Matthew 6:19-20

Lasting Treasure

6:19 “Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth ¹  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.

Mark 10:21

10:21 As Jesus looked at him, he felt love for him and said, “You lack one thing. Go, sell whatever you have and give the money ²  to the poor, and you will have treasure ³  in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Luke 12:33

12:33 Sell your possessions ⁴  and give to the poor. ⁵  Provide yourselves purses that do not wear out – a treasure in heaven ⁶  that never decreases, ⁷  where no thief approaches and no moth ⁸  destroys.

Luke 14:33

14:33 In the same way therefore not one of you can be my disciple if he does not renounce all his own possessions. ⁹ 

Luke 16:9

16:9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by how you use worldly wealth, ¹⁰  so that when it runs out you will be welcomed ¹¹  into the eternal homes. ¹² 

Luke 18:22

18:22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have ¹³  and give the money ¹⁴  to the poor, ¹⁵  and you will have treasure ¹⁶  in heaven. Then ¹⁷  come, follow me.”

Acts 2:45

2:45 and they began selling ¹⁸  their property ¹⁹  and possessions and distributing the proceeds ²⁰  to everyone, as anyone had need.

Acts 4:32-35

Conditions Among the Early Believers

4:32 The group of those who believed were of one heart and mind, ²¹  and no one said that any of his possessions was his own, but everything was held in common. ²²  4:33 With ²³  great power the apostles were giving testimony ²⁴  to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on them all. 4:34 For there was no one needy ²⁵  among them, because those who were owners of land or houses were selling ²⁶  them ²⁷  and bringing the proceeds from the sales 4:35 and placing them at the apostles’ feet. The proceeds ²⁸  were distributed to each, as anyone had need.

Acts 4:1

The Arrest and Trial of Peter and John

4:1 While Peter and John ²⁹  were speaking to the people, the priests and the commander ³⁰  of the temple guard ³¹  and the Sadducees ³²  came up ³³  to them,

Acts 6:1

The Appointment of the First Seven Deacons

6:1 Now in those ³⁴  days, when the disciples were growing in number, ³⁵  a complaint arose on the part of the Greek-speaking Jews ³⁶  against the native Hebraic Jews, ³⁷  because their widows ³⁸  were being overlooked ³⁹  in the daily distribution of food. ⁴⁰ 

Hebrews 10:34

10:34 For in fact you shared the sufferings of those in prison, ⁴¹  and you accepted the confiscation of your belongings with joy, because you knew that you certainly ⁴²  had a better and lasting possession.

[6:19]  ¹ 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.

[10:21]  ² tn The words “the money” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[10:21]  ³ sn The call for sacrifice comes with a promise of eternal reward: You will have treasure in heaven. Jesus’ call is a test to see how responsive the man is to God’s direction through him. Will he walk the path God’s agent calls him to walk? For a rich person who got it right, see Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10.

[12:33]  ⁴ sn The call to sell your possessions is a call to a lack of attachment to the earth and a generosity as a result.

[12:33]  ⁵ tn Grk “give alms,” but this term is not in common use today.

[12:33]  ⁶ tn Grk “in the heavens.”

[12:33]  ⁷ tn Or “an unfailing treasure in heaven,” or “an inexhaustible treasure in heaven.”

[12:33]  ⁸ 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.

[14:33]  ⁹ tn Grk “Likewise therefore every one of you who does not renounce all his own possessions cannot be my disciple.” The complex double negation is potentially confusing to the modern reader and has been simplified in the translation. See L&N 57.70.

[16:9]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ sn The passive refers to the welcome of heaven.

[16:9]  ¹² tn Grk “eternal tents” (as dwelling places).

[18:22]  ¹³ sn See Luke 14:33.

[18:22]  ¹⁴ tn The words “the money” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[18:22]  ¹⁵ sn See Luke 1:50-53; 6:20-23; 14:12-14.

[18:22]  ¹⁶ sn The call for sacrifice comes with a promise of eternal reward: …you will have treasure in heaven. Jesus’ call is a test to see how responsive the man is to God’s direction through him. Will he walk the path God’s agent calls him to walk? For a rich person who got it right, see Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10.

[18:22]  ¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the conversation.

