Proverbs 15:27

15:27 The one who is greedy for gain ¹  troubles ²  his household, ³ 

but whoever hates bribes ⁴  will live.

Luke 12:15

12:15 Then ⁵  he said to them, “Watch out and guard yourself from ⁶  all types of greed, ⁷  because one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Luke 12:1

Fear God, Not People

12:1 Meanwhile, ⁸  when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus ⁹  began to speak first to his disciples, “Be on your guard against ¹⁰  the yeast of the Pharisees, ¹¹  which is hypocrisy. ¹² 

Luke 6:10

6:10 After ¹³  looking around ¹⁴  at them all, he said to the man, ¹⁵  “Stretch out your hand.” The man ¹⁶  did so, and his hand was restored. ¹⁷ 

[15:27]  ¹ tn Heb “the one who gains.” The phrase בּוֹצֵעַ בָּצַע (botseakh batsa’) is a participle followed by its cognate accusative. This refers to a person who is always making the big deal, getting the larger cut, or in a hurry to get rich. The verb, though, makes it clear that the gaining of a profit is by violence and usually unjust, since the root has the idea of “cut off; break off; gain by violence.” The line is contrasted with hating bribes, and so the gain in this line may be through bribery.

[15:27]  ² sn The participle “troubles” (עֹכֵר, ’okher) can have the connotation of making things difficult for the family, or completely ruining the family (cf. NAB). In Josh 7:1 Achan took some of the “banned things” and was put to death: Because he “troubled Israel,” the Lord would “trouble” him (take his life, Josh 7:25).

[15:27]  ³ tn Heb “his house.”

[15:27]  ⁴ tn Heb “gifts” (so KJV). Gifts can be harmless enough, but in a setting like this the idea is that the “gift” is in exchange for some “profit [or, gain].” Therefore they are bribes (cf. ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT), and to be hated or rejected. Abram, for example, would not take anything that the king of Sodom had to offer, “lest [he] say, “I have made Abram rich” (Gen 14:22-24).

[12:15]  ⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[12:15]  ⁶ tn See L&N 13.154 for this use of the middle voice of φυλάσσω (fulassw) in this verse.

[12:15]  ⁷ tn Or “avarice,” “covetousness.” Note the warning covers more than money and gets at the root attitude – the strong desire to acquire more and more possessions and experiences.

[12:1]  ⁸ tn The phrase ἐν οἷς (en Jois) can be translated “meanwhile.”

[12:1]  ⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:1]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

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

[6:10]  ¹³ tn Grk “And after.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[6:10]  ¹⁴ tn The aorist participle περιβλεψάμενος (peribleyameno") has been translated as antecedent (prior) to the action of the main verb. It could also be translated as contemporaneous (“Looking around… he said”).

[6:10]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the man with the withered hand) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:10]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[6:10]  ¹⁷ sn The passive was restored points to healing by God. Now the question became: Would God exercise his power through Jesus, if what Jesus was doing were wrong? Note also Jesus’ “labor.” He simply spoke and it was so.