Luke 12:6

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

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Are	πωλοῦνται pōlountai	G4453	to barter (as a pedlar) · verb — present passive indicative, 3rd person plural
not	οὐχὶ ouchi	G3780	not indeed · particle — negative
five	πέντε pente	G4002	"five" · adjective — numeral, indeclinable
sparrows	στρουθία strouthia	G4765	a little sparrow · noun — nominative plural neuter
sold	πωλέω pōléō	G4453	to barter (as a pedlar)
for	ἀσσαρίων assariōn	G787	an assarius or as · noun — genitive plural neuter
two	δύο; duo	G1417	"two" · adjective — numeral, indeclinable
farthings	ἀσσάριον assárion	G787	an assarius or as
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
not	οὐκ ouk	G3756	the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverb · particle — negative
one	ἓν hen	G1520	one · adjective — nominative singular neuter
of	ἐξ ex	G1537	literal or figurative · preposition
them	αὐτῶν autōn	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive plural neuter
is	ἐστί estí	G2076	he (she or it) is
forgotten	ἐπιλελησμένον epilelēsmenon	G1950	to lose out of mind · verb — perfect passive participle, nominative singular neuter
before	ἐνώπιον enōpion	G1799	in the face of (literally or figuratively) · preposition
God	θεοῦ· theou	G2316	figuratively · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Luke 12:24 Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye bette…
Psalms 145:15-16 The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.
Psalms 147:9 He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.
Matthew 10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
Psalms 50:10-11 For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.
Psalms 113:5-6 Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high,
Luke 12:27 Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Luke 12:1-12

We find here, I. A vast auditory that was got together to hear Christ preach. The scribes and Pharisees sought to accuse him, and do him mischief; but the people, who were not under the bias of their prejudices and jealousies, still admired him, attended on him, and did him honour. In the mean time (Luk 12:1), while he was in the Pharisee's house, contending with them that sought to ensnare him, the people got together for an afternoon sermon, a sermon after dinner, after dinner with a Pharisee; and he would not disappoint them. Though in the morning sermon, when they were gathered thickly together (Luk 11:29), he had severely reproved them, as an evil generation that seek a sign, yet they r…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Luke 12:6

five . . . for two farthings--In Mat 10:29 it is "two for one farthing"; so if one took two farthings' worth, he got one in addition--of such small value were they. than many sparrows--not "than millions of sparrows"; the charm and power of our Lord's teaching is very much in this simplicity.

Adam Clarke on Luke 12:6

Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings? - See this explained on Mat 10:29 (note), 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.

John Gill on Luke 12:6

Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings,.... As two were sold for one farthing; see Gill on Matthew 10:29; 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:…

The Church Fathers

The dipondius is a coin of the lightest weight, and equal to two asses.
— Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

(pluris estis) Now I ask the Arians, if God, as if disdaining to make all other things, made only His Son, but deputed all things to His Son; how is it that He extends His providence even to such trifling things as our hair, and the sparrows? For upon whatever things He exercises His providence, of these is He the Creator by His own word.
— Athanasius of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Literally, hereby is signified the quickness of the Divine foresight, which reaches even to the least things. But mystically, the five sparrows justly represent the spiritual senses, which have perception of high and heavenly things: beholding God, hearing the Divine voice, tasting of the bread of life, smelling the perfume of Christ's anointing, handling the Word of Life. And these being sold for two farthings, that is, being lightly esteemed by those who count as perishing whatever is of the Spirit, are not forgotten before God. But God is said to be forgetful of some because of their iniquities.
— Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Closet — As used in the New Testament, signifies properly a storehouse (Luke 12: 24), and hence a place of privacy and retirement (Matt. 6:6; Luke 12:3).
Farthing — (1.) Matt. 10:29; Luke 12:6. Greek assarion, i.e., a small as, which was a Roman coin equal to a tenth of a denarius or drachma, nearly equal to a halfpenny of our money. (2.) Matt. 5:26; Mark 12:42…
Luke, Gospel according to — Was written by Luke. He does not claim to have been an eye-witness of our Lord’s ministry, but to have gone to the best sources of information within his reach, and to have written an orderly…
Sparrow — Mentioned among the offerings made by the very poor. Two sparrows were sold for a farthing (Matt. 10:29), and five for two farthings (Luke 12:6). The Hebrew word thus rendered is tsippor, which…
Animals · God’s — God’s
Birds · Divine — Divine
Farthing · in English money, about three farthings — in English money, about three farthings
Money · Pieces of mentioned: Farthing — Pieces of mentioned: Farthing
Sparrow · Two, — Two,

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Luke 12:6

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Luke 12:1-12

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Luke 12:6

Adam Clarke on Luke 12:6

John Gill on Luke 12:6

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Luke 12:6

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Luke 12:1-12

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Luke 12:6

Adam Clarke on Luke 12:6

John Gill on Luke 12:6

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Luke 12:1-10

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Luke 12:6