James 5:1
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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.
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1 Timothy 6:9-10
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9 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.(A) 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.
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Proverbs 11:28
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28 Those who trust in their riches will wither,[a]
but the righteous will flourish like green leaves.(A)
Footnotes
- 11.28 Cn: Heb fall
Jeremiah 9:23
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23 Thus says the Lord: Do not let the wise boast in their wisdom; do not let the mighty boast in their might; do not let the wealthy boast in their wealth;(A)
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Proverbs 11:4
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4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,
but righteousness delivers from death.(A)
James 1:11
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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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Luke 12:16-21
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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.’(A) 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?’(B) 21 So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”(C)
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Luke 6:24-25
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24 “But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.(A)
25 “Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
“Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep.(B)
Luke 16:19-25
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The Rich Man and Lazarus
19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,(A) 21 who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham.[a] The rich man also died and was buried.(B) 23 In Hades, where he was being tormented, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side.[b](C) 24 He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames.’(D) 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus in like manner evil things, but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony.(E)
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Matthew 19:23-24
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23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven.(A) 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
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Micah 6:12
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12 Your[a] wealthy are full of violence;
your[b] inhabitants speak lies
with tongues of deceit in their mouths.
Psalm 73:3-9
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
3 For I was envious of the arrogant;
I saw the prosperity of the wicked.(A)
4 For they have no pain;
their bodies are sound and sleek.
5 They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not plagued like other people.(B)
6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them like a garment.(C)
7 Their eyes swell out with fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.(D)
8 They scoff and speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.(E)
9 They set their mouths against heaven,
and their tongues range over the earth.
Zephaniah 1:18
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18 Neither their silver nor their gold
will be able to save them
on the day of the Lord’s wrath;
in the fire of his passion
the whole earth shall be consumed,
for a full, a terrible end
he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.(A)
Isaiah 13:6
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Footnotes
- 13.6 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
Revelation 6:15-17
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15 Then the kings of the earth and the magnates and the generals and the rich and the powerful and everyone, slave and free, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains,(A) 16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb,(B) 17 for the great day of their[a] wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”(C)
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- 6.17 Other ancient authorities read his
James 4:13
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Boasting about Tomorrow
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money.”(A)
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James 2:6
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6 But you have dishonored the poor person. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into the courts?(A)
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Psalm 73:18-20
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Job 20:15-29
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15 They swallow down riches and vomit them up again;
God casts them out of their bellies.
16 They will suck the poison of asps;
the tongue of a viper will kill them.(A)
17 They will not look on the rivers,
the streams flowing with honey and curds.(B)
18 They will give back the fruit of their toil
and will not swallow it down;
from the profit of their trading
they will get no enjoyment.(C)
19 For they have crushed and abandoned the poor;
they have seized a house that they did not build.(D)
20 “For they knew no quiet in their bellies;
in their greed they let nothing escape.(E)
21 There was nothing left after they had eaten;
therefore their prosperity will not endure.(F)
22 In full sufficiency they will be in distress;
all the force of misery will come upon them.
23 To fill their belly to the full,
God[a] will send his fierce anger into them
and rain it upon them as their food.(G)
24 They will flee from an iron weapon;
a bronze arrow will strike them through.(H)
25 It is drawn forth and comes out of their body,
and the glittering point comes out of their gall;
terrors come upon them.(I)
26 Utter darkness is laid up for their treasures;
a fire fanned by no one will devour them;
what is left in their tent will be consumed.(J)
27 The heavens will reveal their iniquity,
and the earth will rise up against them.(K)
28 The possessions of their house will be carried away,
dragged off in the day of God’s[b] wrath.(L)
29 This is the portion of the wicked from God,
the heritage decreed for them by God.”(M)
Nehemiah 9:25-26
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25 And they captured fortress cities and a rich land and took possession of houses filled with all sorts of goods, hewn cisterns, vineyards, olive orchards, and fruit trees in abundance; so they ate and were filled and became fat and delighted themselves in your great goodness.(A)
26 “Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against you and cast your law behind their backs and killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you, and they committed great blasphemies.(B)
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Deuteronomy 32:15
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15 Jacob ate his fill;[a]
Jeshurun grew fat and kicked.
You grew fat, bloated, and gorged!
He abandoned God who made him
and scoffed at the Rock of his salvation.(A)
Footnotes
- 32.15 Q mss Sam Gk: MT lacks Jacob ate his fill
Zechariah 11:2-3
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
2 Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,
for the glorious trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks of Bashan,
for the thick forest has been felled!(A)
3 Listen, the wail of the shepherds,
for their glory is despoiled!
Listen, the roar of the lions,
for the thickets of the Jordan are destroyed!(B)
Amos 6:6-7
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
6 who drink wine from bowls
and anoint themselves with the finest oils
but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!(A)
7 Therefore they shall now be the first to go into exile,
and the revelry of the loungers shall pass away.(B)
Joel 1:11
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
11 Be dismayed, you farmers;
wail, you vinedressers,
over the wheat and the barley,
for the crops of the field are ruined.(A)
Joel 1:5
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep,
and wail, all you wine drinkers,
over the sweet wine,
for it is cut off from your mouth.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.