Genesis 24:35

24:35 “The Lord has richly blessed my master and he has become very wealthy. ¹  The Lord ²  has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys.

Genesis 26:12-13

26:12 When Isaac planted in that land, he reaped in the same year a hundred times what he had sown, ³  because the Lord blessed him. ⁴  26:13 The man became wealthy. ⁵  His influence continued to grow ⁶  until he became very prominent.

Deuteronomy 8:18

8:18 You must remember the Lord your God, for he is the one who gives ability to get wealth; if you do this he will confirm his covenant that he made by oath to your ancestors, ⁷  even as he has to this day.

Deuteronomy 8:1

The Lord’s Provision in the Desert

8:1 You must keep carefully all these commandments ⁸  I am giving ⁹  you today so that you may live, increase in number, ¹⁰  and go in and occupy the land that the Lord promised to your ancestors. ¹¹ 

Deuteronomy 2:7

2:7 All along the way I, the Lord your God, ¹²  have blessed your every effort. ¹³  I have ¹⁴  been attentive to ¹⁵  your travels through this great wasteland. These forty years I have ¹⁶  been with you; you have lacked for nothing.’”

Job 1:3

1:3 His possessions ¹⁷  included ¹⁸  7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys; in addition he had a very great household. ¹⁹  Thus he ²⁰  was the greatest of all the people in the east. ²¹ 

Job 1:10

1:10 Have you ²²  not made a hedge ²³  around him and his household and all that he has on every side? You have blessed ²⁴  the work of his hands, and his livestock ²⁵  have increased ²⁶  in the land.

Job 22:21-25

22:21 “Reconcile yourself ²⁷  with God, ²⁸ 

and be at peace ²⁹  with him;

in this way your prosperity will be good.

22:22 Accept instruction ³⁰  from his mouth

and store up his words ³¹  in your heart.

22:23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up; ³² 

if you remove wicked behavior far from your tent,

22:24 and throw ³³  your gold ³⁴  in the dust –

your gold ³⁵  of Ophir

among the rocks in the ravines –

22:25 then the Almighty himself will be your gold, ³⁶ 

and the choicest ³⁷  silver for you.

Psalms 112:1-3

Psalm 112 ³⁸ 

112:1 Praise the Lord!

How blessed is the one ³⁹  who obeys ⁴⁰  the Lord,

who takes great delight in keeping his commands. ⁴¹ 

112:2 His descendants ⁴²  will be powerful on the earth;

the godly ⁴³  will be blessed.

112:3 His house contains wealth and riches;

his integrity endures. ⁴⁴ 

Proverbs 3:9-10

3:9 Honor ⁴⁵  the Lord from your wealth

and from the first fruits of all your crops; ⁴⁶ 

3:10 then your barns will be filled completely, ⁴⁷ 

and your vats ⁴⁸  will overflow ⁴⁹  with new wine.

Proverbs 10:22

10:22 The blessing ⁵⁰  from the Lord ⁵¹  makes a person rich, ⁵² 

and he adds no sorrow ⁵³  to ⁵⁴  it.

Matthew 6:33

6:33 But above all pursue his kingdom ⁵⁵  and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 6:1

Pure-hearted Giving

6:1 “Be ⁵⁶  careful not to display your righteousness merely to be seen by people. ⁵⁷  Otherwise you have no reward with your Father in heaven.

Matthew 4:8

4:8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their grandeur. ⁵⁸ 

[24:35]  ¹ tn Heb “great.” In this context the statement refers primarily to Abraham’s material wealth, although reputation and influence are not excluded.

[24:35]  ² tn Heb “and he.” The referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:12]  ³ tn Heb “a hundredfold.”

[26:12]  ⁴ tn This final clause explains why Isaac had such a bountiful harvest.

[26:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “great.” In this context the statement refers primarily to Isaac’s material wealth, although reputation and influence are included.

[26:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “and he went, going and becoming great.” The construction stresses that his growth in possessions and power continued steadily.

[8:18]  ⁷ tc Smr and Lucian add “Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” the standard way of rendering this almost stereotypical formula (cf. Deut 1:8; 6:10; 9:5, 27; 29:13; 30:20; 34:4). The MT’s harder reading presumptively argues for its originality, however.

[8:1]  ⁸ tn The singular term (מִצְוָה, mitsvah) includes the whole corpus of covenant stipulations, certainly the book of Deuteronomy at least (cf. Deut 5:28; 6:1, 25; 7:11; 11:8, 22; 15:5; 17:20; 19:9; 27:1; 30:11; 31:5). The plural (מִצְוֹת, mitsot) refers to individual stipulations (as in vv. 2, 6).

[8:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “commanding” (so NASB). For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, “giving” has been used in the translation (likewise in v. 11).

[8:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “multiply” (so KJV, NASB, NLT); NIV, NRSV “increase.”

