Luke 12:6

THE MESSAGE

"What's the price of two or three pet canaries? Some loose change, right? But God never overlooks a single one. And he pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail—even numbering the hairs on your head! So don't be intimidated by all this bully talk. You're worth more than a million canaries.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Aren’t five sparrows sold for two pennies?

King James Version (1611)
Are not fiue sparrowes solde for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?

King James Version
Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?

English Standard Version
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God.

New American Standard Bible
"Are five sparrows not sold for two assaria? And yet not one of them has gone unnoticed in the sight of God.

New Century Version
"Five sparrows are sold for only two pennies, and God does not forget any of them.

Amplified Bible
"Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? Yet not one of them has [ever] been forgotten in the presence of God.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God.

Legacy Standard Bible
Are not five sparrows sold for two assaria? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God.

Berean Standard Bible
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.

Contemporary English Version
Five sparrows are sold for just two pennies, but God doesn't forget a one of them.

Complete Jewish Bible
Aren't sparrows sold for next to nothing, five for two assarions? And not one of them has been forgotten by God.

Darby Translation
Are not five sparrows sold for two assaria? and one of them is not forgotten before God.

Easy-to-Read Version
"When birds are sold, five small birds cost only two pennies. But God does not forget any of them.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Are not fiue sparowes bought for two farthings, and yet not one of them is forgotten before God?

George Lamsa Translation
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And yet not one of them is lost before God.

Good News Translation
"Aren't five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one sparrow is forgotten by God.

Lexham English Bible
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten in the sight of God.

Literal Translation
Are not five sparrows sold for two assaria? And not one of them has been forgotten before God.

American Standard Version
Are not five sparrows sold for two pence? and not one of them is forgotten in the sight of God.

Bible in Basic English
Are not five sparrows given in exchange for two farthings? and God has every one of them in mind.

Hebrew Names Version
"Aren't five sparrows sold for two assaria? Not one of them is forgotten by God.

International Standard Version
"Five sparrows are sold for two pennies, aren't they? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God's sight.

Etheridge Translation
Are not five sparrows sold for two asorin; [fn] and one of them is not forgotten before Aloha.

Murdock Translation
Are not five sparrows sold for two assarii? and not one of them is forgotten before God.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Are not fyue sparrowes bought for two farthynges? and not one of them is forgotten before God.

English Revised Version
Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings? and not one of them is forgotten in the sight of God.

World English Bible
Aren't five sparrows sold for two assaria? Not one of them is forgotten by God.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God.

Weymouth's New Testament
Are not five sparrows sold for a penny? and yet not one of them is a thing forgotten in God's sight.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Whether fyue sparowis ben not seld for twei halpens; and oon of hem is not in foryetyng bifor God?

Update Bible Version
Are not five sparrows sold for $20? and not one of them is forgotten in the sight of God.

Webster's Bible Translation
Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?

New English Translation
Aren't five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God.

New King James Version
Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? [fn] And not one of them is forgotten before God.

New Living Translation
"What is the price of five sparrows—two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them.

New Life Bible
"Are not five small birds sold for two small pieces of money? God does not forget even one of the birds.

New Revised Standard
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God's sight.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Are not, five sparrows, sold for two farthings? and, not one from among them, hath been forgotten before God.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?

Revised Standard Version
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Are not five sparowes bought for two farthinges? And yet not one of them is forgotten of God.

Young's Literal Translation
`Are not five sparrows sold for two assars? and one of them is not forgotten before God,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Are not fyue sparowes bought for two farthinges? Yet is not one of them forgotten before God.

Mace New Testament (1729)
are not five sparrows sold for two pence? however the divine providence extends to each of them.

Simplified Cowboy Version
"But before you start thinking the Boss is against you, consider this, what do a few birds cost—two cents at the most? But God doesn't even forget about these little birds.

Contextual Overview

¹By this time the crowd, unwieldy and stepping on each other's toes, numbered into the thousands. But Jesus' primary concern was his disciples. He said to them, "Watch yourselves carefully so you don't get contaminated with Pharisee yeast, Pharisee phoniness. You can't keep your true self hidden forever; before long you'll be exposed. You can't hide behind a religious mask forever; sooner or later the mask will slip and your true face will be known. You can't whisper one thing in private and preach the opposite in public; the day's coming when those whispers will be repeated all over town. ⁴"I'm speaking to you as dear friends. Don't be bluffed into silence or insincerity by the threats of religious bullies. True, they can kill you, but then what can they do? There's nothing they can do to your soul, your core being. Save your fear for God, who holds your entire life—body and soul—in his hands. ⁶"What's the price of two or three pet canaries? Some loose change, right? But God never overlooks a single one. And he pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail—even numbering the hairs on your head! So don't be intimidated by all this bully talk. You're worth more than a million canaries. ⁸"Stand up for me among the people you meet and the Son of Man will stand up for you before all God's angels. But if you pretend you don't know me, do you think I'll defend you before God's angels? ¹⁰ "If you bad-mouth the Son of Man out of misunderstanding or ignorance, that can be overlooked. But if you're knowingly attacking God himself, taking aim at the Holy Spirit, that won't be overlooked. ¹¹"When they drag you into their meeting places, or into police courts and before judges, don't worry about defending yourselves—what you'll say or how you'll say it. The right words will be there. The Holy Spirit will give you the right words when the time comes."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

five: Matthew 10:29

and: Luke 12:24, Luke 12:27, Psalms 50:10, Psalms 50:11, Psalms 113:5, Psalms 113:6, Psalms 145:15, Psalms 145:16, Psalms 147:9

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 22:6 - young ones Matthew 6:26 - the fowls Mark 11:13 - haply

Cross-References

Genesis 10:15
Canaan had Sidon his firstborn, Heth, the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Later the Canaanites spread out, going from Sidon toward Gerar, as far south as Gaza, and then east all the way over to Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and on to Lasha.

