Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 12:20
But God said unto him, [Thou] fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
20. Thou fool ] Literally, “ Senseless ]” 1Co 15:36.
this night ] Compare the death of Nabal, 1Sa 25:36.
thy soul shall be required of thee ] Rather, they demand thy soul of thee. Who are ‘they’? Some say God (Job 27:8), or His death- angels (Job 33:22), or robbers whom they suppose to attack the rich man on the night that his wealth has flowed in. There is however no definite pronoun, the phrase is impersonal, as often in Hebrew.
then whose shall those things be ] “He heapeth up riches and knoweth not who shall gather them,” Psa 39:6; Psa 49:16-17; comp. Psa 52:7 and Jas 4:13-15. St James seems to have been deeply impressed with this teaching.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Thou fool – If there is any supreme folly, it is this. As though riches could prolong life, or avert for a moment the approach of pain and death.
This night … – What an awful sentence to a man who, as he thought, had got just ready to live and enjoy himself! In a single moment all his hopes were blasted, and his soul summoned to the bar of his long-forgotten God. So, many are surprised as suddenly and as unprepared. They are snatched from their pleasures, and hurried to a world where there is no pleasure, and where all their wealth cannot purchase one moments ease from the gnawings of the worm that never dies.
Shall be required of thee – Thou shalt be required to die, to go to God, and to give up your account.
Then whose … – Whose they may be is of little consequence to the man that lost his soul to gain them; but they are often left to heirs that dissipate them much sooner than the father procured them, and thus they secure their ruin as well as his own. See Psa 39:6; Ecc 2:18-19.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 20. Thou fool!] To imagine that a man’s comfort and peace can depend upon temporal things; or to suppose that these can satisfy the wishes of an immortal spirit!
This night] How awful was this saying! He had just made the necessary arrangements for the gratification of his sensual appetites; and, in the very night in which he had finally settled all his plans, his soul was called into the eternal world! What a dreadful awakening of a soul, long asleep in sin! He is now hurried into the presence of his Maker; none of his worldly goods can accompany him, and he has not a particle of heavenly treasure! There is a passage much like this in the book of Ecclesiasticus, 11:18, 19. There is that waxeth rich by his wariness and pinching, and this is the portion of his reward: Whereas he saith, I have found rest, and now will eat continually of my goods; and yet he knoweth not what time shall come upon him; and that he must leave those things to others, and die. We may easily see whence the above is borrowed.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
20, 21. this night, &c.Thissudden cutting short of his career is designed to express not onlythe folly of building securely upon the future, but of throwing one’swhole soul into what may at any moment be gone. “Thy soulshall be required of thee” is put in opposition to his owntreatment of it, “I will say to my soul, Soul,” &c.
whose shall those things be,&c.Compare Ps 39:6, “Heheapeth up riches and knoweth not who shall gather them.“
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
But God said unto him,…. He determined within himself he should die that night; for the time of a man’s death, as well as of his birth, is fixed by God; or he sent the messenger of death, some disease or another, the language of which was, immediate death, or death in a very short time; or spoke to his conscience, and impressed it on his mind, that he should die that night, and not live:
thou fool: as he appeared to be, throughout the whole of his conduct:
this night thy soul shall be required of thee: which is of God’s immediate formation, is immortal, of more worth than a world, and its loss is irreparable; and for which a man is accountable to God, the Father of spirits; and which he requires at a man’s hands at death, which is here designed; and shows, that a man has no power over it to retain it, but must give it up when it is called for, even that very instant, “this night” which may refer to the time when covetous persons are employing their thoughts about their worldly goods, or when epicures and sensual persons are indulging themselves in luxury and intemperance; and to the condition the soul is in, being in the night and in darkness, and knows not whither it is going; and denotes its immediate remove, and the suddenness of divine wrath and vengeance; the Vulgate Latin, and Syriac versions, agreeably to the Greek text, read the words, “this night do they require thy soul of thee”; or “out of thy body”, as the Persic version reads: the Ethiopic version renders it, “they shall take thy soul from thee”; that is, the evil angels, the devils having a commission from God, shall demand thy soul; and as soon as ever it is separated from the body, shall seize upon it, and carry it to hell; just as the good angels carry the souls of the saints to heaven, Lu 16:22
Then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? not his own, for he can carry nothing with him; nor does he know whose they will be, whether the persons he designed them for, or some others whom he abhorred, and would, if possible, have prevented their enjoyment of them; and should he have them for whom he intended them, he does not know how he will turn out, whether a wise man or a fool, or what use he will make of them.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Thou foolish one (). Fool, for lack of sense ( privative and , sense) as in Luke 11:40; 2Cor 11:19. Old word, used by Socrates in Xenophon. Nominative form as vocative.
