Psalms 10:3

10:3 Yes, ¹  the wicked man ²  boasts because he gets what he wants; ³ 

the one who robs others ⁴  curses ⁵  and ⁶  rejects the Lord. ⁷ 

Exodus 18:21

18:21 But you choose ⁸  from the people capable men, ⁹  God-fearing, ¹⁰  men of truth, ¹¹  those who hate bribes, ¹²  and put them over the people ¹³  as rulers ¹⁴  of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

Ezekiel 33:31

33:31 They come to you in crowds, ¹⁵  and they sit in front of you as ¹⁶  my people. They hear your words, but do not obey ¹⁷  them. For they talk lustfully, ¹⁸  and their heart is set on ¹⁹  their own advantage. ²⁰ 

Habakkuk 2:9

2:9 The one who builds his house by unjust gain is as good as dead. ²¹ 

He does this so he can build his nest way up high

and escape the clutches of disaster. ²² 

Mark 7:21-22

7:21 For from within, out of the human heart, come evil ideas, sexual immorality, theft, murder, 7:22 adultery, greed, evil, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, pride, and folly.

Luke 12:15

12:15 Then ²³  he said to them, “Watch out and guard yourself from ²⁴  all types of greed, ²⁵  because one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Luke 16:14

More Warnings about the Pharisees

16:14 The Pharisees ²⁶  (who loved money) heard all this and ridiculed ²⁷  him.

Ephesians 5:3

5:3 But ²⁸  among you there must not be either sexual immorality, impurity of any kind, ²⁹  or greed, as these are not fitting for the saints. ³⁰ 

Colossians 3:5

3:5 So put to death whatever in your nature belongs to the earth: ³¹  sexual immorality, impurity, shameful passion, ³²  evil desire, and greed which is idolatry.

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 1:9-10

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, ³³  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ³⁴  to fill ³⁵  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 1:10 so that you may live ³⁶  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ³⁷  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

Colossians 1:17

1:17 He himself is before all things and all things are held together ³⁸  in him.

Hebrews 13:5

13:5 Your conduct must be free from the love of money and you must be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you and I will never abandon you.” ³⁹ 

Hebrews 13:2

13:2 Do not neglect hospitality, because through it some have entertained angels without knowing it. ⁴⁰ 

Hebrews 2:3

2:3 how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was first communicated through the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard him,

Hebrews 2:14

2:14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he likewise shared in ⁴¹  their humanity, ⁴²  so that through death he could destroy ⁴³  the one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil),

[10:3]  ¹ tn The translation assumes כִּי (ki) is asseverative: “indeed, certainly.” Another option is to translate “for,” understanding v. 3 as giving the reason why the wicked so arrogantly seek to destroy the helpless (so NASB, NRSV).

[10:3]  ² tn The representative or typical evildoer is described in vv. 3-11, 13, 15. Since the singular form predominates in these verses, it has been retained in the translation.

[10:3]  ³ tn Heb “the wicked [one] boasts on account of the desire of his appetite.” The translation assumes that the preposition עַל (’al) introduces the reason why the wicked boasts (cf. this use of עַל with הָלַל (halal) in Ps 119:164 and Ezra 3:11). In this case, the “desire of his appetite” refers by metonymy to the object desired and acquired.

[10:3]  ⁴ tn The translation assumes the active participle is substantival, referring to the wicked man mentioned in the preceding line. The substantival participle is then understood as the subject of the following verbs. For other examples of the participle of בָּצַע (batsar) used of those who desire and/or acquire wealth through dishonest and/or violent means, see Prov 1:19; 15:27; Jer 6:13; 8:10; Hab 2:9.

[10:3]  ⁵ tn The verb בָּרַךְ (barakh) normally means “to bless,” but in a few cases it exhibits the polarized meaning “to curse” (1 Kgs 21:10, 13; Job 1:5-11; 2:5-9). (Some regard this use of בָּרַךְ as a mere euphemism.) The verb refers to the act of pronouncing or calling down a formal curse upon the object of one’s anger.

[10:3]  ⁶ tn The conjunction “and” is supplied in the translation; it does not appear in the Hebrew text.

[10:3]  ⁷ tn Another option is to translate, “he blesses one who robs others, [but] he curses the Lord.” In this case the subject of the verbs is “the wicked man” mentioned in the previous line, and “the one who robs others” is the object of the verb בָּרַךְ (barakh), which is understood in its usual sense of “bless.”

[18:21]  ⁸ tn The construction uses the independent pronoun for emphasis, and then the imperfect tense “see” (חָזָה, khazah) – “and you will see from all….” Both in Hebrew and Ugaritic expressions of “seeing” are used in the sense of choosing (Gen 41:33). See U. Cassuto, Exodus, 220.

