Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, “I will never leave you or 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.” |
Wealth hastily gotten will dwindle, but those who gather little by little will increase it. | Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time. |
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But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless 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 makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with 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; be wise enough to desist. | Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich. Be wise enough to know when to quit. |
The lover of money will not be satisfied with money; nor the lover of wealth, with gain. This also is vanity. | Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! |
Honor the Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce. | Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. |
Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble with it. | Better to have little, with fear for the Lord, than to have great treasure and inner turmoil. |
And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the 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. |
Pay to all what is due them—taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due. | 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 understanding is to be chosen rather than silver. | How much better to get wisdom than gold, and good judgment than silver! |
But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to make this freewill offering? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. | 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! |
As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on 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 said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ | 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!’ |
Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that I need. | First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. |
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. | 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. |
What is desirable in a person is loyalty, and it is better to be poor than a liar. | Loyalty makes a person attractive. It is better to be poor than dishonest. |
Better is a little that the righteous person has than the abundance of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall 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. |
When the Lord your God has blessed you, as he promised you, you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow; you will rule over many nations, but they will not 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 to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold. | Choose a good reputation over great riches; being held in high esteem is better than silver or gold. |
When your eyes light upon it, it is gone; for suddenly it takes wings to itself, flying like an eagle toward heaven. | In the blink of an eye wealth disappears, for it will sprout wings and fly away like an eagle. |
For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, busy with 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. |
Riches do not profit 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 strong city; in their imagination it is like a high wall. | The rich think of their wealth as a strong defense; they imagine it to be a high wall of safety. |