Psalms 17:14

17:14 Lord, use your power to deliver me from these murderers, ¹ 

from the murderers of this world! ² 

They enjoy prosperity; ³ 

you overwhelm them with the riches they desire. ⁴ 

They have many children,

and leave their wealth to their offspring. ⁵ 

Matthew 6:19-21

Lasting Treasure

6:19 “Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth ⁶  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 ⁷  treasure ⁸  is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 10:41-42

10:41 Whoever receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. Whoever ⁹  receives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 10:42 And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple, I tell you the truth, ¹⁰  he will never lose his reward.”

Matthew 19:21

19:21 Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give the money ¹¹  to the poor, and you will have treasure ¹²  in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Matthew 25:34-40

25:34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 25:35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 25:36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 25:37 Then the righteous will answer him, ¹³  ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 25:38 When ¹⁴  did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? 25:39 When ¹⁵  did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 25:40 And the king will answer them, ¹⁶  ‘I tell you the truth, ¹⁷  just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters ¹⁸  of mine, you did it for me.’

Luke 12:33

12:33 Sell your possessions ¹⁹  and give to the poor. ²⁰  Provide yourselves purses that do not wear out – a treasure in heaven ²¹  that never decreases, ²²  where no thief approaches and no moth ²³  destroys.

Luke 16:9

16:9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by how you use worldly wealth, ²⁴  so that when it runs out you will be welcomed ²⁵  into the eternal homes. ²⁶ 

Luke 18:2

18:2 He said, ²⁷  “In a certain city ²⁸  there was a judge ²⁹  who neither feared God nor respected people. ³⁰ 

Luke 18:22

18:22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have ³¹  and give the money ³²  to the poor, ³³  and you will have treasure ³⁴  in heaven. Then ³⁵  come, follow me.”

Galatians 6:8-9

6:8 because the person who sows to his own flesh ³⁶  will reap corruption ³⁷  from the flesh, ³⁸  but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. 6:9 So we must not grow weary ³⁹  in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not give up. ⁴⁰ 

[17:14]  ¹ tc Heb “from men [by] your hand, Lord.” The translation assumes an emendation (both here and in the following line) of מִמְתִים (mimtim, “from men”) to מִמְמִתִים (mimmitim, “from those who kill”). For other uses of the plural form of the Hiphil participle of מוּת (mut, “die”), see 2 Kgs 17:26 (used with lions as subject), Job 33:22 (apparently referring to the agents of death), and Jer 26:15 (used of those seeking Jeremiah’s life).

[17:14]  ² tn Heb “from men, from [the] world.” On the emendation of “men” to “murderers,” see the preceding note on the word “murderers.”

[17:14]  ³ tn Heb “their portion, in life.”

[17:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “and [with] your treasures you fill their belly.”

[17:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “they are satisfied [with] sons and leave their abundance to their children.”

[6:19]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ sn Seeking heavenly treasure means serving others and honoring God by doing so.

[10:41]  ⁹ tn Grk “And whoever.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[10:42]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[19:21]  ¹¹ 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.

[19:21]  ¹² 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.

[25:37]  ¹³ tn Grk “answer him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[25:38]  ¹⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[25:39]  ¹⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[25:40]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “answering, the king will say to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

[25:40]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[25:40]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). In this context Jesus is ultimately speaking of his “followers” (whether men or women, adults or children), but the familial connotation of “brothers and sisters” is also important to retain here.

[12:33]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn Grk “give alms,” but this term is not in common use today.

[12:33]  ²¹ tn Grk “in the heavens.”

[12:33]  ²² tn Or “an unfailing treasure in heaven,” or “an inexhaustible treasure in heaven.”

[12:33]  ²³ 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.

[16:9]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ sn The passive refers to the welcome of heaven.

[16:9]  ²⁶ tn Grk “eternal tents” (as dwelling places).

[18:2]  ²⁷ tn Grk “lose heart, saying.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in the Greek text, but a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronominal subject “He.”

[18:2]  ²⁸ tn Or “town.”

[18:2]  ²⁹ sn The judge here is apparently portrayed as a civil judge who often handled financial cases.

[18:2]  ³⁰ tn Grk “man,” but the singular ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used as a generic in comparison to God.

[18:22]  ³¹ sn See Luke 14:33.

[18:22]  ³² 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]  ³³ sn See Luke 1:50-53; 6:20-23; 14:12-14.

[18:22]  ³⁴ 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]  ³⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the conversation.

[6:8]  ³⁶ tn BDAG 915 s.v. σάρξ 2.c.α states: “In Paul’s thought esp., all parts of the body constitute a totality known as σ. or flesh, which is dominated by sin to such a degree that wherever flesh is, all forms of sin are likew. present, and no good thing can live in the σάρξ…Gal 5:13, 24;…Opp. τὸ πνεῦμα…Gal 3:3; 5:16, 17ab; 6:8ab.”

[6:8]  ³⁷ tn Or “destruction.”

[6:8]  ³⁸ tn See the note on the previous occurrence of the word “flesh” in this verse.

[6:9]  ³⁹ tn Or “not become discouraged,” “not lose heart” (L&N 25.288).

[6:9]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “if we do not become extremely weary,” “if we do not give out,” “if we do not faint from exhaustion” (L&N 23.79).