Scripture focus
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?
Luke 12:20 — KJV
Bible study online
King James Version (KJV)
“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”
— D.L. Moody
Scripture focus
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?
Luke 12:20 — KJV
Fool. See on chapter 11:40. Jesus does not say that God actually uttered these words to the “fool” or even brought to him an awareness of this appellation, any more than our Lord means to imply that the conversation between the rich man and “father Abraham” (chapter 16:24-31) actually took place. In both instances the conversation is supplied for the benefit of the audience listening to the parable, that they may see the divine principle illustrated by the parable. Compare also the conversation between the trees of the forest (Judges 9:8-15).
Thy soul. The clause reads literally, “they are requiring thy soul of thee.” Some suggest that the impersonal “they” is a rabbinical circumlocution to avoid use of the divine name (see on chapter 15:7). Others refer the pronoun to the “destroyers” (see Job 33:22).
By SdaBc