Is thy soul required of thee ( ). Plural active present, not passive: “They are demanding thy soul from thee.” The impersonal plural (aitousin) is common enough (Luke 6:38; Luke 12:11; Luke 16:9; Luke 23:31). The rabbis used “they” to avoid saying “God.”
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Fool [] . Senseless. In Xenophon’s “Memorabilia,” Socrates, addressing Aristodemus, says, “Which do you take to be the more worthy of admiration, those who make images without sense [] or motion, or those who make intelligent and active creations?” (1, 4, 4). Sometimes, also, in the sense of crazed, frantic, but never in New Testament.
Is required (ajpaitousin). Lit., they require; i e., the messengers of God. The indefiniteness is impressive.
Whose shall those things be which thou hast provided ? The Greek order puts that first which was uppermost in the rich man’s thought – his accumulations : “and the things which thou hast provided (Rev., prepared), whose shall they be?” God does not say, “the things which thou hast or possessest.” The whole question of the tenure of his property is opened for the rich man. He had said my fruits and my goods. Now his proprietorship is ignored. They are not his. Whose shall they be? He is to be dispossessed at once. Plato relates how Pluto complained to Zeus that the souls of the dead found their way to the wrong places, because the judged have their clothes on, and evil souls are clothed in fair bodies, so that the judges, who also have their clothes on and their souls veiled by their mortal part, are deceived. Zeus replies : “In the first place, I will deprive men of the foreknowledge of death which they now have. In the second place, they shall be entirely stripped before they are judged, for they shall be judged when they are dead; and the judge, too, shall be naked; that is to say, dead. He, with his naked soul, shall pierce into the other naked soul, and they shall die suddenly and be deprived of all their kindred, and leave their brave attire strewn upon the earth” (” Gorgias, ” 523).
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “But God said unto him,” (eipen de auto ho theos) “Then God said to him,” his giver and sustainer of life and all that he had accumulated; whom he had left out of all his plans, “having no hope, and without God in the world,” Eph 2:12.
2) “Thou fool,” (aphron) “0 foolish one,” responsible one, selfish and covetous one, self-centered one, who thinks, resolves, and speaks in such a self-damning way, with such fallible wisdom, 1Co 1:21.
3) “This night thy soul shall be required of thee:” (taute te nukti ten psuchen sou apaitousin apo sou) “in this very night your soul they demand from you;” “After many days,” Psa 52:5; Psa 52:7 you are required to give account of your decisions and stewardship of life, Rom 14:11-12.
4) “Then whose shall those things be,” (de tini estai) “Then whose will they (those things) be,” Psa 39:6; Jer 17:11, come to be; apparently the man was so engrossed in covetousness and selfishness, that he made not so much as a word of preparation for the future use of his estate, when he was gone, Psa 49:17; Heb 9:27-28.
5) “Which thou hast provided?” (ha hetoimasas) “Which you have prepared and provided?” without regards for your eternal soul’s welfare, or that of anyone else on earth, Jas 4:14. He died in a state “worse than an infidel,” providing not a thing for his own household, but for the “I” “me” and “mine,” as an ego-maniac, 1Ti 5:8. The sudden cutting short of this man’s career is given to emphasize the Vanity of trying to find soul satisfaction in hoarding property while caring not for God or one’s fellowman, then facing the consequence of a life without God, in all eternity, Mar 8:34-37.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
20. Fool, this night they will demand thy soul from thee. The word soul carries an allusion. Formerly, the rich man addressed his soul as the seat of all the affections: but now, he speaks of the life itself, or the vital spirit. The words, they will demand, ( ἀπαιτοῦσιν ) though in the plural number, are used indefinitely, and mean nothing more than that the life of the rich man, which he imagined to be in his own power, was at the disposal of another. I advert to this, because some take occasion from them to make unfounded speculations about angels. The design of Christ is simply to show that the life of men, which they imagine to be strongly protected by the fortress of their riches, is every moment (272) taken away. The rich man is thus convicted of folly, in not knowing that his life depended on another.