[18:21]  ⁹ tn The expression is אַנְשֵׁי־חַיִל (’anshe khayil, “capable men”). The attributive genitive is the word used in expressions like “mighty man of valor.” The word describes these men as respected, influential, powerful people, those looked up to by the community as leaders, and those who will have the needs of the community in mind.

[18:21]  ¹⁰ tn The description “fearers of God” uses an objective genitive. It describes them as devout, worshipful, obedient servants of God.

[18:21]  ¹¹ tn The expression “men of truth” (אַנְשֵׁי אֱמֶת, ’anshe ’emet) indicates that these men must be seekers of truth, who know that the task of a judge is to give true judgment (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 220). The word “truth” includes the ideas of faithfulness or reliability, as well as factuality itself. It could be understood to mean “truthful men,” men whose word is reliable and true.

[18:21]  ¹² tn Heb “haters of bribes.” Here is another objective genitive, one that refers to unjust gain. To hate unjust gain is to reject and refuse it. Their decisions will not be swayed by greed.

[18:21]  ¹³ tn Heb “over them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:21]  ¹⁴ sn It is not clear how this structure would work in a judicial setting. The language of “captains of thousands,” etc., is used more for military ranks. There must have been more detailed instruction involved here, for each Israelite would have come under four leaders with this arrangement, and perhaps difficult cases would be sent to the next level. But since the task of these men would also involve instruction and guidance, the breakdown would be very useful. Deut 1:9, 13 suggest that the choice of these people was not simply Moses’ alone.

[33:31]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “as people come.” Apparently this is an idiom indicating that they come in crowds. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:264.

[33:31]  ¹⁶ tn The word “as” is supplied in the translation.

[33:31]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “do.”

[33:31]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “They do lust with their mouths.”

[33:31]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “goes after.”

[33:31]  ²⁰ tn The present translation understands the term often used for “unjust gain” in a wider sense, following M. Greenberg, who also notes that the LXX uses a term which can describe either sexual or ritual pollution. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:687.

[2:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who profits unjustly by evil unjust gain for his house.” On the term הוֹי (hoy) see the note on the word “dead” in v. 6.

[2:9]  ²² tn Heb “to place his nest in the heights in order to escape from the hand of disaster.”

[12:15]  ²³ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[12:15]  ²⁴ tn See L&N 13.154 for this use of the middle voice of φυλάσσω (fulassw) in this verse.

[12:15]  ²⁵ 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.

[16:14]  ²⁶ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[16:14]  ²⁷ 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).

[5:3]  ²⁸ tn The term “But” translates the δέ (de) in a contrastive way in light of the perfect obedience of Jesus in vv. 1-2 and the vices mentioned in v. 3.

[5:3]  ²⁹ tn Grk “all impurity.”

[5:3]  ³⁰ tn Grk “just as is fitting for saints.” The καθώς (kaqws) was rendered with “as” and the sense is causal, i.e., “for” or “because.” The negative particle “not” (“for these are not proper for the saints”) in this clause was supplied in English so as to make the sense very clear, i.e., that these vices are not befitting of those who name the name of Christ.

[3:5]  ³¹ tn Grk “the members which are on the earth.” See BDAG 628 s.v. μέλος 1, “put to death whatever in you is worldly.”

[3:5]  ³² tn Or “lust.”

[1:9]  ³³ tn Or “heard about it”; Grk “heard.” There is no direct object stated in the Greek (direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context). A direct object is expected by an English reader, however, so most translations supply one. Here, however, it is not entirely clear what the author “heard”: a number of translations supply “it” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV; NAB “this”), but this could refer back either to (1) “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8, or (2) “your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (v. 4). In light of this uncertainty, other translations supply “about you” (TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). This is preferred by the present translation since, while it does not resolve the ambiguity entirely, it does make it less easy for the English reader to limit the reference only to “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8.

[1:9]  ³⁴ tn The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “the knowledge of his will” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ³⁵ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as substantival, indicating the content of the prayer and asking. The idea of purpose may also be present in this clause.

[1:10]  ³⁶ tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”

[1:10]  ³⁷ tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”

[1:17]  ³⁸ tn BDAG 973 s.v. συνίστημι B.3 suggests “continue, endure, exist, hold together” here.

[13:5]  ³⁹ sn A quotation from Deut 31:6, 8.

[13:2]  ⁴⁰ sn This is a vague allusion to people described in scripture and extra-biblical literature and may include Abraham and Sarah (Gen 18:2-15), Lot (Gen 19:1-14), Gideon (Judg 6:11-18), Manoah (Judg 13:3-22), and possibly Tobit (Tob 12:1-20).

[2:14]  ⁴¹ tn Or “partook of” (this is a different word than the one in v. 14a).

[2:14]  ⁴² tn Grk “the same.”

[2:14]  ⁴³ tn Or “break the power of,” “reduce to nothing.”