SEV Biblia, Chapter 12:15
Y les dijo: Mirad, y guardaos de toda avaricia; porque la vida del hombre no consiste en la abundancia de los bienes que posee.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Luke 12:15
Verse 15. Beware of covetousness] Or rather, Beware of all inordinate desires. I add pashv, all, on the authority of ABDKLM-Q, twenty-three others, both the Syriac, all the Persic, all the Arabic, Coptic, AEthiopic, Armenian, Vulgate, all the Itala, and several of the primitive fathers. Inordinate desires. pleonexiav, from pleion, more, and ecein, to have; the desire to have more and more, let a person possess whatever he may.
Such a disposition of mind is never satisfied; for, as soon as one object is gained, the heart goes out after another.
Consisteth not in the abundance] That is, dependeth not on the abundance. It is not superfluities that support man's life, but necessaries.
What is necessary, God gives liberally; what is superfluous, he has not promised. Nor can a man's life be preserved by the abundance of his possessions: to prove this he spoke the following parable.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 15. And he said unto them , etc.] Either to the two brethren, or to his disciples, as the Syriac and Persic versions read, or to the whole company: take heed, and beware of covetousness ; of all covetousness, as read the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, and some copies; that is, of all sorts of covetousness, and every degree of it, which of all vices is to be avoided and guarded against, being the root of all evil; and as the Persic version renders it, is worse than all evil, and leads into it: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth ; of flocks and beasts, as the Persic version renders it: a man's natural life cannot be prolonged by all the good things of the world he is possessed of; they cannot prevent diseases nor death; nor do the comfort and happiness of life, lie in these things; which are either not enjoyed by them, but kept for the hurt of the owners of them, or are intemperately used, or some way or other imbittered to them, so that they have no peace nor pleasure in them: and a man's spiritual life is neither had nor advantaged hereby, and much less is eternal life to be acquired by any of these things; which a man may have, and be lost for ever, as the following parable shows.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 13-21 - Christ's kingdom is spiritual, and not of this world. Christianity doe not meddle with politics; it obliges all to do justly, but wordl dominion is not founded in grace. It does not encourage expectations of worldly advantages by religion. The rewards of Christ's disciples ar of another nature. Covetousness is a sin we need constantly to be warned against; for happiness and comfort do not depend on the wealt of this world. The things of the world will not satisfy the desires of a soul. Here is a parable, which shows the folly of carnal worldlin while they live, and their misery when they die. The character drawn i exactly that of a prudent, worldly man, who has no grateful regard to the providence of God, nor any right thought of the uncertainty of human affairs, the worth of his soul, or the importance of eternity How many, even among professed Christians, point out similar character as models for imitation, and proper persons to form connexions with! We mistake if we think that thoughts are hid, and thoughts are free. When he saw a great crop upon his ground, instead of thanking God for it, or rejoicing to be able to do more good, he afflicts himself. What shall do now? The poorest beggar in the country could not have said a mor anxious word. The more men have, the more perplexity they have with it It was folly for him to think of making no other use of his plenty than to indulge the flesh and gratify the sensual appetites, withou any thought of doing good to others. Carnal worldlings are fools; an the day is coming when God will call them by their own name, and the will call themselves so. The death of such persons is miserable i itself, and terrible to them. Thy soul shall be required. He is loth to part with it; but God shall require it, shall require an account of it require it as a guilty soul to be punished without delay. It is the folly of most men, to mind and pursue that which is for the body and for time only, more than that for the soul and eternity.
Greek Textus Receptus
ειπεν 2036 5627 V-2AAI-3S δε 1161 CONJ προς 4314 PREP αυτους 846 P-APM ορατε 3708 5720 V-PAM-2P και 2532 CONJ φυλασσεσθε 5442 5732 V-PMM-2P απο 575 PREP της 3588 T-GSF πλεονεξιας 4124 N-GSF οτι 3754 CONJ ουκ 3756 PRT-N εν 1722 PREP τω 3588 T-DSM περισσευειν 4052 5721 V-PAN τινι 5100 X-DSM η 3588 T-NSF ζωη 2222 N-NSF αυτου 846 P-GSM εστιν 2076 5748 V-PXI-3S εκ 1537 PREP των 3588 T-GPN υπαρχοντων 5224 5723 V-PAP-GPN αυτου 846 P-GSM
Vincent's NT Word Studies
15. Beware of (fulassesqe apo). Lit., guard yourselves from.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
12:15 {From all covetousness} (apo pases pleonexias). Ablative case. From every kind of greedy desire for more (pleon, more, hexia, from ecw, to have) an old word which we have robbed of its sinful aspects and refined to mean business thrift. {In the abundance of the things which he possesseth} (en twi perisseuein tini ek twn huparcontwn autwi). A rather awkward Lukan idiom: "In the abounding (articular infinitive) to one out of the things belonging (articular participle) to him."
