Job 31:24-25

31:24 “If I have put my confidence in gold

or said to pure gold,

‘You are my security!’

31:25 if I have rejoiced because of the extent of my wealth,

or because of the great wealth my hand had gained,

Psalms 49:6-9

49:6 They trust ¹  in their wealth

and boast ²  in their great riches.

49:7 Certainly a man cannot rescue his brother; ³ 

he cannot pay God an adequate ransom price ⁴ 

49:8 (the ransom price for a human life ⁵  is too high,

and people go to their final destiny), ⁶ 

49:9 so that he might continue to live ⁷  forever

and not experience death. ⁸ 

Psalms 52:6-7

52:6 When the godly see this, they will be filled with awe,

and will mock the evildoer, saying: ⁹ 

52:7 “Look, here is the man who would not make ¹⁰  God his protector!

He trusted in his great wealth

and was confident about his plans to destroy others.” ¹¹ 

Psalms 62:10

62:10 Do not trust in what you can gain by oppression! ¹² 

Do not put false confidence in what you can gain by robbery! ¹³ 

If wealth increases, do not become attached to it! ¹⁴ 

Proverbs 11:4

11:4 Wealth does not profit in the day of wrath, ¹⁵ 

but righteousness delivers from mortal danger. ¹⁶ 

Ezekiel 7:19

7:19 They will discard their silver in the streets, and their gold will be treated like filth. ¹⁷  Their silver and gold will not be able to deliver them on the day of the Lord’s fury. ¹⁸  They will not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs because their wealth ¹⁹  was the obstacle leading to their iniquity. ²⁰ 

Zephaniah 1:18

1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them

in the day of the Lord’s angry judgment.

The whole earth ²¹  will be consumed by his fiery wrath. ²² 

Indeed, ²³  he will bring terrifying destruction ²⁴  on all who live on the earth.” ²⁵ 

Mark 10:24

10:24 The disciples were astonished at these words. But again Jesus said to them, ²⁶  “Children, how hard it is ²⁷  to enter the kingdom of God!

Luke 12:19-20

12:19 And I will say to myself, ²⁸  “You have plenty of goods stored up for many years; relax, eat, drink, celebrate!”’ 12:20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life ²⁹  will be demanded back from ³⁰  you, but who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ ³¹ 

Luke 12:1

Fear God, Not People

12:1 Meanwhile, ³²  when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus ³³  began to speak first to his disciples, “Be on your guard against ³⁴  the yeast of the Pharisees, ³⁵  which is hypocrisy. ³⁶ 

Luke 6:10

6:10 After ³⁷  looking around ³⁸  at them all, he said to the man, ³⁹  “Stretch out your hand.” The man ⁴⁰  did so, and his hand was restored. ⁴¹ 

[49:6]  ¹ tn Heb “the ones who trust.” The substantival participle stands in apposition to “those who deceive me” (v. 5).

[49:6]  ² tn The imperfect verbal form emphasizes their characteristic behavior.

[49:7]  ³ tn Heb “a brother, he surely does not ransom, a man.” The sequence אִישׁ...אָח (’akh...’ish, “a brother…a man”) is problematic, for the usual combination is אָח...אָח (“a brother…a brother”) or אִישׁ...אִישׁ (“a man…a man”). When אִישׁ and אָח are combined, the usual order is אָח...אִישׁ (“a man…a brother”), with “brother” having a third masculine singular suffix, “his brother.” This suggests that “brother” is the object of the verb and “man” the subject. (1) Perhaps the altered word order and absence of the suffix can be explained by the text’s poetic character, for ellipsis is a feature of Hebrew poetic style. (2) Another option, supported by a few medieval Hebrew mss, is to emend “brother” to the similar sounding אַךְ (’akh, “surely; but”) which occurs in v. 15 before the verb פָּדָה (padah, “ransom”). If this reading is accepted the Qal imperfect יִפְדֶּה (yifddeh, “he can [not] ransom”) would need to be emended to a Niphal (passive) form, יִפָּדֶה (yifadeh, “he can[not] be ransomed”) unless one understands the subject of the Qal verb to be indefinite (“one cannot redeem a man”). (A Niphal imperfect can be collocated with a Qal infinitive absolute. See GKC 344-45 §113.w.) No matter how one decides the textual issues, the imperfect in this case is modal, indicating potential, and the infinitive absolute emphasizes the statement.

[49:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “he cannot pay to God his ransom price.” Num 35:31 may supply the legal background for the metaphorical language used here. The psalmist pictures God as having a claim on the soul of the individual. When God comes to claim the life that ultimately belongs to him, he demands a ransom price that is beyond the capability of anyone to pay. The psalmist’s point is that God has ultimate authority over life and death; all the money in the world cannot buy anyone a single day of life beyond what God has decreed.

[49:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “their life.” Some emend the text to “his life,” understanding the antecedent of the pronoun as “brother” in v. 7. However, the man and brother of v. 7 are representative of the human race in general, perhaps explaining why a plural pronoun appears in v. 8. Of course, the plural pronoun could refer back to “the rich” mentioned in v. 6. Another option (the one assumed in the translation) is that the suffixed mem is enclitic. In this case the “ransom price for human life” is referred to an abstract, general way.

[49:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “and one ceases forever.” The translation assumes an indefinite subject which in turn is representative of the entire human race (“one,” that refers to human beings without exception). The verb חָדַל (khadal, “cease”) is understood in the sense of “come to an end; fail” (i.e., die). Another option is to translate, “and one ceases/refrains forever.” In this case the idea is that the living, convinced of the reality of human mortality, give up all hope of “buying off” God and refrain from trying to do so.

