Exodus 20:17

20:17 “You shall not covet ¹  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 belongs to your neighbor.” ² 

Joshua 7:21

7:21 I saw among the goods we seized a nice robe from Babylon, ³  two hundred silver pieces, ⁴  and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels. I wanted them, so I took them. They are hidden in the ground right in the middle of my tent with the silver underneath.”

Psalms 10:3

10:3 Yes, ⁵  the wicked man ⁶  boasts because he gets what he wants; ⁷ 

the one who robs others ⁸  curses ⁹  and ¹⁰  rejects the Lord. ¹¹ 

Psalms 119:36

119:36 Give me a desire for your rules, ¹² 

rather than for wealth gained unjustly. ¹³ 

Jeremiah 6:13

6:13 “That is because, from the least important to the most important of them,

all of them are greedy for dishonest gain.

Prophets and priests alike,

all of them practice deceit.

Ezekiel 33:31

33:31 They come to you in crowds, ¹⁴  and they sit in front of you as ¹⁵  my people. They hear your words, but do not obey ¹⁶  them. For they talk lustfully, ¹⁷  and their heart is set on ¹⁸  their own advantage. ¹⁹ 

Mark 7:22

7:22 adultery, greed, evil, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, pride, and folly.

Luke 8:14

8:14 As for the seed that ²⁰  fell among thorns, these are the ones who hear, but ²¹  as they go on their way they are choked ²²  by the worries and riches and pleasures of life, ²³  and their fruit does not mature. ²⁴ 

Luke 12:15-21

12:15 Then ²⁵  he said to them, “Watch out and guard yourself from ²⁶  all types of greed, ²⁷  because one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 12:16 He then ²⁸  told them a parable: ²⁹  “The land of a certain rich man produced ³⁰  an abundant crop, 12:17 so ³¹  he thought to himself, ³²  ‘What should I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ³³  12:18 Then ³⁴  he said, ‘I ³⁵  will do this: I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 12:19 And I will say to myself, ³⁶  “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 ³⁷  will be demanded back from ³⁸  you, but who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ ³⁹  12:21 So it is with the one who stores up riches for himself, ⁴⁰  but is not rich toward God.”

Luke 16:13-14

16:13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate ⁴¹  the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise ⁴²  the other. You cannot serve God and money.” ⁴³ 

More Warnings about the Pharisees

16:14 The Pharisees ⁴⁴  (who loved money) heard all this and ridiculed ⁴⁵  him.

Romans 1:29

1:29 They are filled ⁴⁶  with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice. They are rife with ⁴⁷  envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility. They are gossips,

Romans 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁴⁸  a slave ⁴⁹  of Christ Jesus, ⁵⁰  called to be an apostle, ⁵¹  set apart for the gospel of God. ⁵² 

Colossians 1:11

1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of ⁵³  all patience and steadfastness, joyfully

Colossians 1:10

1:10 so that you may live ⁵⁴  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ⁵⁵  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

Ephesians 5:3

5:3 But ⁵⁶  among you there must not be either sexual immorality, impurity of any kind, ⁵⁷  or greed, as these are not fitting for the saints. ⁵⁸ 

Ephesians 5:5

5:5 For you can be confident of this one thing: ⁵⁹  that no person who is immoral, impure, or greedy (such a person is an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Colossians 3:5

3:5 So put to death whatever in your nature belongs to the earth: ⁶⁰  sexual immorality, impurity, shameful passion, ⁶¹  evil desire, and greed which is idolatry.

Colossians 3:1

Exhortations to Seek the Things Above

3:1 Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Colossians 3:3

3:3 for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Colossians 1:9-10

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, ⁶²  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ⁶³  to fill ⁶⁴  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 1:10 so that you may live ⁶⁵  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ⁶⁶  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

Colossians 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ⁶⁷  brothers and sisters ⁶⁸  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ⁶⁹  from God our Father! ⁷⁰ 

Colossians 2:3

2:3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Colossians 2:14

2:14 He has destroyed ⁷¹  what was against us, a certificate of indebtedness ⁷²  expressed in decrees opposed to us. He has taken it away by nailing it to the cross.

