Luke 12:35–12:48, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Luke 12:35–12:48
Watchful Servants Face Proportionate Accountability
Lamps stay lit, and a steward is measured by how the household was fed
They are to be dressed for action with lamps burning, like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding feast, ready to open at once. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake; he will dress himself, have them recline, and serve them. If he comes in the second or third watch and finds them so, they are blessed. A householder who knew when the thief was coming would not have let the house be broken into; they must be ready, for the Son of Man comes at an hour they do not expect.
Peter asks whether this parable is for them or for all. Jesus answers with a steward set over the household to give food at the proper time. Faithful management is blessed with more responsibility. A servant who says the master delays, beats the other servants, and eats and drinks with the drunken will be cut in pieces and put with the unfaithful. The one who knew and did not prepare is beaten with many stripes; the one who did not know and did things worthy of stripes with few. To whom much is given, much will be required. Household slavery imagery reflects an unequal ancient institution; it does not endorse it. Violent punishments belong to the warning world of the parable, not to a church discipline manual.
How this should shape us
Stay ready by doing the ordinary work of feeding people who depend on you, not by calculating a date. If you hold keys, do not use delay as cover to exploit staff, family, or a congregation. Refuse any reading that turns this household into a permission slip for slavery, beating, or spiritualized abuse.
Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
Luke 12:35–12:48, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Greek wording and sentence relations; the edition is not treated as a complete apparatus.
Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/Luke.txt, 12:35–12:48
Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges only where the unit discusses them; local syntax controls sense.
STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT Matthew-Acts rows for Luke 12:35–12:48
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, KJV-language clarification, historical notes, Synoptic parallels, and textual alternatives.
NET Bible First Edition Luke PDF, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to Luke 12:35–12:48
Supports: Critical orientation to the unit's place in Luke-Acts, narrative structure, sources, social questions, Passion, or resurrection.
Yale Bible Study Gospel of Luke course, Jesus Teaches on the Road study guide, Luke 12:1-14:35; applied to Luke 12:35–12:48
Supports: Current reader-oriented synthesis of anonymity, date, Jewish setting, salvation, marginalized people, parables, wealth, and whole-book movement.
Enter the Bible Luke course, Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Theological Themes, Bible in the World, and linked passage index; applied to Luke 12:35–12:48
Supports: One complete confessional reading of the unit, independently checked against critical, textual, and ethical controls.
Bolt, “Luke,” commentary heading and paragraphs explicitly covering Luke 12:35–12:48
Supports: Literary relationship evidence and material alternatives among Luke, Mark, and Matthew without treating dependence as a historicity verdict.
Goodacre, The Synoptic Problem, chapters 1-5 on Synoptic data and Markan priority and chapters 6-10 on Q and Farrer alternatives; applied to Luke 12:35–12:48
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
Exact location: Luke 12:35–12:48, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording and sentence relations; the edition is not treated as a complete apparatus.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/Luke.txt, 12:35–12:48
Open the Luke Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges only where the unit discusses them; local syntax controls sense.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT Matthew-Acts rows for Luke 12:35–12:48
Open source ↗open translation and translator notes
NET Bible First Edition Notes: Luke
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, KJV-language clarification, historical notes, Synoptic parallels, and textual alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible First Edition Luke PDF, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to Luke 12:35–12:48
Open source ↗open university bible study course
The Gospel of Luke Course and Study Guides
Yale Divinity School faculty
Yale Bible Study, 2020; current online edition
Supports: Critical orientation to the unit's place in Luke-Acts, narrative structure, sources, social questions, Passion, or resurrection.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study Gospel of Luke course, Jesus Teaches on the Road study guide, Luke 12:1-14:35; applied to Luke 12:35–12:48
Open source ↗modern scholarly book introduction
Luke: Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Theological Themes, and Bible in the World
Matthew L. Skinner
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, 2024 revision; current course inspected 2026
Supports: Current reader-oriented synthesis of anonymity, date, Jewish setting, salvation, marginalized people, parables, wealth, and whole-book movement.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Luke course, Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Theological Themes, Bible in the World, and linked passage index; applied to Luke 12:35–12:48
Open source ↗open confessional commentary
Luke
Peter G. Bolt
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023
Supports: One complete confessional reading of the unit, independently checked against critical, textual, and ethical controls.
Exact location: Bolt, “Luke,” commentary heading and paragraphs explicitly covering Luke 12:35–12:48
Open source ↗modern scholarly open monograph
The Synoptic Problem: A Way Through the Maze
Mark Goodacre
T&T Clark; open access supplied by the author and Duke University, 2001; open release 2011
Supports: Literary relationship evidence and material alternatives among Luke, Mark, and Matthew without treating dependence as a historicity verdict.
Exact location: Goodacre, The Synoptic Problem, chapters 1-5 on Synoptic data and Markan priority and chapters 6-10 on Q and Farrer alternatives; applied to Luke 12:35–12:48
Open source ↗