(272) “ Que d’heure en heure la vie est ostee aux hommes;” — “that from hour to hour the life of man is taken away.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(20) But God said unto him.The bold anthropomorphic language seems intended to suggest the thought not only that death came suddenly, but that the man felt that it came from God as the chastisement of his folly.
Thy soul shall be required.Literally, they require thy soul of thee. The idiom, as in Luk. 12:48, and Luk. 14:35, is impersonal, and does not require us to supply any definite nominative. We may compare that when ye fail, they may receive you . . . (Luk. 16:9) as a possibly analogous instance; but see Note there.
Then whose shall those things be?The words indicate one of the disturbing thoughts that vex the souls of the wealthy, He heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them (Psa. 39:6).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
20. God said The man had had his say; there is now a higher Being who puts in a word.
Said We are not told how God spoke, but certainly in such a way that even the fool understood him. Some think all God said was only in his decree or sovereign purpose; others that he so said by disease or dream. As the narrative is a parable, we understand that Jesus simply means to put God’s say in its true and terrible contrast with the fool’s speech to his soul.
Thou fool In biblical language the true fool is the man who wants the moral sense; that is, the proper good sense in moral or religious matters.
This night Not another day. Thy soul, which was to enjoy all this
life. Required of thee As if it was a loan which is now to be paid back.
Whose shall those things be thy heir will take the things in which thy life seemed to consist.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“But God said to him, You foolish one, this night is your soul required of you, and the things which you have prepared, whose shall they be?”
But that night God told him what a fool he was. For far from enjoying many years of luxury while others starved, that night his inner spirit, his ‘soul’, was to be required of him. And then he would have to leave all his wealth behind (compare Psa 39:6). And others would enjoy the benefits that he had sought for himself. And he would be left with nothing (compare Luk 16:22). For he had not stored up treasure in heaven. Thus all he would possess was a cold dark grave.
‘You fool.’ Compare Luk 11:40; Psa 14:1, and often in Proverbs. A fool in Scripture is one who has not heeded God’s word and God’s wisdom. Many would have said how wise this man was. He was securing his future. God says he was a fool because he was ignoring his real future.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Luk 12:20. Shall be required of thee: It is in the original , they shall require; which Elsner thinks alludes to the messengers sent to fetch away the soul; and he produces a remarkable and well-known passage from Plato to prove that Socrates thought this the office of a spirit superior to men. Others, to preserve the literal meaning of the words, suppose, that thieves broke into this man’s house, and robbed him of his life, together with his riches; but it is most probable that, according to an use of the plural number very familiar in the Hebrew language, these words may signify no more than that his life should be taken away, without determining whether angels, as executioners of the divine decree, or men should take it away.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Luk 12:20-21 . . . .] is not to be converted into a decrevit (Kuinoel), etc. We have, indeed, no history; , Theophylact.
] with emphasis.
] the categoric plural (see on Mat 2:20 ), which therefore does not prevent our regarding God Himself as the author of what was done, although the subject is left undetermined. The thought of a robber and murderer (Paulus, Bornemann) is not to be allowed on account of Luk 12:21 .
] not to thee will it belong, but to others!
Luk 12:21 . So , having incurred the loss of his happiness by the unexpected appearance of death, is he who collects treasure for himself (for his own possession and enjoyment), and is not rich in reference to God; i.e. is not rich in such wise that his wealth passes over to God (Rom 10:12 ), by his possession, namely, of treasures in heaven, which God saves up in order to impart them to the man when Messiah’s kingdom shall be set up. See on Mat 5:12 ; Mat 6:20 . Comp. 1Ti 6:19 , and on Col 1:5 . The (unless, however, is to be taken for , as Luther, Beza, Calovius, and others would have it) is substantially the same as (comp. Luk 12:33 ), and it is realized through , and in the case of the rich man, especially through loving activity (Mat 19:21 ; Luk 16:9 ), such as Christ desires, Mat 6:2-4 . It is not temporal possession of wealth which is applied in usum et honorem Dei (Majus, Elsner, Kypke, comp. Mller, Neue Ansichten , p. 201 ff.), but the higher ideal possession of wealth, the being rich in Messianic possessions laid up with God, and one day to be received from Him, which is wanting to the egoistic . Against the former view, entertained by Majus and the rest, it is decisive that the negation of the being rich in relation to God (not of the becoming rich) is regarded as bound up with the selfish heaping up of treasure. This withal in opposition to Bornemann: “qui quod dives est prosperoque in augendis divitiis successu utitur, sibi tribuit, non Deo .”
