He who loves silver shall not be satisfied with silver, nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity. | Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! |
But those who are determined to be rich fall into a temptation, a snare, and many foolish and harmful lusts, such as drown men in ruin and destruction. | But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. |
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He said to them, “Beware! Keep yourselves from covetousness, for a man’s life doesn’t consist of the abundance of the things which he possesses.” | Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” |
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some have been led astray from the faith in their greed, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows. | For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. |
For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? | And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? |
Don’t lay up treasures for yourselves on the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume, and where thieves don’t break through and steal. | Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. |
There are those who covet greedily all day long; but the righteous give and don’t withhold. | Some people are always greedy for more, but the godly love to give! |
Wealth gained dishonestly dwindles away, but he who gathers by hand makes it grow. | Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time. |
As he came out of his mother’s womb, naked shall he go again as he came, and shall take nothing for his labor, which he may carry away in his hand. | We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us. |
Don’t weary yourself to be rich. In your wisdom, show restraint. | Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich. Be wise enough to know when to quit. |
No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t serve both God and Mammon. | No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money. |
Turn my heart toward your statutes, not toward selfish gain. | Give me an eagerness for your laws rather than a love for money! |
Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth: sexual immorality, uncleanness, depraved passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. | So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. |
Or don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s Kingdom? Don’t be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor extortionists, will inherit God’s Kingdom. | Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. |
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s. | You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor. |
For this reason you also pay taxes, for they are servants of God’s service, continually doing this very thing. | Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. |
But sexual immorality, and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be mentioned among you, as becomes saints. | Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. |