Jeremiah 48:7

48:7 “Moab, you trust in the things you do and in your riches.

So you too will be conquered.

Your god Chemosh ¹  will go into exile ² 

along with his priests and his officials.

Psalms 49:6

49:6 They trust ³  in their wealth

and boast ⁴  in their great riches.

Psalms 52:7

52:7 “Look, here is the man who would not make ⁵  God his protector!

He trusted in his great wealth

and was confident about his plans to destroy others.” ⁶ 

Psalms 62:10

62:10 Do not trust in what you can gain by oppression! ⁷ 

Do not put false confidence in what you can gain by robbery! ⁸ 

If wealth increases, do not become attached to it! ⁹ 

Proverbs 10:15

10:15 The wealth of a rich person is like ¹⁰  a fortified city, ¹¹ 

but the poor are brought to ruin ¹²  by ¹³  their poverty.

Ezekiel 28:4-7

28:4 By your wisdom and understanding you have gained wealth for yourself;

you have amassed gold and silver in your treasuries.

28:5 By your great skill ¹⁴  in trade you have increased your wealth,

and your heart is proud because of your wealth.

28:6 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says:

Because you think you are godlike, ¹⁵ 

28:7 I am about to bring foreigners ¹⁶  against you, the most terrifying of nations.

They will draw their swords against the grandeur made by your wisdom, ¹⁷ 

and they will defile your splendor.

Ezekiel 28:1

A Prophecy Against the King of Tyre

28:1 The word of the Lord came to me:

Ezekiel 6:1

Judgment on the Mountains of Israel

6:1 The word of the Lord came to me:

[48:7]  ¹ sn Chemosh was the national god of Moab (see also Numb 21:29). Child sacrifice appears to have been a part of his worship (2 Kgs 3:27). Solomon built a high place in Jerusalem for him (1 Kgs 11:7), and he appears to have been worshiped in Israel until Josiah tore that high place down (2 Kgs 23:13).

[48:7]  ² sn The practice of carrying off the gods of captive nations has already been mentioned in the study note on 43:12. See also Isa 46:1-2 noted there.

[49:6]  ³ tn Heb “the ones who trust.” The substantival participle stands in apposition to “those who deceive me” (v. 5).

[49:6]  ⁴ tn The imperfect verbal form emphasizes their characteristic behavior.

[52:7]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “[as for] wealth, when it bears fruit, do not set [your] heart [on it].”

[10:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “is.” This expression, “a rich man’s wealth is his strong city,” is a metaphor. The comparative particle “like” is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[10:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a city of his strength.” The genitive עֹז (’oz, “strength”) functions as an attributive genitive: “strong city” = “fortified city.” This phrase is a metaphor; wealth protects its possessions against adversity like a fortified city. Such wealth must be attained by diligence and righteous means (e.g., 13:8; 18:23; 22:7).

[10:15]  ¹² tn Heb “the ruin of the poor.” The term דַּלִּים (dalim, “of the poor”) functions as an objective genitive. Poverty leads to the ruin of the poor. The term “ruin” includes the shambles in which the person lives. This provides no security but only the fear of ruin. This proverb is an observation on life.

[10:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “is their poverty.”

[28:5]  ¹⁴ tn Or “wisdom.”

[28:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “because of your making your heart like the heart of gods.”

[28:7]  ¹⁶ sn This is probably a reference to the Babylonians.

[28:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “they will draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom.”