Warning to Rich Oppressors

Now listen,(A) you rich people,(B) weep and wail(C) because of the misery that is coming on you.

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28 Those who trust in their riches will fall,(A)
    but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.(B)

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Those who want to get rich(A) fall into temptation and a trap(B) and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money(C) is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith(D) and pierced themselves with many griefs.(E)

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23 This is what the Lord says:

“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom(A)
    or the strong boast of their strength(B)
    or the rich boast of their riches,(C)

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Wealth(A) is worthless in the day of wrath,(B)
    but righteousness delivers from death.(C)

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11 For the sun rises with scorching heat(A) and withers(B) the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed.(C) In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.

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16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool!(A) This very night your life will be demanded from you.(B) Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’(C)

21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”(D)

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24 “But woe to you who are rich,(A)
    for you have already received your comfort.(B)
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
    for you will go hungry.(C)
Woe to you who laugh now,
    for you will mourn and weep.(D)

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The Rich Man and Lazarus

19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.(A) 20 At his gate was laid a beggar(B) named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table.(C) Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham,(D) have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’(E)

25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things,(F) but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.(G)

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23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich(A) to enter the kingdom of heaven. 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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12 Your rich people are violent;(A)
    your inhabitants are liars(B)
    and their tongues speak deceitfully.(C)

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For I envied(A) the arrogant
    when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.(B)

They have no struggles;
    their bodies are healthy and strong.[a]
They are free(C) from common human burdens;
    they are not plagued by human ills.
Therefore pride(D) is their necklace;(E)
    they clothe themselves with violence.(F)
From their callous hearts(G) comes iniquity[b];
    their evil imaginations have no limits.
They scoff, and speak with malice;(H)
    with arrogance(I) they threaten oppression.(J)
Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
    and their tongues take possession of the earth.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 73:4 With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text struggles at their death; / their bodies are healthy
  2. Psalm 73:7 Syriac (see also Septuagint); Hebrew Their eyes bulge with fat

18 Neither their silver nor their gold
    will be able to save them
    on the day of the Lord’s wrath.”(A)

In the fire of his jealousy(B)
    the whole earth will be consumed,(C)
for he will make a sudden end
    of all who live on the earth.(D)

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Wail,(A) for the day(B) of the Lord is near;
    it will come like destruction(C) from the Almighty.[a](D)

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 13:6 Hebrew Shaddai

15 Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free,(A) hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains.(B) 16 They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us(C) and hide us[a] from the face of him who sits on the throne(D) and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day(E) of their[b] wrath has come, and who can withstand it?”(F)

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Footnotes

  1. Revelation 6:16 See Hosea 10:8.
  2. Revelation 6:17 Some manuscripts his

Boasting About Tomorrow

13 Now listen,(A) you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”(B)

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But you have dishonored the poor.(A) Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?(B)

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18 Surely you place them on slippery ground;(A)
    you cast them down to ruin.(B)
19 How suddenly(C) are they destroyed,
    completely swept away(D) by terrors!
20 They are like a dream(E) when one awakes;(F)
    when you arise, Lord,
    you will despise them as fantasies.(G)

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15 He will spit out the riches(A) he swallowed;
    God will make his stomach vomit(B) them up.
16 He will suck the poison(C) of serpents;
    the fangs of an adder will kill him.(D)
17 He will not enjoy the streams,
    the rivers(E) flowing with honey(F) and cream.(G)
18 What he toiled for he must give back uneaten;(H)
    he will not enjoy the profit from his trading.(I)
19 For he has oppressed the poor(J) and left them destitute;(K)
    he has seized houses(L) he did not build.

20 “Surely he will have no respite from his craving;(M)
    he cannot save himself by his treasure.(N)
21 Nothing is left for him to devour;
    his prosperity will not endure.(O)
22 In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him;(P)
    the full force of misery will come upon him.(Q)
23 When he has filled his belly,(R)
    God will vent his burning anger(S) against him
    and rain down his blows on him.(T)
24 Though he flees(U) from an iron weapon,
    a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him.(V)
25 He pulls it out of his back,
    the gleaming point out of his liver.
Terrors(W) will come over him;(X)
26     total darkness(Y) lies in wait for his treasures.
A fire(Z) unfanned will consume him(AA)
    and devour what is left in his tent.(AB)
27 The heavens will expose his guilt;
    the earth will rise up against him.(AC)
28 A flood will carry off his house,(AD)
    rushing waters[a] on the day of God’s wrath.(AE)
29 Such is the fate God allots the wicked,
    the heritage appointed for them by God.”(AF)

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Footnotes

  1. Job 20:28 Or The possessions in his house will be carried off, / washed away