Proverbs 10:15

10:15 The wealth of a rich person is like ¹  a fortified city, ² 

but the poor are brought to ruin ³  by ⁴  their poverty.

Deuteronomy 8:12-14

8:12 When you eat your fill, when you build and occupy good houses, 8:13 when your cattle and flocks increase, when you have plenty of silver and gold, and when you have abundance of everything, 8:14 be sure ⁵  you do not feel self-important and forget the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt, the place of slavery,

Job 31:24-25

31:24 “If I have put my confidence in gold

or said to pure gold,

‘You are my security!’

31:25 if I have rejoiced because of the extent of my wealth,

or because of the great wealth my hand had gained,

Psalms 52:7

52:7 “Look, here is the man who would not make ⁶  God his protector!

He trusted in his great wealth

and was confident about his plans to destroy others.” ⁷ 

Psalms 62:10

62:10 Do not trust in what you can gain by oppression! ⁸ 

Do not put false confidence in what you can gain by robbery! ⁹ 

If wealth increases, do not become attached to it! ¹⁰ 

Mark 10:24

10:24 The disciples were astonished at these words. But again Jesus said to them, ¹¹  “Children, how hard it is ¹²  to enter the kingdom of God!

Luke 12:20

12:20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life ¹³  will be demanded back from ¹⁴  you, but who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ ¹⁵ 

Luke 12:1

Fear God, Not People

12:1 Meanwhile, ¹⁶  when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus ¹⁷  began to speak first to his disciples, “Be on your guard against ¹⁸  the yeast of the Pharisees, ¹⁹  which is hypocrisy. ²⁰ 

Luke 6:17

The Sermon on the Plain

6:17 Then ²¹  he came down with them and stood on a level place. ²²  And a large number ²³  of his disciples had gathered ²⁴  along with ²⁵  a vast multitude from all over Judea, from ²⁶  Jerusalem, ²⁷  and from the seacoast of Tyre ²⁸  and Sidon. ²⁹  They came to hear him and to be healed ³⁰  of their diseases,

[10:15]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “is their poverty.”

[8:14]  ⁵ tn The words “be sure” are not in the Hebrew text; vv. 12-14 are part of the previous sentence. For stylistic reasons a new sentence was started at the beginning of v. 12 in the translation and the words “be sure” repeated from v. 11 to indicate the connection.

[52:7]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “[as for] wealth, when it bears fruit, do not set [your] heart [on it].”

[10:24]  ¹¹ tn Grk “But answering, Jesus again said to them.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant and has not been translated.

[10:24]  ¹² tc Most mss (A C D Θ Ë^1,13 28 565 2427 Ï lat sy) have here “for those who trust in riches” (τοὺς πεποιθότας ἐπὶ [τοῖς] χρήμασιν, tou" pepoiqota" epi [toi"] crhmasin); W has πλούσιον (plousion) later in the verse, producing the same general modification on the dominical saying (“how hard it is for the rich to enter…”). But such qualifications on the Lord’s otherwise harsh and absolute statements are natural scribal expansions, intended to soften the dictum. Further, the earliest and best witnesses, along with a few others (א B Δ Ψ sa), lack any such qualifications. That W lacks the longer expansion and only has πλούσιον suggests that its archetype agreed with א B here; its voice should be heard with theirs. Thus, both on external and internal grounds, the shorter reading is preferred.

[12:20]  ¹³ tn Grk “your soul,” but ψυχή (yuch) is frequently used of one’s physical life. It clearly has that meaning in this context.

[12:20]  ¹⁴ tn Or “required back.” This term, ἀπαιτέω (apaitew), has an economic feel to it and is often used of a debt being called in for repayment (BDAG 96 s.v. 1).

[12:20]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” The words “for yourself” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[12:1]  ¹⁶ tn The phrase ἐν οἷς (en Jois) can be translated “meanwhile.”

[12:1]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:1]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[12:1]  ²⁰ sn The pursuit of popularity can lead to hypocrisy, if one is not careful.

[6:17]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[6:17]  ²² tn Or “on a plateau.” This could refer to a message given in a flat locale or in a flat locale in the midst of a more mountainous region (Jer 21:13; Isa 13:2). It is quite possible that this sermon is a summary version of the better known Sermon on the Mount from Matt 5-7.

[6:17]  ²³ tn Grk “large crowd.”

[6:17]  ²⁴ tn There is no verb in Greek at this point, but since “a large crowd” (see preceding tn) is in the nominative case, one needs to be supplied.

[6:17]  ²⁵ tn Grk “and.”

[6:17]  ²⁶ tn Grk “and from,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[6:17]  ²⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[6:17]  ²⁸ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[6:17]  ²⁹ sn These last two locations, Tyre and Sidon, represented an expansion outside of traditional Jewish territory. Jesus’ reputation continued to expand into new regions.

[6:17]  ³⁰ sn To hear him and to be healed. Jesus had a two-level ministry: The word and then wondrous acts of service that showed his message of God’s care were real.