Proverbs 18:11

18:11 The wealth ¹  of a rich person is like ²  a strong city, ³ 

and it is like a high wall in his imagination. ⁴ 

Proverbs 23:4

23:4 Do not wear yourself out to become rich;

be wise enough to restrain yourself. ⁵ 

Isaiah 10:13-14

10:13 For he says:

“By my strong hand I have accomplished this,

by my strategy that I devised.

I invaded the territory of nations, ⁶ 

and looted their storehouses.

Like a mighty conqueror, ⁷  I brought down rulers. ⁸ 

10:14 My hand discovered the wealth of the nations, as if it were in a nest,

as one gathers up abandoned eggs,

I gathered up the whole earth.

There was no wing flapping,

or open mouth chirping.” ⁹ 

Ezekiel 28:3-5

28:3 Look, you are wiser than Daniel; ¹⁰ 

no secret is hidden from you. ¹¹ 

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 ¹²  in trade you have increased your wealth,

and your heart is proud because of your wealth.

Luke 16:13-14

16:13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate ¹³  the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise ¹⁴  the other. You cannot serve God and money.” ¹⁵ 

More Warnings about the Pharisees

16:14 The Pharisees ¹⁶  (who loved money) heard all this and ridiculed ¹⁷  him.

Luke 16:1

The Parable of the Clever Steward

16:1 Jesus ¹⁸  also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who was informed of accusations ¹⁹  that his manager ²⁰  was wasting ²¹  his assets.

Colossians 3:18-19

Exhortation to Households

3:18 Wives, submit to your ²²  husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 3:19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them.

Colossians 3:1

Exhortations to Seek the Things Above

3:1 Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Colossians 1:17

1:17 He himself is before all things and all things are held together ²³  in him.

[18:11]  ¹ sn This proverb forms a contrast with the previous one. The rich, unlike the righteous, trust in wealth and not in God.

[18:11]  ² tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.

[18:11]  ³ tn Heb “city of his strength”; NIV “fortified city.” This term refers to their place of refuge, what they look to for security and protection in time of trouble.

[18:11]  ⁴ tc The MT reads בְּמַשְׂכִּיתוֹ (bÿmaskito, “in his imaginations”). The LXX, Tg. Prov 18:11, and the Latin reflect בִּמְשֻׂכָּתוֹ (bimsukato, “like a fence [or, high wall]”) that is, wealth provides protection. The MT reading, on the other hand, suggests that this security is only in the mind.

[23:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “from your understanding cease.” In the context this means that the person should have enough understanding to stop wearing himself out trying to be rich (cf. NRSV “be wise enough to desist”).

[10:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “removed the borders of nations”; cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV “boundaries.”

[10:13]  ⁷ tc The consonantal text (Kethib) has כְּאַבִּיר (kÿ’abir, “like a strong one”); the marginal reading (Qere) is כַּבִיר (kavir, “mighty one”).

[10:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “and I brought down, like a strong one, ones sitting [or “living”].” The participle יוֹשְׁבִים (yoshÿvim, “ones sitting”) could refer to the inhabitants of the nations, but the translation assumes that it refers to those who sit on thrones, i.e., rulers. See BDB 442 s.v. יָשַׁב and HALOT 444 s.v. ישׁב.

[10:14]  ⁹ sn The Assyrians’ conquests were relatively unopposed, like robbing a bird’s nest of its eggs when the mother bird is absent.

[28:3]  ¹⁰ sn Or perhaps “Danel” (so TEV), referring to a ruler known from Canaanite legend. See the note on “Daniel” in 14:14. A reference to Danel (preserved in legend at Ugarit, near the northern end of the Phoenician coast) makes more sense here when addressing Tyre than in 14:14.

[28:3]  ¹¹ sn The tone here is sarcastic, reflecting the ruler’s view of himself.

[28:5]  ¹² tn Or “wisdom.”

[16:13]  ¹³ sn The contrast between hate and love here is rhetorical. The point is that one will choose the favorite if a choice has to be made.

[16:13]  ¹⁴ tn Or “and treat [the other] with contempt.”

[16:13]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “God and mammon.” This is the same word (μαμωνᾶς, mamwnas; often merely transliterated as “mammon”) translated “worldly wealth” in vv. 9, 11.

[16:14]  ¹⁶ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[16:14]  ¹⁷ tn A figurative extension of the literal meaning “to turn one’s nose up at someone”; here “ridicule, sneer at, show contempt for” (L&N 33.409).

[16:1]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:1]  ¹⁹ tn These are not formal legal charges, but reports from friends, acquaintances, etc.; Grk “A certain man was rich who had a manager, and this one was reported to him as wasting his property.”

[16:1]  ²⁰ sn His manager was the steward in charge of managing the house. He could have been a slave trained for the role.

[16:1]  ²¹ tn Or “squandering.” This verb is graphic; it means to scatter (L&N 57.151).

[3:18]  ²² tn The article τοῖς (tois) with ἀνδράσιν (andrasin, “husbands”) has been translated as a possessive pronoun (“your”); see ExSyn 215.

[1:17]  ²³ tn BDAG 973 s.v. συνίστημι B.3 suggests “continue, endure, exist, hold together” here.