Jude 1:11

1:11 Woe to them! For they have traveled down Cain’s path, ⁷³  and because of greed ⁷⁴  have abandoned themselves ⁷⁵  to ⁷⁶  Balaam’s error; hence, ⁷⁷  they will certainly perish ⁷⁸  in Korah’s rebellion.

[20:17]  ¹ tn The verb חָמַד (khamad) focuses not on an external act but on an internal mental activity behind the act, the motivation for it. The word can be used in a very good sense (Ps 19:10; 68:16), but it has a bad connotation in contexts where the object desired is off limits. This command is aimed at curtailing the greedy desire for something belonging to a neighbor, a desire that leads to the taking of it or the attempt to take it. It was used in the story of the Garden of Eden for the tree that was desired.

[20:17]  ² sn See further G. Wittenburg, “The Tenth Commandment in the Old Testament,” Journal for Theology in South Africa 21 (1978): 3-17: and E. W. Nicholson, “The Decalogue as the Direct Address of God,” VT 27 (1977): 422-33.

[7:21]  ³ tn Heb “Shinar,” a reference to Babylon (cf. Gen 10:10; 11:2; 14:1). Many modern translations retain the Hebrew name “Shinar” (cf. NEB, NRSV) but some use the more familiar “Babylon” (cf. NIV, NLT).

[7:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “shekels.”

[10:3]  ⁵ tn The translation assumes כִּי (ki) is asseverative: “indeed, certainly.” Another option is to translate “for,” understanding v. 3 as giving the reason why the wicked so arrogantly seek to destroy the helpless (so NASB, NRSV).

[10:3]  ⁶ tn The representative or typical evildoer is described in vv. 3-11, 13, 15. Since the singular form predominates in these verses, it has been retained in the translation.

[10:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “the wicked [one] boasts on account of the desire of his appetite.” The translation assumes that the preposition עַל (’al) introduces the reason why the wicked boasts (cf. this use of עַל with הָלַל (halal) in Ps 119:164 and Ezra 3:11). In this case, the “desire of his appetite” refers by metonymy to the object desired and acquired.

[10:3]  ⁸ tn The translation assumes the active participle is substantival, referring to the wicked man mentioned in the preceding line. The substantival participle is then understood as the subject of the following verbs. For other examples of the participle of בָּצַע (batsar) used of those who desire and/or acquire wealth through dishonest and/or violent means, see Prov 1:19; 15:27; Jer 6:13; 8:10; Hab 2:9.

[10:3]  ⁹ tn The verb בָּרַךְ (barakh) normally means “to bless,” but in a few cases it exhibits the polarized meaning “to curse” (1 Kgs 21:10, 13; Job 1:5-11; 2:5-9). (Some regard this use of בָּרַךְ as a mere euphemism.) The verb refers to the act of pronouncing or calling down a formal curse upon the object of one’s anger.

[10:3]  ¹⁰ tn The conjunction “and” is supplied in the translation; it does not appear in the Hebrew text.

[10:3]  ¹¹ tn Another option is to translate, “he blesses one who robs others, [but] he curses the Lord.” In this case the subject of the verbs is “the wicked man” mentioned in the previous line, and “the one who robs others” is the object of the verb בָּרַךְ (barakh), which is understood in its usual sense of “bless.”

[119:36]  ¹² tn Heb “turn my heart to your rules.”

[119:36]  ¹³ tn Heb “and not unjust gain.”

[33:31]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “as people come.” Apparently this is an idiom indicating that they come in crowds. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:264.

[33:31]  ¹⁵ tn The word “as” is supplied in the translation.

[33:31]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “do.”

[33:31]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “They do lust with their mouths.”

[33:31]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “goes after.”

