“Add a single hour to his span of life”
Luke 12:25
Figure of speechSettledJesus
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? (Luke 12:25 BSB)
What it sounds like today
A plain rhetorical question about lifespan.
The cultural key
The Greek is a deliberate mixed measure: add one cubit (about eighteen inches, a forearm's length) to your hēlikia, a word meaning either stature or span of life. Life pictured as a journey or a measured cloth that worry cannot stretch by a hand's length.
Recovered meaning
Worry is work that produces nothing: it has never lengthened a life by an inch. The absurd unit is the point.
Parallels: Matthew 6:27