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19 Such is the end[a] of all who are greedy for gain;
    it takes away the life of its possessors.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 1.19 Gk: Heb are the ways

19 Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain;
    it takes away the life of those who get it.(A)

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27 Those greedy for unjust gain make trouble for their households,
    but those who hate bribes will live.(A)

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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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And in their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. Their condemnation, pronounced against them long ago, has not been idle, and their destruction is not asleep.(A)

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In their greed(A) these teachers will exploit you(B) with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

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“Alas for you who get evil gain for your house,
    setting your nest on high
    to be safe from the reach of harm!”(A)

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“Woe to him who builds(A) his house by unjust gain,(B)
    setting his nest(C) on high
    to escape the clutches of ruin!

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Warning to Rich Oppressors

Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten.(A) 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. 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)

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Footnotes

  1. 5.3 Or will eat your flesh, since you have stored up fire

Warning to Rich Oppressors

Now listen,(A) you rich people,(B) weep and wail(C) because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes.(D) Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.(E) Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers(F) who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries(G) of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.(H)

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10 who build Zion with blood
    and Jerusalem with wrong!(A)
11 Its rulers give judgment for a bribe;
    its priests teach for a price;
    its prophets give oracles for money;
yet they lean upon the Lord and say,
    “Surely the Lord is with us!
    No harm shall come upon us.”(B)
12 Therefore because of you
    Zion shall be plowed as a field;
Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,
    and the mountain of the temple a wooded height.(C)

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10 who build(A) Zion with bloodshed,(B)
    and Jerusalem with wickedness.(C)
11 Her leaders judge for a bribe,(D)
    her priests teach for a price,(E)
    and her prophets tell fortunes for money.(F)
Yet they look(G) for the Lord’s support and say,
    “Is not the Lord among us?
    No disaster will come upon us.”(H)
12 Therefore because of you,
    Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,(I)
    the temple(J) hill a mound overgrown with thickets.(K)

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Social Evils Denounced

Woe to those who devise wickedness
    and evil deeds[a] on their beds!
When the morning dawns, they perform it,
    because it is in their power.(A)
They covet fields and seize them,
    houses and take them away;
they oppress householder and house,
    people and their inheritance.(B)
Therefore thus says the Lord:
Now, I am devising against this family an evil
    from which you cannot remove your necks,
and you shall not walk arrogantly,
    for it will be an evil time.(C)

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Footnotes

  1. 2.1 Cn: Heb work evil

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)

Therefore, the Lord says:

“I am planning disaster(G) against this people,
    from which you cannot save yourselves.
You will no longer walk proudly,(H)
    for it will be a time of calamity.

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17 But your eyes and heart
    are only on your dishonest gain,
for shedding innocent blood,
    and for practicing oppression and violence.(A)

18 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah:

They shall not lament for him, saying,
    “Alas, my brother!” or “Alas, sister!”
They shall not lament for him, saying,
    “Alas, lord!” or “Alas, his majesty!”(B)
19 With the burial of a donkey he shall be buried:
    dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.(C)

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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)

18 Therefore this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:

“They will not mourn(D) for him:
    ‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’
They will not mourn for him:
    ‘Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor!’
19 He will have the burial(E) of a donkey—
    dragged away and thrown(F)
    outside the gates of Jerusalem.”

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13 There is a grievous ill that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owners to their hurt,(A)

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

wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners,

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Do not desire an official’s[a] delicacies,
    for they are deceptive food.(A)
Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
    be wise enough to desist.(B)

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Footnotes

  1. 23.3 Heb his

Do not crave his delicacies,(A)
    for that food is deceptive.

Saying 8

Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
    do not trust your own cleverness.

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20 Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, thought, “My master has let that Aramean Naaman off too lightly by not accepting from him what he offered. As the Lord lives, I will run after him and get something from him.”(A) 21 So Gehazi went after Naaman. When Naaman saw someone running after him, he jumped down from the chariot to meet him and said, “Is everything all right?” 22 He replied, “Yes, but my master has sent me to say, ‘Two members of a company of prophets have just come to me from the hill country of Ephraim; please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothing.’ ”(B) 23 Naaman said, “Please accept two talents.” He urged him and tied up two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of clothing, and gave them to two of his servants, who carried them in front of Gehazi.[a] 24 When he came to the citadel, he took the bags[b] from them and stored them inside; he dismissed the men, and they left.

25 He went in and stood before his master, and Elisha said to him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” He answered, “Your servant has not gone anywhere at all.”(C) 26 But he said to him, “Did I not go with you in spirit when someone left his chariot to meet you? Is this a time to accept silver and to accept clothing, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, and male and female slaves?(D) 27 Therefore the skin disease of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever.” So he left his presence diseased, as white as snow.(E)

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Footnotes

  1. 5.23 Heb him
  2. 5.24 Heb lacks the bags

20 Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said to himself, “My master was too easy on Naaman, this Aramean, by not accepting from him what he brought. As surely as the Lord(A) lives, I will run after him and get something from him.”

21 So Gehazi hurried after Naaman. When Naaman saw him running toward him, he got down from the chariot to meet him. “Is everything all right?” he asked.

22 “Everything is all right,” Gehazi answered. “My master sent me to say, ‘Two young men from the company of the prophets have just come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent[a] of silver and two sets of clothing.’”(B)

23 “By all means, take two talents,” said Naaman. He urged Gehazi to accept them, and then tied up the two talents of silver in two bags, with two sets of clothing. He gave them to two of his servants, and they carried them ahead of Gehazi. 24 When Gehazi came to the hill, he took the things from the servants and put them away in the house. He sent the men away and they left.

25 When he went in and stood before his master, Elisha asked him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?”

“Your servant didn’t go anywhere,” Gehazi answered.

26 But Elisha said to him, “Was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time(C) to take money or to accept clothes—or olive groves and vineyards, or flocks and herds, or male and female slaves?(D) 27 Naaman’s leprosy(E) will cling to you and to your descendants forever.” Then Gehazi(F) went from Elisha’s presence and his skin was leprous—it had become as white as snow.(G)

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 5:22 That is, about 75 pounds or about 34 kilograms

14 They have eyes full of adultery,[a] insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children! 15 They have left the straight road and have gone astray, following the road of Balaam son of Bosor,[b] who loved the wages of doing wrong(A) 16 but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.

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Footnotes

  1. 2.14 Gk adulteress; or longing for an adulteress
  2. 2.15 Other ancient authorities read Beor

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) 15 They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam(E) son of Bezer,[a] who loved the wages of wickedness. 16 But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.(F)

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Peter 2:15 Greek Bosor

not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, and not a lover of money.(A)

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not given to drunkenness,(A) not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome,(B) not a lover of money.(C)

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