Genesis 36:6-7

36:6 Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, all the people in his household, his livestock, his animals, and all his possessions which he had acquired in the land of Canaan and went to a land some distance away from ¹  Jacob his brother 36:7 because they had too many possessions to be able to stay together and the land where they had settled ²  was not able to support them because of their livestock.

Ecclesiastes 5:10-11

Covetousness

5:10 The one who loves money ³  will never be satisfied with money, ⁴ 

he who loves wealth ⁵  will never be satisfied ⁶  with his ⁷  income.

This also is futile.

5:11 When someone’s ⁸  prosperity ⁹  increases, those who consume it also increase;

so what does its owner ¹⁰  gain, except that he gets to see it with his eyes? ¹¹ 

Luke 12:17-18

12:17 so ¹²  he thought to himself, ¹³  ‘What should I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ¹⁴  12:18 Then ¹⁵  he said, ‘I ¹⁶  will do this: I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.

Luke 12:1

Fear God, Not People

12:1 Meanwhile, ¹⁷  when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus ¹⁸  began to speak first to his disciples, “Be on your guard against ¹⁹  the yeast of the Pharisees, ²⁰  which is hypocrisy. ²¹ 

Luke 6:9

6:9 Then ²²  Jesus said to them, “I ask you, ²³  is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy it?”

[36:6]  ¹ tn Heb “from before.”

[36:7]  ² tn Heb “land of their settlements.”

[5:10]  ³ tn Heb “silver.” The Hebrew term כֶּסֶף (kesef, “silver”) refers to “money” (HALOT 490–91 s.v. כֶּסֶף 3). It is a synecdoche of specific (i.e., silver) for the general (i.e., money); see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 625-29.

[5:10]  ⁴ sn The Hebrew term “silver” (translated “money”) is repeated twice in this line for rhetorical emphasis.

[5:10]  ⁵ tn The term הָמוֹן (hamon, “abundance; wealth”) has a wide range of meanings: (1) agitation; (2) turmoil; (3) noise; (4) pomp; (5) multitude; crowd = noisy crowd; and (6) abundance; wealth (HALOT 250 s.v. הָמוֹן 1–6). Here, it refers to abundant wealth (related to “pomp”); cf. HALOT 250 s.v. הָמוֹן 6, that is, lavish abundant wealth (Ezek 29:19; 30:4; 1 Chr 29:16).

[5:10]  ⁶ tn The phrase “will never be satisfied” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity. Note the previous line.

[5:10]  ⁷ tn The word “his” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[5:11]  ⁸ tn The word “someone’s” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[5:11]  ⁹ tn The term טוֹבָה (tovah, “good”) connotes “prosperity” (Deut 23:7; Job 9:25; 21:25; Ps 106:5; Lam 3:17; Eccl 4:8; 5:10, 17; 6:3, 6; 7:14; 9:18; Neh 2:10; Sir 6:11; 41:13); cf. HALOT 372 s.v. טוֹבָה 2. The related term טוֹב (tov, “good”) connotes “prosperity” as well (Prov 11:10; Job 20:21; 21:16); cf. HALOT 372 s.v. טוֹבָה 1.b. Here, it refers to the possessions and wealth a person acquires as the fruit of his labors. This nuance is well reflected in several English versions: “The more a man gains, the more there are to spend it” (Moffatt); “When riches multiply, so do those who live off them” (NEB); “As his substance increase, so do those who consume it” (NJPS); and “Where there are great riches, there are also many to devour them” (NAB). The line does not describe the economic law of “supply and demand,” as some versions seem to imply, e.g., “As goods increase, so do those who consume them” (NIV); “When goods increase, those who eat them increase” (NRSV); cf. also KJV, ASV, RSV, MLB, NASB.

[5:11]  ¹⁰ tn The form is plural in the Hebrew text, but the plural is one of intensification; it is used here to emphasize the owner’s authority over his wealth. See GKC 399 §124.i. See v 13 as well.

[5:11]  ¹¹ tn The rhetorical question is an example of negative affirmation, expecting a negative answer: “There is no ultimate advantage!” (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 947-48).

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

[12:17]  ¹³ tn Grk “to himself, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated here.

[12:17]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[12:18]  ¹⁶ sn Note how often the first person pronoun is present in these verses. The farmer is totally self absorbed.

[12:1]  ¹⁷ tn The phrase ἐν οἷς (en Jois) can be translated “meanwhile.”

[12:1]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:1]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[12:1]  ²¹ sn The pursuit of popularity can lead to hypocrisy, if one is not careful.

[6:9]  ²² tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[6:9]  ²³ sn With the use of the plural pronoun (“you”), Jesus addressed not just the leaders but the crowd with his question to challenge what the leadership was doing. There is irony as well. As Jesus sought to restore on the Sabbath (but improperly according to the leaders’ complaints) the leaders were seeking to destroy, which surely is wrong. The implied critique recalls the OT: Isa 1:1-17; 58:6-14.