[33:31]  ¹⁹ tn The present translation understands the term often used for “unjust gain” in a wider sense, following M. Greenberg, who also notes that the LXX uses a term which can describe either sexual or ritual pollution. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:687.

[8:14]  ²⁰ tn Grk “What”; the referent (the seed) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:14]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[8:14]  ²² sn That is, their concern for spiritual things is crowded out by material things.

[8:14]  ²³ sn On warnings about the dangers of excessive material attachments, described here as the worries and riches and pleasures of life, see Luke 12:12-21; 16:19-31.

[8:14]  ²⁴ tn The verb τελεσφορέω (telesforew) means “to produce mature or ripe fruit” (L&N 23.203). Once again the seed does not reach its goal.

[12:15]  ²⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[12:15]  ²⁶ tn See L&N 13.154 for this use of the middle voice of φυλάσσω (fulassw) in this verse.

[12:15]  ²⁷ tn Or “avarice,” “covetousness.” Note the warning covers more than money and gets at the root attitude – the strong desire to acquire more and more possessions and experiences.

[12:16]  ²⁸ tn Grk “And he.” Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the connection to the preceding statement.

[12:16]  ²⁹ tn Grk “a parable, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated here.

[12:16]  ³⁰ tn Or “yielded a plentiful harvest.”

[12:17]  ³¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate that this is a result of the preceding statement.

[12:17]  ³² tn Grk “to himself, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated here.

[12:17]  ³³ sn I have nowhere to store my crops. The thinking here is prudent in terms of recognizing the problem. The issue in the parable will be the rich man’s solution, particularly the arrogance reflected in v. 19.

[12:18]  ³⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[12:18]  ³⁵ sn Note how often the first person pronoun is present in these verses. The farmer is totally self absorbed.

[12:19]  ³⁶ tn Grk “to my soul,” which is repeated as a vocative in the following statement, but is left untranslated as redundant.

[12:20]  ³⁷ 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]  ³⁸ 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]  ³⁹ tn Grk “the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” The words “for yourself” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[12:21]  ⁴⁰ sn It is selfishness that is rebuked here, in the accumulation of riches for himself. Recall the emphasis on the first person pronouns throughout the parable.

[16:13]  ⁴¹ sn The contrast between hate and love here is rhetorical. The point is that one will choose the favorite if a choice has to be made.

[16:13]  ⁴² tn Or “and treat [the other] with contempt.”

[16:13]  ⁴³ tn Grk “God and mammon.” This is the same word (μαμωνᾶς, mamwnas; often merely transliterated as “mammon”) translated “worldly wealth” in vv. 9, 11.

[16:14]  ⁴⁴ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[16:14]  ⁴⁵ tn A figurative extension of the literal meaning “to turn one’s nose up at someone”; here “ridicule, sneer at, show contempt for” (L&N 33.409).

[1:29]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “being filled” or “having been filled,” referring to those described in v. 28. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[1:29]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “malice, full of,” continuing the description. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[1:1]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ⁴⁹ tn Traditionally, “servant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ⁵⁰ tc Many important mss, as well as several others (̲⁶ א A G Ψ 33 1739 1881 Ï), have a reversed order of these words and read “Jesus Christ” rather than “Christ Jesus” (̹⁰ B 81 pc). The meaning is not affected in either case, but the reading “Christ Jesus” is preferred as slightly more difficult and thus more likely the original (a scribe who found it would be prone to change it to the more common expression). At the same time, Paul is fond of the order “Christ Jesus,” especially in certain letters such as Romans, Galatians, and Philippians. As well, the later Pauline letters almost uniformly use this order in the salutations. A decision is difficult, but “Christ Jesus” is slightly preferred.

[1:1]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “a called apostle.”