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
DISCOURSE: 1527
THE RICH FOOL
Luk 12:20-21. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
HEAR we the voice of a gloomy enthusiast, a deluded bigot, or an imperious tyrant? Are these reproachful menaces the wild effusions of intemperate zeal? No: the text presents to us the just expressions of Jehovahs indignation. Covetousness, in whomsoever found, cannot fail of provoking his utter abhorrence. A young man had applied to Jesus to procure him an equitable share of his paternal inheritance; our Lord declined any interference, as foreign from the purposes of his mission; and, knowing the disposition which had assumed the garb of equity, reproved it [Note: ver. 1315.]. The parable before us was spoken to enforce that reproof; and the address of God to the character there delineated, strongly intimated the danger to which the youth himself was exposed. There are, alas! too many still who are actuated by similar principles [Note: Eze 33:31.]. For their conviction we shall inquire,
I.
What were the grounds of Gods indignation against the Rich Man?
No evil could attach to the Rich Man on account of the fruitfulness of his ground: nor was he altogether to be blamed for devising prudent means of securing his property. He should indeed have remembered, that there were objects enough around him whose want should be supplied from his superfluities [Note: It was wrong therefore to think of treasuring up all his fruits: perhaps too there was too much anxiety implied in, What shall I do?]: but his offence principally consisted in two things
1.
An idolatrous regard to the world
[He imagined that the world was capable of rendering him happy, and that the enjoyment of it would be permanent for many years [Note: ver. 19.]. But what could be more absurd than such expectations as these? Can affluence secure freedom from pain either of body or of mind? Can it ward off personal afflictions, or compose domestic troubles? Is there more real happiness in palaces than in the humble cottage? Does not the experience of Solomon attest the reverse of this [Note: Ecc 2:11.]? and has not our Lord himself affirmed the same [Note: ver. 15.]? But, if wealth were capable of making us happy, can we secure the continuance of it a single day? Are not all exposed to such calamities as reduced Job to poverty [Note: Job 1:13-19.]? Is not the instability of riches declared in the strongest terms [Note: Pro 23:5.]? or, if they were more stable, can we prolong our own lives? Has not the voice of Inspiration warned us against any such vain idea [Note: Jam 4:13-15.]? And did not the event manifest the folly of the Rich Mans expectations [Note: This night, &c.]? Well then might God address him by that humiliating appellation [Note: Thou fool.]; well might he deride his fruitless anxieties, and delusive hopes [Note: Whose shall those things be, &c.]; and justly did he cut him off as a warning to others,]
2.
An utter disregard of God
[Amidst his prospects of carnal happiness he had no thoughts of God. He addressed his soul as though it had no existence beyond the body, nor any capacity superior to the beasts. Had he regarded God, how different would his speech have been! Soul, thou hast hitherto been too solicitous about the body; but now the body, through the bounty of Providence, is amply provided for. From henceforth therefore banish all anxiety about carnal things, and occupy thyself about thy spiritual and eternal interests. Thou shalt now be the one object of my care and attention; and the body shall be altogether devoted to thy service. God hath provided for thee a far richer portion than this world can give. Now therefore set thyself to serve him with all thy faculties and powers: bless him that he has not required thee of me unprepared; and the more time thou hast lost, exert thyself the more to redeem the moments that may still be allotted thee. Such an address would have been a just requital of the divine goodness; nor would it ever have brought upon him the judgments experienced. But such reflections were far enough from his mind. The bounties of Providence served but to confirm his sensual habits: and the donor was eclipsed by the very gifts which he bestowed. Surely then the Divine displeasure was not more than adequate to his demerits?]
The improvement which our Lord made of this parable leads us to inquire,
II.
Whether there be not amongst ourselves also similar objects of his displeasure?
