Luke 16:9

16:9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by how you use worldly wealth, ¹  so that when it runs out you will be welcomed ²  into the eternal homes. ³ 

Haggai 1:6

1:6 You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but are never filled. You drink, but are still thirsty. You put on clothes, but are not warm. Those who earn wages end up with holes in their money bags.’” ⁴ 

Matthew 6:19-21

Lasting Treasure

6:19 “Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth ⁵  and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. 6:20 But accumulate for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 6:21 For where your ⁶  treasure ⁷  is, there your heart will be also.

John 12:6

12:6 (Now Judas ⁸  said this not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief. As keeper of the money box, ⁹  he used to steal what was put into it.) ¹⁰ 

John 12:1

Jesus’ Anointing

12:1 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom he ¹¹  had raised from the dead.

John 6:17-19

6:17 got into a boat, and started to cross the lake ¹²  to Capernaum. ¹³  (It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.) ¹⁴  6:18 By now a strong wind was blowing and the sea was getting rough. 6:19 Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, ¹⁵  they caught sight of Jesus walking on the lake, ¹⁶  approaching the boat, and they were frightened.

James 5:1-3

Warning to the Rich

5:1 Come now, you rich! Weep and cry aloud ¹⁷  over the miseries that are coming on you. 5:2 Your riches have rotted and your clothing has become moth-eaten. 5:3 Your gold and silver have rusted and their rust will be a witness against you. It will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have hoarded treasure! ¹⁸ 

[16:9]  ¹ tn Grk “unrighteous mammon.” Mammon is the Aramaic term for wealth or possessions. The point is not that money is inherently evil, but that it is often misused so that it is a means of evil; see 1 Tim 6:6-10, 17-19. The call is to be generous and kind in its use. Zacchaeus becomes the example of this in Luke’s Gospel (19:1-10).

[16:9]  ² sn The passive refers to the welcome of heaven.

[16:9]  ³ tn Grk “eternal tents” (as dwelling places).

[1:6]  ⁴ tn Some translate “pockets” (so NLT) but the Hebrew word צְרוֹר (tsÿror) refers to a bag, pouch, or purse of money (BDB 865 s.v. צְרוֹר; HALOT 1054 s.v. צְרוֹר 1). Because coinage had been invented by the Persians and was thus in use in Haggai’s day, this likely is a money bag or purse rather than pouches or pockets in the clothing. Since in contemporary English “purse” (so NASB, NIV, NCV) could be understood as a handbag, the present translation uses “money bags.”

[6:19]  ⁵ tn The term σής (shs) refers to moths in general. It is specifically the larvae of moths that destroy clothing by eating holes in it (L&N 4.49; BDAG 922 s.v.). See Jas 5:2, which mentions “moth-eaten” clothing.

[6:21]  ⁶ tn The pronouns in this verse are singular while the pronouns in vv. 19-20 are plural. The change to singular emphasizes personal responsibility as opposed to corporate responsibility; even if others do not listen, the one who hears Jesus’ commands should obey.

[6:21]  ⁷ sn Seeking heavenly treasure means serving others and honoring God by doing so.

[12:6]  ⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Judas) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:6]  ⁹ tn Grk “a thief, and having the money box.” Dividing the single Greek sentence improves the English style.

[12:6]  ¹⁰ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. This is one of the indications in the gospels that Judas was of bad character before the betrayal of Jesus. John states that he was a thief and had responsibility for the finances of the group. More than being simply a derogatory note about Judas’ character, the inclusion of the note at this particular point in the narrative may be intended to link the frustrated greed of Judas here with his subsequent decision to betray Jesus for money. The parallel accounts in Matthew and Mark seem to indicate that after this incident Judas went away immediately and made his deal with the Jewish authorities to deliver up Jesus. Losing out on one source of sordid gain, he immediately went out and set up another.

[12:1]  ¹¹ tn Grk “whom Jesus,” but a repetition of the proper name (Jesus) here would be redundant in the English clause structure, so the pronoun (“he”) is substituted in the translation.

[6:17]  ¹² tn Or “sea.” See the note on “lake” in the previous verse.

[6:17]  ¹³ map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 C3; Map3 B2.

[6:17]  ¹⁴ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[6:19]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “about twenty-five or thirty stades” (a stade as a unit of linear measure is about 607 feet or 187 meters).

[6:19]  ¹⁶ tn Or “sea.” See the note on “lake” in v. 16. John uses the phrase ἐπί (epi, “on”) followed by the genitive (as in Mark, instead of Matthew’s ἐπί followed by the accusative) to describe Jesus walking “on the lake.”

[5:1]  ¹⁷ tn Or “wail”; Grk “crying aloud.”

[5:3]  ¹⁸ tn Or “hoarded up treasure for the last days”; Grk “in the last days.”