[1:1]  ⁵² tn The genitive in the phrase εὐαγγέλιον θεοῦ (euangelion qeou, “the gospel of God”) could be translated as (1) a subjective genitive (“the gospel which God brings”) or (2) an objective genitive (“the gospel about God”). Either is grammatically possible. This is possibly an instance of a plenary genitive (see ExSyn 119-21; M. Zerwick, Biblical Greek, §§36-39). If so, an interplay between the two concepts is intended: The gospel which God brings is in fact the gospel about himself. However, in view of God’s action in v. 2 concerning this gospel, a subjective genitive notion (“the gospel which God brings”) is slightly preferred.

[1:11]  ⁵³ tn The expression “for the display of” is an attempt to convey in English the force of the Greek preposition εἰς (eis) in this context.

[1:10]  ⁵⁴ tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”

[1:10]  ⁵⁵ tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”

[5:3]  ⁵⁶ tn The term “But” translates the δέ (de) in a contrastive way in light of the perfect obedience of Jesus in vv. 1-2 and the vices mentioned in v. 3.

[5:3]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “all impurity.”

[5:3]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “just as is fitting for saints.” The καθώς (kaqws) was rendered with “as” and the sense is causal, i.e., “for” or “because.” The negative particle “not” (“for these are not proper for the saints”) in this clause was supplied in English so as to make the sense very clear, i.e., that these vices are not befitting of those who name the name of Christ.

[5:5]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “be knowing this.” See also 2 Pet 1:20 for a similar phrase: τοῦτο πρῶτον γινώσκοντες (touto prwton ginwskonte").

[3:5]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “the members which are on the earth.” See BDAG 628 s.v. μέλος 1, “put to death whatever in you is worldly.”

[3:5]  ⁶¹ tn Or “lust.”

[1:9]  ⁶² tn Or “heard about it”; Grk “heard.” There is no direct object stated in the Greek (direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context). A direct object is expected by an English reader, however, so most translations supply one. Here, however, it is not entirely clear what the author “heard”: a number of translations supply “it” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV; NAB “this”), but this could refer back either to (1) “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8, or (2) “your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (v. 4). In light of this uncertainty, other translations supply “about you” (TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). This is preferred by the present translation since, while it does not resolve the ambiguity entirely, it does make it less easy for the English reader to limit the reference only to “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8.

[1:9]  ⁶³ tn The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “the knowledge of his will” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ⁶⁴ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as substantival, indicating the content of the prayer and asking. The idea of purpose may also be present in this clause.

[1:10]  ⁶⁵ tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”

[1:10]  ⁶⁶ tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”

[1:2]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.

[1:2]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:2]  ⁶⁹ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ⁷⁰ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these mss would surely have deleted the phrase in the rest of the corpus Paulinum), it is surely authentic.

[2:14]  ⁷¹ tn The participle ἐξαλείψας (exaleiyas) is a temporal adverbial participle of contemporaneous time related to the previous verb συνεζωοποίησεν (sunezwopoihsen), but has been translated as a finite verb because of the complexity of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences. For the meaning “destroy” see BDAG 344-45 s.v. ἐξαλείφω 2.

[2:14]  ⁷² tn On the translation of χειρόγραφον (ceirografon), see BDAG 1083 s.v. which refers to it as “a certificate of indebtedness.”

[1:11]  ⁷³ tn Or “they have gone the way of Cain.”

[1:11]  ⁷⁴ tn Grk “for wages.”

[1:11]  ⁷⁵ tn The verb ἐκχέω (ekcew) normally means “pour out.” Here, in the passive, it occasionally has a reflexive idea, as BDAG 312 s.v. 3. suggests (with extra-biblical examples).

[1:11]  ⁷⁶ tn Or “in.”

[1:11]  ⁷⁷ tn Grk “and.” See note on “perish” later in this verse.

[1:11]  ⁷⁸ tn The three verbs in this verse are all aorist indicative (“have gone down,” “have abandoned,” “have perished”). Although the first and second could be considered constative or ingressive, the last is almost surely proleptic (referring to the certainty of their future judgment). Although it may seem odd that a proleptic aorist is so casually connected to other aorists with a different syntactical force, it is not unparalleled (cf. Rom 8:30).