as a transferable resource rather than a security, and to redirect that resource toward the poor with the expectation of an inexhaustible return.
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
Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.
Cross-references
- Matthew 19:21 Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
- Luke 18:22 On hearing this, Jesus told him, “You still lack one thing: Sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
- Acts 2:45 Selling their possessions and goods, they shared with anyone who was in need.
- Acts 4:34 There were no needy ones among them, because those who owned lands or houses would sell their property, bring the proceeds from the sales,
- Matthew 6:19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
- Luke 16:9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves so that when it is gone, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.
- Luke 12:21 This is how it will be for anyone who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.”
- 1 Timothy 6:17 Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.
- Haggai 1:6 You have planted much but harvested little. You eat but never have enough. You drink but never have your fill. You put on clothes but never get warm. You earn wages to put into a bag pierced through.”
- 2 Corinthians 8:2 In the terrible ordeal they suffered, their abundant joy and deep poverty overflowed into rich generosity.