11 As a partridge that [a]broods but does not hatch,
So is he who gets riches, but not by right;
It (A)will leave him in the midst of his days,
And at his end he will be (B)a fool.”

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 17:11 Sits on eggs

11 Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay
    are those who gain riches by unjust means.
When their lives are half gone, their riches will desert them,
    and in the end they will prove to be fools.(A)

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20 A faithful man will abound with blessings,
(A)But he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.

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20 A faithful person will be richly blessed,
    but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.(A)

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(A)Getting treasures by a lying tongue
[a]Is the fleeting fantasy of those who seek death.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 21:6 LXX Pursue vanity on the snares of death; Vg. Is vain and foolish, and shall stumble on the snares of death; Tg. They shall be destroyed, and they shall fall who seek death

A fortune made by a lying tongue
    is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare.[a](A)

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 21:6 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Vulgate; most Hebrew manuscripts vapor for those who seek death

17 “Yet(A) your eyes and your heart are for nothing but your covetousness,
For shedding innocent blood,
And practicing oppression and violence.”

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17 “But your eyes and your heart
    are set only on dishonest gain,(A)
on shedding innocent blood(B)
    and on oppression and extortion.”(C)

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13 “Woe(A) to him who builds his house by unrighteousness
And his [a]chambers by injustice,
(B)Who uses his neighbor’s service without wages
And gives him nothing for his work,

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 22:13 Lit. roof chambers, upper chambers

13 “Woe(A) to him who builds(B) his palace by unrighteousness,
    his upper rooms by injustice,
making his own people work for nothing,
    not paying(C) them for their labor.

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27 (A)He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house,
But he who hates bribes will live.

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27 The greedy bring ruin to their households,
    but the one who hates bribes will live.(A)

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14 having eyes full of [a]adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. (A)They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Peter 2:14 Lit. an adulteress

14 With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce(A) the unstable;(B) they are experts in greed(C)—an accursed brood!(D)

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11 whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, (A)for the sake of dishonest gain.

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11 They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole households(A) by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain.

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In the same day I will punish
All those who (A)leap over the threshold,
Who fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.

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On that day I will punish
    all who avoid stepping on the threshold,[a](A)
who fill the temple of their gods
    with violence and deceit.(B)

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 1:9 See 1 Samuel 5:5.

“Will not all these (A)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 [a]many pledges’?
Will not [b]your creditors rise up suddenly?
Will they not awaken who oppress you?
And you will become their booty.
(B)Because you have plundered many nations,
All the remnant of the people shall plunder you,
Because of men’s [c]blood
And the violence of the land and the city,
And of all who dwell in it.

“Woe to him who covets evil gain for his house,
That he may (C)set his nest on high,
That he may be delivered from the [d]power of disaster!
10 You give shameful counsel to your house,
Cutting off many peoples,
And sin against your soul.
11 For the stone will cry out from the wall,
And the beam from the timbers will answer it.

12 “Woe to him who builds a town with bloodshed,
Who establishes a city by iniquity!

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Footnotes

  1. Habakkuk 2:6 Syr., Vg. thick clay
  2. Habakkuk 2:7 Lit. those who bite you
  3. Habakkuk 2:8 Or bloodshed
  4. Habakkuk 2:9 Lit. hand of evil

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

“‘Woe to him who piles up stolen goods
    and makes himself wealthy by extortion!(B)
    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.(C)
Because you have plundered many nations,
    the peoples who are left will plunder you.(D)
For you have shed human blood;(E)
    you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.(F)

“Woe to him who builds(G) his house by unjust gain,(H)
    setting his nest(I) on high
    to escape the clutches of ruin!
10 You have plotted the ruin(J) of many peoples,
    shaming(K) your own house and forfeiting your life.
11 The stones(L) of the wall will cry out,
    and the beams of the woodwork will echo it.

12 “Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed(M)
    and establishes a town by injustice!

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Woe to Evildoers

Woe to those who devise iniquity,
And [a]work out evil on their beds!
At (A)morning light they practice it,
Because it is in the power of their hand.
They (B)covet fields and take them by violence,
Also houses, and seize them.
So they oppress a man and his house,
A man and his inheritance.

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Footnotes

  1. Micah 2:1 Plan

Human Plans and God’s Plans

Woe to those who plan iniquity,
    to those who plot evil(A) on their beds!(B)
At morning’s light they carry it out
    because it is in their power to do it.
They covet fields(C) and seize them,(D)
    and houses, and take them.
They defraud(E) people of their homes,
    they rob them of their inheritance.(F)

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13 (A)There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun:
Riches kept for their owner to his hurt.
14 But those riches perish through [a]misfortune;
When he begets a son, there is nothing in his hand.
15 (B)As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return,
To go as he came;
And he shall take nothing from his labor
Which he may carry away in his hand.

16 And this also is a severe evil—
Just exactly as he came, so shall he go.
And (C)what profit has he (D)who has labored for the wind?

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 5:14 Lit. bad business

13 I have seen a grievous evil under the sun:(A)

wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners,
14     or wealth lost through some misfortune,
so that when they have children
    there is nothing left for them to inherit.
15 Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb,
    and as everyone comes, so they depart.(B)
They take nothing from their toil(C)
    that they can carry in their hands.(D)

16 This too is a grievous evil:

As everyone comes, so they depart,
    and what do they gain,
    since they toil for the wind?(E)

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22 A man with an evil eye hastens after riches,
And does not consider that (A)poverty will come upon him.

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22 The stingy are eager to get rich
    and are unaware that poverty awaits them.(A)

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