[2:45]  ¹⁸ tn The imperfect verb has been translated as an ingressive (“began…”). Since in context this is a description of the beginning of the community of believers, it is more likely that these statements refer to the start of various activities and practices that the early church continued for some time.

[2:45]  ¹⁹ tn It is possible that the first term for property (κτήματα, kthmata) refers to real estate (as later usage seems to indicate) while the second term (ὑπάρξεις, Juparxeis) refers to possessions in general, but it may also be that the two terms are used together for emphasis, simply indicating that all kinds of possessions were being sold. However, if the first term is more specifically a reference to real estate, it foreshadows the incident with Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11.

[2:45]  ²⁰ tn Grk “distributing them” (αὐτά, auta). The referent (the proceeds of the sales) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:32]  ²¹ tn Grk “soul.”

[4:32]  ²² tn Grk “but all things were to them in common.”

[4:33]  ²³ tn Grk “And with.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[4:33]  ²⁴ tn Or “were witnessing.”

[4:34]  ²⁵ tn Or “poor.”

[4:34]  ²⁶ tn Grk “houses, selling them were bringing.” The participle πωλοῦντες (pwlounte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[4:34]  ²⁷ tn The word “them” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[4:35]  ²⁸ tn Grk “It” (or “They,” plural). The referent of the understood pronoun subject, the proceeds from the sales, of the verb διεδίδετο (diedideto) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:1]  ²⁹ tn Grk “While they”; the referents (Peter and John) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:1]  ³⁰ tn Or “captain.”

[4:1]  ³¹ tn Grk “the official of the temple,” a title for the commander of the Jewish soldiers guarding the temple (thus the translation, “the commander of the temple guard”). See L&N 37.91.

[4:1]  ³² sn The Sadducees controlled the official political structures of Judaism at this time, being the majority members of the Sanhedrin. They were known as extremely strict on law and order issues (Josephus, J. W. 2.8.2 [2.119], 2.8.14 [2.164-166]; Ant. 13.5.9 [13.171-173], 13.10.6 [13.293-298], 18.1.2 [18.11], 18.1.4 [18.16-17], 20.9.1 [20.199]; Life 2 [10-11]). See also Matt 3:7; 16:1-12; 22:23-34; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-38; Acts 5:17; 23:6-8.

[4:1]  ³³ tn Or “approached.” This verb often denotes a sudden appearing (BDAG 418 s.v. ἐφίστημι 1).

[6:1]  ³⁴ tn Grk “these.” The translation uses “those” for stylistic reasons.

[6:1]  ³⁵ tn Grk “were multiplying.”

[6:1]  ³⁶ tn Grk “the Hellenists,” but this descriptive term is largely unknown to the modern English reader. The translation “Greek-speaking Jews” attempts to convey something of who these were, but it was more than a matter of language spoken; it involved a degree of adoption of Greek culture as well.

[6:1]  ³⁷ tn Grk “against the Hebrews,” but as with “Hellenists” this needs further explanation for the modern reader.

[6:1]  ³⁸ sn The care of widows is a major biblical theme: Deut 10:18; 16:11, 14; 24:17, 19-21; 26:12-13; 27:19; Isa 1:17-23; Jer 7:6; Mal 3:5.

[6:1]  ³⁹ tn Or “neglected.”

[6:1]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “in the daily serving.”

[10:34]  ⁴¹ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א D² 1881 Ï), read δεσμοῖς μου (desmoi" mou, “my imprisonment”) here, a reading that is probably due to the widespread belief in the early Christian centuries that Paul was the author of Hebrews (cf. Phil 1:7; Col 4:18). It may have been generated by the reading δεσμοῖς without the μου (so Ì⁴⁶ Ψ 104 pc), the force of which is so ambiguous (lit., “you shared the sufferings with the bonds”) as to be virtually nonsensical. Most likely, δεσμοῖς resulted when a scribe made an error in copying δεσμίοις (desmioi"), a reading which makes excellent sense (“[of] those in prison”) and is strongly supported by early and significant witnesses of the Alexandrian and Western texttypes (A D* H 6 33 81 1739 lat sy co). Thus, δεσμίοις best explains the rise of the other readings on both internal and external grounds and is strongly preferred.

[10:34]  ⁴² tn Grk “you yourselves.”