[8:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 16, 18).

[2:7]  ¹² tn The Hebrew text does not have the first person pronoun; it has been supplied for purposes of English style (the Lord is speaking here).

[2:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “all the work of your hands.”

[2:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he has.” This has been converted to first person in the translation in keeping with English style.

[2:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “known” (so ASV, NASB); NAB “been concerned about.”

[2:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the Lord your God has.” This has been replaced in the translation by the first person pronoun (“I”) in keeping with English style.

[1:3]  ¹⁷ tn The word means “cattle, livestock, possessions” (see also Gen 26:14). Here it includes the livestock, but also the entire substance of his household.

[1:3]  ¹⁸ tn Or “amounted to,” “totaled.” The preterite of הָיָה (hayah, “to be”) is sometimes employed to introduce a total amount or an inventory (see Exod 1:5; Num 3:43).

[1:3]  ¹⁹ tn The word עֲבֻדָּה (’avuddah, “service of household servants”) indicates that he had a very large body of servants, meaning a very large household.

[1:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and that man.”

[1:3]  ²¹ tn The expression is literally “sons of the east.” The use of the genitive after “sons” in this construction may emphasize their nature (like “sons of belial”); it would refer to them as easterners (like “sons of the south” in contemporary American English). BDB 869 s.v. קֶדֶם says “dwellers in the east.”

[1:10]  ²² tn The use of the independent personal pronoun here emphasizes the subject of the verb: “Have you not put up a hedge.”

[1:10]  ²³ tn The verb שׂוּךְ (sukh) means “to hedge or fence up, about” something (BDB 962 s.v. I שׂוּךְ). The original idea seems to have been to surround with a wall of thorns for the purpose of protection (E. Dhorme, Job, 7). The verb is an implied comparison between making a hedge and protecting someone.

[1:10]  ²⁴ sn Here the verb “bless” is used in one of its very common meanings. The verb means “to enrich,” often with the sense of enabling or empowering things for growth or fruitfulness. See further C. Westermann, Blessing in the Bible and the Life of the Church (OBT).

[1:10]  ²⁵ tn Or “substance.” The herds of livestock may be taken by metonymy of part for whole to represent possessions or prosperity in general.

[1:10]  ²⁶ tn The verb פָּרַץ (parats) means “to break through.” It has the sense of abundant increase, as in breaking out, overflowing (see also Gen 30:30 and Exod 1:12).

[22:21]  ²⁷ tn The verb סָכַן (sakhan) meant “to be useful; to be profitable” in v. 2. Now, in the Hiphil it means “to be accustomed to” or “to have experience with.” Joined by the preposition “with” it means “to be reconciled with him.” W. B. Bishai cites Arabic and Ugaritic words to support a meaning “acquiesce” (“Notes on hskn in Job 22:21,” JNES 20 [1961]: 258-59).

[22:21]  ²⁸ tn Heb “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:21]  ²⁹ tn The two imperatives in this verse imply a relationship of succession and not consequence.

[22:22]  ³⁰ tn The Hebrew word here is תּוֹרָה (torah), its only occurrence in the book of Job.

[22:22]  ³¹ tc M. Dahood has “write his words” (“Metaphor in Job 22:22,” Bib 47 [1966]: 108-9).

[22:23]  ³² tc The MT has “you will be built up” (תִּבָּנֶה, tibbaneh). But the LXX has “humble yourself” (reading תְּעַנֶּה [tÿ’anneh] apparently). Many commentators read this; Dahood has “you will be healed.”

[22:24]  ³³ tc The form is the imperative. Eliphaz is telling Job to get rid of his gold as evidence of his repentance. Many commentators think that this is too improbable for Eliphaz to have said, and that Job has lost everything anyway, and so they make proposals for the text. Most would follow Theodotion and the Syriac to read וְשָׁתָּ (vÿshatta, “and you will esteem….”). This would mean that he is promising Job restoration of his wealth.

[22:24]  ³⁴ tn The word for “gold” is the rare בֶּצֶר (betser), which may be derived from a cognate of Arabic basara, “to see; to examine.” If this is the case, the word here would refer to refined gold. The word also forms a fine wordplay with בְצוּר (bÿtsur, “in the rock”).

[22:24]  ³⁵ tn The Hebrew text simply has “Ophir,” a metonymy for the gold that comes from there.

[22:25]  ³⁶ tn The form for “gold” here is plural, which could be a plural of extension. The LXX and Latin versions have “The Almighty will be your helper against your enemies.”

[22:25]  ³⁷ tn E. Dhorme (Job, 339) connects this word with an Arabic root meaning “to be elevated, steep.” From that he gets “heaps of silver.”

