| Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” | Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” |
| Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow. | Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time. |
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| Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into 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. |
| The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, without painful toil for it. | The blessing of the Lord makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it. |
| Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness. | Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich. Be wise enough to know when to quit. |
| Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. | Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! |
| Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops. | Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. |
| Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil. | Better to have little, with fear for the Lord, than to have great treasure and inner turmoil. |
| Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” | Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” |
| For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. | Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. |
| Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. | Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority. |
| How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver! | How much better to get wisdom than gold, and good judgment than silver! |
| But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. | But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us! |
| Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. | Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. |
| His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ | The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’ |
| For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. | 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. |
| Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. | First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. |
| What a person desires is unfailing love; better to be poor than a liar. | Loyalty makes a person attractive. It is better to be poor than dishonest. |
| Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked; for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous. | It is better to be godly and have little than to be evil and rich. For the strength of the wicked will be shattered, but the Lord takes care of the godly. |
| For the Lord your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you. | The Lord your God will bless you as he has promised. You will lend money to many nations but will never need to borrow. You will rule many nations, but they will not rule over you. |
| A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. | Choose a good reputation over great riches; being held in high esteem is better than silver or gold. |
| Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. | In the blink of an eye wealth disappears, for it will sprout wings and fly away like an eagle. |
| This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. | Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. |
| Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. | Riches won’t help on the day of judgment, but right living can save you from death. |
| The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it a wall too high to scale. | The rich think of their wealth as a strong defense; they imagine it to be a high wall of safety. |