A man anxious about the world and regardless of his soul is a very common character in every place
[To make provision for ourselves and families is by no means sinful [Note: 1Ti 5:8.]: such prudent care will very well consist with fervent piety [Note: Rom 12:11.]: but our concern about earthly things should not preclude an attention to the soul. Our first duty is to lay up treasure in heaven. By embracing Christ and his promises, we may be rich in faith; and by exerting ourselves in his service, we may be rich in good works. Thus, however poor with respect to this world, we may be rich towards God. But how few amongst us make this their chief employment! How languid is our desire after Christs unsearchable riches, when compared with our anxiety about the unrighteous mammon! How cheerful, constant, and indefatigable is our labour for the body, while that for the soul is at best feeble, occasional, and reluctant!]
Every such person resembles the Rich Fool in the parable,
1.
In his folly
[He shews that he disregards his soul in comparison of his body, and that the concerns of time appear to him more important than those of eternity. What can exceed the folly of living in such a state? How will such an one, if not stupified by sin, condemn himself in a dying hour! How will he stand amazed when he shall appear at the tribunal of God [Note: Wisd. 5:4.]!]
2.
In his punishment
[Every worldling indeed is not cut off without a previous warning: but, whenever he is taken away, he is summoned before God in wrath: he is torn from the idols which he had cherished in his bosom: not the smallest portion of his former comforts is left him: he is called by an incensed master to give an account of his stewardship, and for his folly is consigned over to everlasting burnings.]
We cannot conclude without remarking, how widely different Gods sentiments are from those of men
[Men account us wise in proportion as we prosecute our temporal interests [Note: Psa 49:18.], and consider a diligent attention to our eternal welfare as a mark of weakness and folly. But God forms a very different estimate of human actions: the amassing of wealth is in his eyes like the loading of oneself with thick clay [Note: Hab 2:6.]: but the laying up treasure in heaven is the very beginning of wisdom [Note: Psa 111:10.]. Let us then study to be like-minded with God; and let us be content to be despised by man, if we may but receive a plaudit from our Judge. Let us not however carry our disregard of the world to a criminal excess. While we are in the world we should diligently perform the duties of our station [Note: 1Co 7:24.]: but our first and greatest care should be to obtain an eternal inheritance. So, whenever our soul shall be required, we shall give it up with joy, and possess our portion when the vanities of time shall be no more.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
Ver. 20. Thou fool, this night, &c. ] This rich fool, when, like a jay, he was pruning himself in the boughs, came tumbling down with the arrow in his side; his hourglass had run out, when he thought it to be but recently turned. He chopped into the earth before he was aware: like as one that, walking in a field covered with snow, falleth into a pit suddenly. He was shot as a bird with a bolt, while he gazed at the bow. And this may be any man’s case. Which made Austin say he would not for the gain of a world be an atheist for one half hour; because he knew not but God might in that time call him.
Then whose shall those things be? &c. ] As thy friends are scrambling for thy goods, worms for thy body, so devils for thy soul. We read of Henry Beaufort, that rich and wretched cardinal, bishop of Winchester, and chancellor of England in the reign of King Henry VI, that perceiving he must needs die, he murmured that his riches could not reprieve him. Fie, quoth he, will not death be hired? will money do nothing? No; it is righteousness only that delivereth from death. (Fox, Martyrol.)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
20. ] God said unto him, perhaps it is meant, by some unmistakable judgment; but more likely, as occurring in a parable, the words are to be literally taken. By supposing merely a divine decree to be meant, without personal communication , as Grotius, Kuinoel, and Trench do, we lose the impressive part of the parable, where the man’s selfishness and folly is brought into immediate contact with the solemn truth of his approaching death, which certainly our Lord intends us to contemplate.
, opposed to his worldly prudence; . to the ; the in the one case, at its ease, eating, drinking, and making merry, to the in the other, demanded, rendered up, judged.
, not strictly impersonal; there are those whose business it is, even the angels , the ministers of the divine purposes: see ch. Luk 6:38 and note. The merely impersonal sense may be defended: cf. Luk 12:48 : but this saying seems so solemn, as to require something more.