[112:1]  ³⁸ sn Psalm 112. This wisdom psalm lists some of the benefits of living a godly life. The psalm is an acrostic. After the introductory call to praise, every poetic line (twenty-two in all) begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[112:1]  ³⁹ tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man.” Hebrew wisdom literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The individual is representative of a larger group, called the “godly” in vv. 3-4. The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender specific “man” with the more neutral “one.” The generic masculine pronoun is used in the following verses.

[112:1]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “fears.”

[112:1]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “in his commands he delights very much.” The words “in keeping” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Taking delight in the law is metonymic here for obeying God’s moral will. See Ps 1:2.

[112:2]  ⁴² tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

[112:2]  ⁴³ tn Heb “His seed will be mighty on the earth, the generation of the godly.” The Hebrew term דוֹר (dor, “generation”) could be taken as parallel to “offspring” and translated “posterity,” but the singular more likely refers to the godly as a class. See BDB 189-90 s.v. for other examples where “generation” refers to a class of people.

[112:3]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “stands forever.”

[3:9]  ⁴⁵ tn The imperative כַּבֵּד (kabbed, “honor”) functions as a command, instruction, counsel or exhortation. To honor God means to give him the rightful place of authority by rendering to him gifts of tribute. One way to acknowledge God in one’s ways (v. 6) is to honor him with one’s wealth (v. 9).

[3:9]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “produce.” The noun תְּבוּאָה (tÿvu’ah) has a two-fold range of meaning: (1) “product; yield” of the earth (= crops; harvest) and (2) “income; revenue” in general (BDB 100 s.v.). The imagery in vv. 9-10 is agricultural; however, all Israelites – not just farmers – were expected to give the best portion (= first fruits) of their income to Lord.

[3:10]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “with plenty” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NIV “to overflowing.” The noun שָׂבָע (sava’, “plenty; satiety”) functions as an adverbial accusative of manner or contents: “completely.”

[3:10]  ⁴⁸ sn This pictures the process of pressing grapes in which the upper receptacle is filled with grapes and the lower one catches the juice. The harvest of grapes will be so plentiful that the lower vat will overflow with grape juice. The pictures in v. 10 are metonymies of effect for cause (= the great harvest that God will provide when they honor him).

[3:10]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “burst open.” The verb פָּרַץ (parats, “to burst open”) functions as hyperbole here to emphasize the fullness of the wine vats (BDB 829 s.v. 9).

[10:22]  ⁵⁰ tn The term בְּרָכָּה (bÿrakhah, “blessing”) refers to a gift, enrichment or endowment from the Lord.

[10:22]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “of the Lord.” The term יְהוָה (yÿhvah, “the Lord”) functions here as a genitive of source.

[10:22]  ⁵² tn Heb “makes rich” (so NASB); NAB “brings wealth.” The direct object “a person” does not appear in the Hebrew but is implied by the Hiphil verb; it is supplied in the translation.

[10:22]  ⁵³ tn Heb “toil.” The noun עֶצֶב (’etsev) has a basic two-fold range of meanings: (1) “toil; labor” which produces pain and sorrow, and (2) “pain; sorrow” which is the result of toil and labor (BDB 780 s.v.). This is the word used of the curse of “toil” in man’s labor (Gen 3:17) and the “pain” in the woman’s child-bearing (Gen 3:16). God’s blessing is pure and untarnished – it does not bring physical pain or emotional sorrow.

[10:22]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “with.”

[6:33]  ⁵⁵ tc ‡ Most mss (L W Θ 0233 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat sy mae) read τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὴν δικαιοσύνην αὐτοῦ (thn basileian tou qeou kai thn dikaiosunhn aujtou, “the kingdom of God and his righteousness”) here, but the words “of God” are lacking in א B pc sa bo Eus. On the one hand, there is the possibility of accidental omission on the part of these Alexandrian witnesses, but it seems unlikely that the scribe’s eye would skip over both words (especially since τοῦ θεοῦ is bracketed by first declension nouns). Intrinsically, the author generally has a genitive modifier with βασιλεία – especially θεοῦ or οὐρανῶν (ouranwn) – but this argument cuts both ways: Although he might be expected to use such an adjunct here, scribes might also be familiar with his practice and would thus naturally insert it if it were missing in their copy of Matthew. Although a decision is difficult, the omission of τοῦ θεοῦ is considered most likely to be original. NA²⁷ includes the words in brackets, indicating doubt as to their authenticity.

[6:1]  ⁵⁶ tc ‡ Several mss (א L Z Θ Ë¹ 33 892 1241 1424 al) have δέ (de, “but, now”) at the beginning of this verse; the reading without δέ is supported by B D W 0250 ˹³ Ï lat. A decision is difficult, but apparently the conjunction was added by later scribes to indicate a transition in the thought-flow of the Sermon on the Mount. NA²⁷ has δέ in brackets, indicating reservations about its authenticity.

[6:1]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “before people in order to be seen by them.”

[4:8]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “glory.”