Choose a good reputation over great riches; being held in high esteem is better than silver or gold. | An honorable name is more to be desired than great riches, and high esteem is preferable to silver and gold. |
In the blink of an eye wealth disappears, for it will sprout wings and fly away like an eagle. | When you fix your gaze upon it, it is gone before you realize it. For it suddenly sprouts wings and flies up to the sky like an eagle. |
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Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” | Jesus replied, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” |
Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. | That is why you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, and they devote themselves to this service. |
Riches won’t help on the day of judgment, but right living can save you from death. | Riches will be of no avail on the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. |
The rich think of their wealth as a strong defense; they imagine it to be a high wall of safety. | The wealth of a rich man is his stronghold; he regards it as a high wall that cannot be scaled. |
Tainted wealth has no lasting value, but right living can save your life. | Treasures obtained by wicked means profit nothing, but a righteous life brings delivery from death. |
Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!” | Then Peter asked, “Ananias, why has Satan so gained control of your heart that you lied to the Holy Spirit and retained part of the sale price of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not belong to you? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds yours? What caused you to contrive this scheme? You have lied not to men but to God.” |
I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. | I know how to live with little, and I know how to live with plenty. In any and all circumstances, I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. |
I have rejoiced in your laws as much as in riches. | I rejoice in following your statutes more than I would rejoice in endless riches. |
And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God. | Moreover, the one to whom God grants wealth and possessions and the ability to enjoy them and to find contentment in his toil receives a gift from God. |
Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength. | Wealth and honor are from you, you reign over all. In your hand are power and might; it to is in your hand make great and to give strength to all. |
Fathers can give their sons an inheritance of houses and wealth, but only the Lord can give an understanding wife. | A house and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is a gift from the Lord. |
The Lord makes some poor and others rich; he brings some down and lifts others up. | The Lord makes poor and makes rich, he humbles and he also exalts. |
Better to have little, with godliness, than to be rich and dishonest. | It is better to have little and be righteous than to acquire great riches with injustice. |
Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything. | As sorrowful, and yet we are always rejoicing; as poor, and yet we make many rich; as having nothing, and yet we possess everything. |
When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before! | Thereupon the Lord restored the prosperity of Job after he had prayed for his friends, and he enriched him with twice as much as he had possessed before. |
The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers! | When riches increase, so do those who are eager to accumulate them, and those who have accumulated them must remain content simply to feast their eyes on them. |
Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender. | The wealthy man lords it over the poor, and the borrower becomes the slave of the lender. |
The wicked borrow and never repay, but the godly are generous givers. | The wicked man borrows but neglects to repay, whereas the righteous man is generous in giving. |
Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. | The brother who is in modest circumstances should take pride in being raised up. Likewise, the one who is rich should glory in being brought low, for he will disappear like a flower of the field. |
The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. | The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but worldly cares and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit. |
The rich can pay a ransom for their lives, but the poor won’t even get threatened. | A wealthy man pays a ransom to save his life; a poor man never has to worry about such threats. |
Remember, you must not make any idols of silver or gold to rival me. | Do not make gods from silver or from gold instead of me. You will not make them for yourselves. |