Exegesis:

eipen de pros autous ‘he said to them.’ autous may refer to all present (cf. ochlos in v. 12), or to the disciples, preferably the former.

horate kai phulassesthe apo pasēs pleonexias ‘take care, and be on your guard against every form of greed.’ horate may stand alone, or, like phulassesthe, go with apo, preferably the former. In pasa pleonexia the adjective pasa means ‘every kind, or form.’

ouk en tō perisseuein tini lit. ‘not (even) when there is an abundance for somebody,’ i.e. ‘not (even) when somebody has in abundance.’ For perisseuō cf. on 9.17.

hē zōē autou estin ek tōn huparchontōn autō ‘his life belongs to his possessions.’ For ta huparchonta cf. on 8.3 and reference there.

zōē ‘life,’ here of man’s natural life as contrasted with death.

Translation:

Take heed, or, ‘Attention!,’ “Watch out” (Good News Translation).

Beware of all covetousness, or, ‘evil longing,’ ‘envious-desire’ (cf. Zarma, Pohnpeian). The clause often has to be adjusted, e.g. ‘do not be loving riches,’ ‘may wealth not take possession of your heart’ (Tzeltal), ‘do not desire to gather all kinds of goods’ (Tae’ 1933), ‘do not give-the-reins to a greedy mind’ (Balinese).

A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions, or, as preferred in Exegesis, ‘a man’s life does not belong to (or, is not part of, or, does not depend on) his possessions, even when he has (them) in abundance, or, even when he possesses more than he needs’; or again ‘a man is not master of his own life, even when he is master of many goods,’ ‘a man may be very rich, but this does not mean that he will live long, or, but this does not give him the right/power to live long.’

Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.