10 He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver;
Nor he who loves abundance, with increase.
This also is vanity.

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10 Whoever loves money never has enough;
    whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.
    This too is meaningless.

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10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

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10 For the love of money(A) is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith(B) and pierced themselves with many griefs.(C)

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You Cannot Serve God and Riches

24 (A)“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. (B)You cannot serve God and [a]mammon.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 6:24 Lit., in Aram., riches

24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.(A)

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15 And He said to them, (A)“Take heed and beware of [a]covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 12:15 NU all covetousness

15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”(A)

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Lay Up Treasures in Heaven(A)

19 (B)“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;

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Treasures in Heaven(A)

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,(B) where moths and vermin destroy,(C) and where thieves break in and steal.

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There is one alone, without [a]companion:
He has neither son nor brother.
Yet there is no end to all his labors,
Nor is his (A)eye satisfied with riches.
But (B)he never asks,
“For whom do I toil and deprive myself of (C)good?”
This also is vanity and a [b]grave misfortune.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 4:8 Lit. a second
  2. Ecclesiastes 4:8 Lit. evil task

There was a man all alone;
    he had neither son nor brother.
There was no end to his toil,
    yet his eyes were not content(A) with his wealth.
“For whom am I toiling,” he asked,
    “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?”
This too is meaningless—
    a miserable business!

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The Vanity of Selfish Toil

Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

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And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.(A)

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10 Do not trust in oppression,
Nor vainly hope in robbery;
(A)If riches increase,
Do not set your heart on them.

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10 Do not trust in extortion(A)
    or put vain hope in stolen goods;(B)
though your riches increase,
    do not set your heart on them.(C)

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26 For God gives (A)wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that (B)he may give to him who is good before God. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

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26 To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom,(A) knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth(B) to hand it over to the one who pleases God.(C) This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

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“Here is the man who did not make God his strength,
But trusted in the abundance of his riches,
And strengthened himself in his [a]wickedness.”

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 52:7 Lit. desire, in evil sense

“Here now is the man
    who did not make God his stronghold(A)
but trusted in his great wealth(B)
    and grew strong by destroying others!”

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Woe to the Wicked

“Indeed, because he transgresses by wine,
He is a proud man,
And he does not stay at home.
Because he (A)enlarges his desire as [a]hell,
And he is like death, and cannot be satisfied,
He gathers to himself all nations
And heaps up for himself all peoples.

“Will not all these (B)take up a proverb against him,
And a taunting riddle against him, and say,
‘Woe to him who increases
What is not his—how long?
And to him who loads himself with [b]many pledges’?
Will not [c]your creditors rise up suddenly?
Will they not awaken who oppress you?
And you will become their booty.

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Footnotes

  1. Habakkuk 2:5 Or Sheol
  2. Habakkuk 2:6 Syr., Vg. thick clay
  3. Habakkuk 2:7 Lit. those who bite you

indeed, wine(A) betrays him;
    he is arrogant(B) and never at rest.
Because he is as greedy as the grave
    and like death is never satisfied,(C)
he gathers to himself all the nations
    and takes captive(D) all the peoples.

“Will not all of them taunt(E) him with ridicule and scorn, saying,

“‘Woe to him who piles up stolen goods
    and makes himself wealthy by extortion!(F)
    How long must this go on?’
Will not your creditors suddenly arise?
    Will they not wake up and make you tremble?
    Then you will become their prey.(G)

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11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done
And on the labor in which I had toiled;
And indeed all was (A)vanity and grasping for the wind.
There was no profit under the sun.

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11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
    and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;(A)
    nothing was gained under the sun.(B)

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16 There was no end of all the people [a]over whom he was made king;
Yet those who come afterward will not rejoice in him.
Surely this also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 4:16 Lit. to all before whom he was to be

16 There was no end to all the people who were before them. But those who came later were not pleased with the successor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

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