, which thou madest ready; but not for thyself .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Luk 12:20 . ., but God said to him, through conscience at the death hour (Euthy.). , they ask thy life = thy life is asked. , whose? Not thine at all events.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
fool. See note on Luk 11:40.
this night = this very night.
thy soul = thy life. App-110.
shall be required = they demand. Only here and Luk 6:30. Tr. A WI read “is required”. But both are impersonal, referring to some unknown invisible agencies which carry out God’s judgments or Satan’s will. Compare Psa 49:15. Job 4:19; Job 18:18; Job 19:26; Job 34:20. In a good sense compare Isa 60:11.
which, &c. In the Greek this clause is emph., standing before the question “then whose”, &c.
provided = prepared.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
20.] God said unto him,-perhaps it is meant, by some unmistakable judgment; but more likely, as occurring in a parable, the words are to be literally taken. By supposing merely a divine decree to be meant, without personal communication, as Grotius, Kuinoel, and Trench do, we lose the impressive part of the parable, where the mans selfishness and folly is brought into immediate contact with the solemn truth of his approaching death, which certainly our Lord intends us to contemplate.
, opposed to his worldly prudence;- . to the ;-the in the one case, at its ease, eating, drinking, and making merry, to the in the other, demanded, rendered up, judged.
, not strictly impersonal; there are those whose business it is, even the angels, the ministers of the divine purposes: see ch. Luk 6:38 and note. The merely impersonal sense may be defended: cf. Luk 12:48 : but this saying seems so solemn, as to require something more.
, which thou madest ready; but not for thyself.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Luk 12:20. , said) if not by an express revelation, yet in His secret judgment: [Comp. Isa 57:11.]-, thou fool) This is put in contrast with his opinion of his own prudence, of which Luk 12:17, et seqq., treat.-, this night) It is at night that most of the Divine addresses to men take place: it is at night that there occur many sudden deaths. [Job 27:20, A tempest stealeth him away in the night.]-, soul) concerning which he had spoken so confidently in Luk 12:19.-) They to whom the power of requiring the soul is given, require thine of thee:-they whom thou thyself knowest not, O rich man. An elliptical expression, as Rev 12:6. So 1Sa 3:9 in the Hebr., where the LXX, according to the Aldine copy, has the full expression, : comp. 2Sa 17:9.-[ , those possessions which thou hast acquired [provided]) Not seldom, if one is said to have acquired and left behind many thousands, we may be sure that he has bestowed on that object the greatest share of his vital energies.-V. g.]-, for whom, for whose advantage) The dative of profit (Dativus commodi). So Gen 45:20, . There are many things belonging to the rich, which, however, are not for the rich. The rich man knows not for whom they are about to be [who shall have the good of them, the enjoyment out of them]: at all events, they shall not be for the rich man himself.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
God: Luk 16:22, Luk 16:23, Exo 16:9, Exo 16:10, 1Sa 25:36-38, 2Sa 13:28, 2Sa 13:29, 1Ki 16:9, 1Ki 16:10, Job 20:20-23, Job 27:8, Psa 73:19, Psa 78:30, Dan 5:1-6, Dan 5:25-30, Nah 1:10, Mat 24:48-51, 1Th 5:3
Thou fool: Luk 11:40, Jer 17:11, Jam 4:14
thy soul shall be required of thee: or, do they require thy soul
then: Est 5:11, Est 8:1, Est 8:2, Job 27:16, Job 27:17, Psa 39:6, Psa 49:17-19, Psa 52:5-7, Pro 11:4, Pro 28:8, Ecc 2:18-22, Ecc 5:14-16, Jer 17:11, Dan 5:28, 1Ti 6:7
Reciprocal: Gen 35:18 – her soul Deu 32:29 – they would Jos 8:2 – only the spoil Jdg 9:27 – did eat 1Sa 30:16 – eating 2Sa 3:33 – as a fool dieth 2Ch 16:9 – Herein 2Ch 33:21 – two years Job 1:13 – when Job 4:21 – die Job 14:5 – his days Job 14:19 – destroyest Job 21:13 – They Job 24:19 – so doth Job 34:20 – a moment Job 36:20 – cut Psa 14:1 – fool Psa 37:10 – wicked Psa 49:10 – leave Psa 49:13 – folly Psa 49:19 – He Psa 53:1 – fool Psa 73:17 – then Psa 90:10 – for Psa 91:5 – terror Psa 92:6 – a fool Pro 4:7 – with Pro 8:18 – durable Pro 10:27 – the years Pro 11:7 – General Pro 11:28 – that Pro 14:8 – folly Pro 14:24 – foolishness Pro 27:1 – Boast Ecc 2:24 – that it Ecc 4:8 – For Ecc 5:15 – General Ecc 6:2 – so Ecc 9:12 – the sons Isa 5:14 – he that rejoiceth Isa 56:12 – to morrow Jer 9:23 – rich Jer 48:36 – the riches Eze 7:19 – they shall not Dan 4:4 – was Dan 4:30 – Is not Dan 4:31 – the word Dan 5:5 – the same Dan 11:4 – he shall stand Dan 11:7 – one stand Amo 6:4 – stretch themselves upon their couches Amo 6:13 – which Hab 2:6 – how Mat 13:12 – from Mat 16:26 – gain Mat 25:6 – at Mar 8:36 – what Luk 6:25 – mourn Luk 8:18 – from Luk 10:42 – which Luk 12:46 – lord Luk 17:27 – General Luk 19:24 – Take Rom 11:9 – their table 1Co 15:36 – fool Heb 11:25 – the pleasures 1Pe 1:7 – that Rev 18:14 – departed
