1 Corinthians 7:31
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31 and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.(A)
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1 John 2:17
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17 And the world and its desire[a] are passing away, but those who do the will of God abide forever.(A)
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- 2.17 Or the desire for it
1 Peter 4:7
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7 The end of all things is near;[a] therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers.(A)
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- 4.7 Or is at hand
James 4:14
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14 Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.(A)
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Luke 21:34
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Exhortation to Watch
34 “Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life and that day does not catch you unexpectedly,(A)
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1 Peter 1:24
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24 For
“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,(A)
Ecclesiastes 9:7-10
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7 Go, eat your bread with enjoyment and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has long ago approved what you do.(A) 8 Let your garments always be white; do not let oil be lacking on your head.(B) 9 Enjoy life with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life that are given you under the sun,[a] because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun.(C) 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.(D)
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- 9.9 Cn: Heb sun, all the days of your vanity
James 5:1-5
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Warning to Rich Oppressors
5 Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. 2 Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten.(A) 3 Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure[a] during the last days. 4 Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.(B) 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter.(C)
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- 5.3 Or will eat your flesh, since you have stored up fire
James 1:10-11
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10 and the rich in having been humbled, because the rich will disappear like a flower in the field.(A) 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the field; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. It is the same way with the rich; in the midst of a busy life, they will wither away.
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1 Timothy 6:17-18
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17 As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches but rather on God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.(A) 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share,(B)
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1 Corinthians 9:18
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18 What then is my wage? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel.
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Luke 19:17-26
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17 He said to him, ‘Well done, good slave! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small thing, take charge of ten cities.’(A) 18 Then the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your pound has made five pounds.’ 19 He said to him, ‘And you, rule over five cities.’ 20 Then the other came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your pound. I wrapped it up in a piece of cloth, 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man; you take what you did not deposit and reap what you did not sow.’(B) 22 He said to him, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked slave! You knew, did you, that I was a harsh man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow?(C) 23 Why, then, did you not put my money into the bank? Then when I returned, I could have collected it with interest.’ 24 He said to the bystanders, ‘Take the pound from him and give it to the one who has ten pounds.’ 25 (And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten pounds!’) 26 ‘I tell you, to all those who have, more will be given, but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.(D)
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Luke 16:1-2
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The Parable of the Dishonest Manager
16 Then Jesus[a] said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property.(A) 2 So he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management because you cannot be my manager any longer.’
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- 16.1 Gk he
Luke 12:15-21
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15 And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”(A) 16 Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. 17 And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ 18 Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’(B) 20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’(C) 21 So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”(D)
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Matthew 25:14-29
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The Parable of the Talents
14 “For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them;(A) 15 to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. At once(B) 16 the one who had received the five talents went off and traded with them and made five more talents. 17 In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18 But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them.(C) 20 Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things; I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’(D) 22 And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things; I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you did not scatter,(E) 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I did not scatter? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest.(F) 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 29 For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance, but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.(G)
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Matthew 24:48-50
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48 But if that wicked slave says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50 the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know.
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Ecclesiastes 11:2
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2 Divide your means seven ways, or even eight,
for you do not know what disaster may happen on earth.(A)
Ecclesiastes 5:18-20
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18 This is what I have seen to be good: it is fitting to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of the life God gives us, for this is our lot.(A) 19 Likewise, all to whom God gives wealth and possessions and whom he enables to enjoy them and to accept their lot and find enjoyment in their toil—this is the gift of God.(B) 20 For they will scarcely brood over the days of their lives because God keeps them occupied with the joy of their hearts.
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Ecclesiastes 3:12-13
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12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; 13 moreover, it is God’s gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil.
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Ecclesiastes 2:24-25
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24 There is nothing better for mortals than to eat and drink and find enjoyment in their toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God,(A) 25 for apart from him[a] who can eat or who can have enjoyment?
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- 2.25 Gk Syr: Heb apart from me
Ecclesiastes 1:4
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4 A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.(A)
Psalm 73:20
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Footnotes
- 73.20 Cn: Heb Lord
Psalm 39:6
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6 Surely everyone goes about like a shadow.
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
they heap up and do not know who will gather.(A)
Ecclesiastes 11:9-10
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9 Rejoice, young man, while you are young, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Follow the inclination of your heart and the desire of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.(A)
10 Banish anxiety from your mind, and put away pain from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.(B)
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