Genesis 12:18
Pharaoh called for Abram, "What's this that you've done to me? Why didn't you tell me that she's your wife? Why did you say, ‘She's my sister' so that I'd take her as my wife? Here's your wife back—take her and get out!"

Genesis 33:18
And that's how it happened that Jacob arrived all in one piece in Shechem in the land of Canaan—all the way from Paddan Aram. He camped near the city. He bought the land where he pitched his tent from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. He paid a hundred silver coins for it. Then he built an altar there and named it El-Elohe-Israel (Mighty Is the God of Israel).

Genesis 35:4
They turned over to Jacob all the alien gods they'd been holding on to, along with their lucky-charm earrings. Jacob buried them under the oak tree in Shechem. Then they set out. A paralyzing fear descended on all the surrounding villages so that they were unable to pursue the sons of Jacob.

Joshua 20:7
They set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hills of Naphtali, Shechem in the hills of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the hills of Judah.

Joshua 24:32
Joseph's bones, which the People of Israel had brought from Egypt, they buried in Shechem in the plot of ground that Jacob had purchased from the sons of Hamor (who was the father of Shechem). He paid a hundred silver coins for it. It belongs to the inheritance of the family of Joseph.

Judges 7:1
Jerub-Baal (Gideon) got up early the next morning, all his troops right there with him. They set up camp at Harod's Spring. The camp of Midian was in the plain, north of them near the Hill of Moreh.

Judges 9:1
Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to Shechem to his uncles and all his mother's relatives and said to them, "Ask all the leading men of Shechem, ‘What do you think is best, that seventy men rule you—all those sons of Jerub-Baal—or that one man rule? You'll remember that I am your own flesh and blood.'"

1 Kings 12:1
Rehoboam traveled to Shechem where all Israel had gathered to inaugurate him as king. Jeroboam had been in Egypt, where he had taken asylum from King Solomon; when he got the report of Solomon's death he had come back.

Acts 7:16
Stephen, Full of the Holy Spirit Then the Chief Priest said, "What do you have to say for yourself?" Stephen replied, "Friends, fathers, and brothers, the God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was still in Mesopotamia, before the move to Haran, and told him, ‘Leave your country and family and go to the land I'll show you.' "So he left the country of the Chaldees and moved to Haran. After the death of his father, he immigrated to this country where you now live, but God gave him nothing, not so much as a foothold. He did promise to give the country to him and his son later on, even though Abraham had no son at the time. God let him know that his offspring would move to an alien country where they would be enslaved and brutalized for four hundred years. ‘But,' God said, ‘I will step in and take care of those slaveholders and bring my people out so they can worship me in this place.' "Then he made a covenant with him and signed it in Abraham's flesh by circumcision. When Abraham had his son Isaac, within eight days he reproduced the sign of circumcision in him. Isaac became father of Jacob, and Jacob father of twelve ‘fathers,' each faithfully passing on the covenant sign. "But then those ‘fathers,' burning up with jealousy, sent Joseph off to Egypt as a slave. God was right there with him, though—he not only rescued him from all his troubles but brought him to the attention of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. He was so impressed with Joseph that he put him in charge of the whole country, including his own personal affairs. "Later a famine descended on that entire region, stretching from Egypt to Canaan, bringing terrific hardship. Our hungry fathers looked high and low for food, but the cupboard was bare. Jacob heard there was food in Egypt and sent our fathers to scout it out. Having confirmed the report, they went back to Egypt a second time to get food. On that visit, Joseph revealed his true identity to his brothers and introduced the Jacob family to Pharaoh. Then Joseph sent for his father, Jacob, and everyone else in the family, seventy-five in all. That's how the Jacob family got to Egypt. "Jacob died, and our fathers after him. They were taken to Shechem and buried in the tomb for which Abraham paid a good price to the sons of Hamor.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings,.... As two were sold for one farthing, :-; so in buying and selling, where more money is laid out, things are bought cheaper; the Persic version reads, "for two barley corns":

and not one of them is forgotten before God; a single sparrow, a bird of little value and worth, is taken notice and care of by him; it has its life from him, and is provided for with food by him, and is under his protection; nor does he ever forget it, nor can any thing be done to it, without his permission; it cannot be struck, so as to cause it to fall on the ground, or be taken in a snare, or be killed in any shape, without the knowledge of God: his providence reaches to the minutest creatures and things, and much more then to rational creatures, to men; and still more to his dear children, ministers, and apostles.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Nothing covered - See the notes at Matthew 10:26-32.

Luke 12:3

Shall be proclaimed upon the housetops - See the notes at Matthew 10:27. The custom of making proclamation from the tops or roofs of houses still prevails in the East. Dr. Thomson (“The Land and the Book,” vol. i. p. 51, 52) says: “At the present day, local governors in country districts cause their commands thus to be published. Their proclamations are generally made in the evening, after the people have returned from their labors in the field. The public crier ascends the highest roof at hand, and lifts up his voice in a long-drawn call upon all faithful subjects to give ear and obey. He then proceeds to announce, in a set form, the will of their master, and demand obedience thereto.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Luke 12:6. Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings? — See this explained on Matthew 10:29, from which place we learn that two sparrows were sold for one farthing, and here; that five were sold for two farthings: thus we find a certain proportion-for one farthing you could get but two, while for two farthings you could get five.