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
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Soul is from PSUCHE (Psyche), and Thayer’s first definition is, “Breath, i. e., the breath of life; the vital force,” and he adds by way of explanation, “which animates the body and shows itself in breathing.” The verse does not necessarily mean that God performed a special act to take the man’s life from him because of his selfishness. But the uncertainty of this life is a result of the edict of God after the sin of the first man. It was in that sense that God took the rich man’s life from him that night.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
[This night thy soul shall be required of thee.] However this following story hath something in it that may be laughed at, yet hath it something in it that is serious enough: “The Rabbins say, It fell out in the days of R. Simeon Ben Chalaphta, that he went to a certain circumcision, and there feasted. The father of the infant gave them old wine, wine of seven years old, to drink, and said unto them, ‘With this wine will I grow old in the joy of my son.’ They feasted together till midnight. R. Simeon Ben Chalaphta trusting to his own virtue, went out at midnight to go into the city: in the way he finds the angel of death, and observes him very sad: saith he to him, ‘Who art thou?’ He saith, ‘I am the messenger of the Lord’: ‘And why then (saith he) art thou so sad?’ He saith unto him, ‘I am sad for the speeches of those who say, I will do this or that ere long, though they know not how quickly they may be called away by death. That man with whom thou hast been feasting, and that boasted amongst you, With this wine I will grow old in the joy of my son; behold the time draws nigh, that within thirty days he must be snatched away.’ He saith unto him, ‘Do thou let me know my time.’ To whom he answered, ‘Over thee, and such as thou art, we have no power; for God, being delighted with good works, prolongeth your lives.'”
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
Luk 12:20. But God said unto him. In contrast with what he had said to himself. God is represented as audibly uttering this judgment, to bring before the man the certainty of approaching death. Often in real life some messenger of death comes to impress the same fact upon those here represented.
Thou fool, in spite of the sensible, practical thought of Luk 12:18.
This night. The many years are not his.
They require, etc. This is probably equivalent to: I will require of thee, but the form suggests a reference to the angels as the ministers of Gods purposes. Some indeed think that there is an allusion to murderers who will rob him of his goods also, but this is rather fanciful.
Thy soul, which you would have eat, drink, and be merry, is summoned where all this ceases, must be conscious of its higher nature, which, alas, now exposes it to judgment.
The things which thou hast prepared, etc. Prepared for thyself, they cannot be thine. Some answer: they will be for my son, my family, but observation proves the answer a folly, Inherited riches are rarely a blessing, and the strife among heirs in answering this very clause is one of the saddest pages of social lite (comp. Luk 12:13).
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
God said something different to the man than he had said to himself. This contrast shows the error of the rich man’s thinking. In the Old Testament a fool is essentially someone who disbelieves or disregards God (e.g., Psa 14:1; cf. Luk 11:40). That is precisely what this man had done regarding the meaning of life. He had thought that he would be comfortable for many years to come (Luk 12:19), but God demanded his life that very night (cf. Jas 4:13-16). This loss of life contrasts with his accumulation of possessions. Now he had nothing left, and his possessions would pass to his heirs (cf. Ecc 2:18-19). This fact could not have escaped the notice of the man who posed the question about his inheritance (Luk 12:13). Even if he got part of his brother’s inheritance, he might not keep it long.