Lukas 12:27-28

12:27 Consider how the flowers ¹  grow; they do not work ²  or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! 12:28 And if ³  this is how God clothes the wild grass, ⁴  which is here ⁵  today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, ⁶  how much more ⁷  will he clothe you, you people of little faith!

[12:27]  ¹ tn Traditionally, “lilies.” According to L&N 3.32, “Though traditionally κρίνον has been regarded as a type of lily, scholars have suggested several other possible types of flowers, including an anemone, a poppy, a gladiolus, and a rather inconspicuous type of daisy.” In view of the uncertainty, the more generic “flowers” has been used in the translation.

[12:27]  ² tn Traditionally, “toil.” Although it might be argued that “work hard” would be a more precise translation of κοπιάω (kopiaw) here, the line in English scans better in terms of cadence with a single syllable.

[12:28]  ³ tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text.

[12:28]  ⁴ tn Grk “grass in the field.”

[12:28]  ⁵ tn Grk “which is in the field today.”

[12:28]  ⁶ tn Grk “into the oven.” The expanded translation “into the fire to heat the oven” has been used to avoid misunderstanding; most items put into modern ovens are put there to be baked, not burned.

[12:28]  sn The oven was most likely a rounded clay oven used for baking bread, which was heated by burning wood and dried grass.

[12:28]  ⁷ sn The phrase how much more is a typical form of rabbinic argumentation, from the lesser to the greater. If God cares for the little things, surely he will care for the more important things.