Luke 12:23
What does Luke 12:23 mean?
A plain-English look at Luke 12:23 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Luke 12:23 means
Jesus asserts that life is more than food and the body more than clothing. He is not denying the importance of needs; He is restoring proportion. When essentials dominate the horizon, the soul shrinks. Life’s purpose, dignity, and destiny reach beyond survival, as shown by God’s gift of life itself. This perspective breaks the spell of anxious fixation. If God cared to create and sustain you, He cares about what sustains you. But He also calls you to value Him and His kingdom above even good things, so that necessities serve, not rule, your heart.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000For the life is more than the food, and the body than the raiment.
KJV
King James Version · 1611The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901For the life is more than the food, and the body than the raiment.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Is not life more than food, and the body than its clothing?
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862the life is more than the nourishment, and the body than the clothing.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752The life is more than the meat: and the body is more than the raiment.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890The life is more than food, and the body than raiment.
Context
This principle undergirds the command not to worry. By enlarging their vision of life and the body, Jesus prepares His disciples to see creation as a teacher. He will next point to ravens, creatures without agricultural systems or storage, whom God still feeds, to strengthen trust and to show that anxiety adds nothing to life.
v.22And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.
v.23This passage
v.24Consider the ravens, that they sow not, neither reap; which have no store-chamber nor barn; and God feedeth them: of how much more value are ye than the birds!
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Genesis 19:17
And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the Plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.
- Proverbs 13:8
The ransom of a man’s life is his riches; But the poor heareth no threatening.
- Job 2:4
And Satan answered Jehovah, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.
- Job 1:12
And Jehovah said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thy hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of Jehovah.
- Acts 27:38
And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea.
- Acts 27:18
And as we labored exceedingly with the storm, the next day they began to throw the freight overboard;
Related questions readers ask
Keep reading
Want to dig deeper? Explore Luke 12
Hand-picked devotionals, topical studies, and pastoral answers that draw on Luke 12.
Topics that quote it
Topic
Bible Verses About Covetousness
Covetousness is an excessive desire for possessions or power, often leading to other sins and hindering one's relationship with God.
Topic
Bible Verses About Doubt
The Bible acknowledges the reality of doubt, offering comfort, guidance, and encouragement to those who wrestle with uncertainty.
Topic
Bible Verses About Friendship
Explore how the Bible speaks about friendship, examining its importance, characteristics, and blessings in our lives.
What the Bible says about…
Verses for this moment
Verses for
Bible Verses for Anxiety Before a Job Interview
Quiet your nerves and walk in with steady steps — six verses to pray on the way.
Verses for
Bible Verses for When You Feel Forgotten by God
When the prayers feel one-sided — verses for the quiet seasons.
Verses for
Bible Verses for When Prayer Feels Empty
When the words won't come — scripture for the dry prayer life.