³⁰ Excuses might even be found for a thief if he steals when he is starving! ³¹ But even so, he is fined seven times as much as he stole, though it may mean selling everything in his house to pay it back.

^22-23 Don’t rob the poor and sick! For the Lord is their defender. If you injure them, he will punish you.

²⁴ A man who robs his parents and says, “What’s wrong with that?” is no better than a murderer.

²⁴ A man who assists a thief must really hate himself! For he knows the consequence but does it anyway.

⁷ O God, I beg two favors from you before I die: ⁸ First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs! ⁹ For if I grow rich, I may become content without God. And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.