[49:9]  ⁷ tn The jussive verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive is taken as indicating purpose/result in relation to the statement made in v. 8. (On this use of the jussive after an imperfect, see GKC 322 §109.f.) In this case v. 8 is understood as a parenthetical comment.

[49:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “see the Pit.” The Hebrew term שַׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 30:9; 55:24; 103:4).

[52:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “and the godly will see and will fear and at him will laugh.”

[52:7]  ¹⁰ tn The imperfect verbal form here draws attention to the ongoing nature of the action. The evildoer customarily rejected God and trusted in his own abilities. Another option is to take the imperfect as generalizing, “[here is the man who] does not make.”

[52:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he was strong in his destruction.” “Destruction” must refer back to the destructive plans mentioned in v. 2. The verb (derived from the root עָזַז, ’azaz, “be strong”) as it stands is either an imperfect (if so, probably used in a customary sense) or a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive). However the form should probably be emended to וַיָּעָז (vayya’az), a Qal preterite (with vav [ו] consecutive) from עָזַז. Note the preterite form without vav (ו) consecutive in the preceding line (וַיִּבְטַח, vayyivtakh, “and he trusted”). The prefixed vav (ו) was likely omitted by haplography (note the suffixed vav [ו] on the preceding עָשְׁרוֹ, ’oshro, “his wealth”).

[62:10]  ¹² tn Heb “do not trust in oppression.” Here “oppression” stands by metonymy for the riches that can be gained by oppressive measures, as the final line of the verse indicates.

[62:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “and in robbery do not place vain hope.” Here “robbery” stands by metonymy for the riches that can be gained by theft, as the next line of the verse indicates.

[62:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “[as for] wealth, when it bears fruit, do not set [your] heart [on it].”

[11:4]  ¹⁵ sn The “day of wrath” refers to divine punishment in this life (R. N. Whybray, Proverbs [CBC], 67; e.g., also Job 21:30; Ezek 7:19; Zeph 1:18). Righteousness and not wealth is more valuable in anticipating judgment.

[11:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “from death.”

[7:19]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew term can refer to menstrual impurity. The term also occurs at the end of v. 20.

[7:19]  ¹⁸ sn Compare Zeph 1:18.

[7:19]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “it.” Apparently the subject is the silver and gold mentioned earlier (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:102).

[7:19]  ²⁰ tn The “stumbling block of their iniquity” is a unique phrase of the prophet Ezekiel (Ezek 14:3, 4, 7; 18:30; 44:12).

[1:18]  ²¹ tn Or “land” (cf. NEB). This same word also occurs at the end of the present verse.

[1:18]  ²² tn Or “passion”; traditionally, “jealousy.”

[1:18]  ²³ tn Or “for.”

[1:18]  ²⁴ tn Heb “complete destruction, even terror, he will make.”

[1:18]  ²⁵ tn It is not certain where the Lord’s words end and the prophet’s words begin. It is possible that Zephaniah begins speaking in the middle of v. 17 or at the beginning of v. 18 (note the third person pronouns referring to the Lord).

[10:24]  ²⁶ tn Grk “But answering, Jesus again said to them.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant and has not been translated.

[10:24]  ²⁷ tc Most mss (A C D Θ Ë^1,13 28 565 2427 Ï lat sy) have here “for those who trust in riches” (τοὺς πεποιθότας ἐπὶ [τοῖς] χρήμασιν, tou" pepoiqota" epi [toi"] crhmasin); W has πλούσιον (plousion) later in the verse, producing the same general modification on the dominical saying (“how hard it is for the rich to enter…”). But such qualifications on the Lord’s otherwise harsh and absolute statements are natural scribal expansions, intended to soften the dictum. Further, the earliest and best witnesses, along with a few others (א B Δ Ψ sa), lack any such qualifications. That W lacks the longer expansion and only has πλούσιον suggests that its archetype agreed with א B here; its voice should be heard with theirs. Thus, both on external and internal grounds, the shorter reading is preferred.

[12:19]  ²⁸ tn Grk “to my soul,” which is repeated as a vocative in the following statement, but is left untranslated as redundant.

[12:20]  ²⁹ tn Grk “your soul,” but ψυχή (yuch) is frequently used of one’s physical life. It clearly has that meaning in this context.

[12:20]  ³⁰ tn Or “required back.” This term, ἀπαιτέω (apaitew), has an economic feel to it and is often used of a debt being called in for repayment (BDAG 96 s.v. 1).

[12:20]  ³¹ tn Grk “the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” The words “for yourself” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[12:1]  ³² tn The phrase ἐν οἷς (en Jois) can be translated “meanwhile.”

[12:1]  ³³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:1]  ³⁴ tn According to L&N 27.59, “to pay attention to, to keep on the lookout for, to be alert for, to be on your guard against.” This is another Lukan present imperative calling for constant vigilance.

[12:1]  ³⁵ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[12:1]  ³⁶ sn The pursuit of popularity can lead to hypocrisy, if one is not careful.

[6:10]  ³⁷ tn Grk “And after.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[6:10]  ³⁸ tn The aorist participle περιβλεψάμενος (peribleyameno") has been translated as antecedent (prior) to the action of the main verb. It could also be translated as contemporaneous (“Looking around… he said”).

[6:10]  ³⁹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the man with the withered hand) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:10]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[6:10]  ⁴¹ sn The passive was restored points to healing by God. Now the question became: Would God exercise his power through Jesus, if what Jesus was doing were wrong? Note also Jesus’ “labor.” He simply spoke and it was so.