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MiscellaneousBusiness
And a chariot was imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for one hundred and fifty; also, through their agents, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria. (1 Kings 10:29)
...“It is good for nothing, good for nothing!” says the buyer; But when he has gone his way, then he boasts. (Proverbs 20:14)
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” (James 4:13-15)
Financial consequences of adultery
Lest strangers be filled with your wealth, And your labors go to the house of a foreigner; (Proverbs 5:10)
He will accept no recompense; And he will not be satisfied, though you give many gifts. (Proverbs 6:35)
A man who loves wisdom makes his father rejoice, But a companion of harlots wastes his wealth. (Proverbs 29:3)
Human heart
Do not eat the bread of a miser, Nor desire his delicacies; For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, But his heart is not with you. The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up, And waste your pleasant words. (Proverbs 23:6-8)
So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. (Ezekiel 33:31)
But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. (James 3:14-16)
You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. (James 4:2-3)
By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber. (2 Peter 2:3)
Old Testament law concerning marriage
And it shall be, if you have no delight in her, then you shall set her free wherever she wishes; but you shall by no means sell her for money, or treat her as a slave, because you have humiliated her. (Deuteronomy 21:14)
Some have no concern with money
Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, Who will not regard silver and who will not delight in gold. (Isaiah 13:17)
So the Gibeonites said to him, “We will have no silver or gold from Saul or from his house; nor do we desire that you kill any man in Israel.” And he said, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.” (2 Samuel 21:4)
Miscellaneous
Then he said, "Blessed are you of the Lord, my daughter! For you have shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning, in that you did not go after young men, whether poor or rich. (Ruth 3:10)
The people will curse him who withholds grain, But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it. (Proverbs 11:26)
He who is despised and has a servant is better than he who honors himself and lacks bread. (Proverbs 12:9)
Buy the truth, and do not sell it, Also wisdom and instruction and understanding. (Proverbs 23:23)
And they made His grave with the wicked— But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth. (Isaiah 53:9)
Then He said to them, "Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old." (Matthew 13:52)
Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. (Mark 5:25-26)
So the commander answered, "With a large sum I obtained this citizenship." And Paul said, "But I was born a citizen." (Acts 22:28)
Do not fine the righteous
Also, to punish the righteous is not good, Nor to strike princes for doing right. (Proverbs 17:26)
Lord’s judgements
It shall happen in that day that wherever there could be a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels of silver, it will be for briers and thorns. (Isaiah 7:23)
Her gain and her pay will be set apart to the Lord; it will not be treasured up, nor laid by, for her gain will go to those who dwell before the Lord, and their food will be for durable clothing. (Isaiah 23:18)
The Messiah will prosper
Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently; He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. (Isaiah 52:13)
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. (Isaiah 53:10)
A relationship with the Lord cannot be bought
Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy, and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance. (Isaiah 55:1-2)
Unfaithfulness equated with harlotry
They make payment to all harlots, but you made your payments to all your lovers, and hired them to come to you from all around for your harlotry. You are the opposite of other women in your harlotry, because no one solicited you to play the harlot. And since you gave payment, and no payment was given you, therefore you are the opposite. (Ezekiel 16:33-34)
Laws concerning the priests and the land
And they shall not sell or exchange any of it; they shall not alienate this best part of the land, for it is holy to the Lord. (Ezekiel 48:14)
Lord valued little by ungodly
Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them!” So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the Lord. (Zechariah 11:12-13)
More given to one who has; all taken from one who has not
Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.” (Mark 4:24-25)
Money used to illustrate angelic joy of salvation
Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:8-10)
View of ownership in the early church
Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. (Acts 2:44-45)
Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet. (Acts 4:32-37)
People coming to know Lord give up costly evil things
And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds. Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. (Acts 19:18-19)
Vindication
Then to Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; indeed this vindicates you before all who are with you, and before everybody you are cleared.” (Genesis 20:16)
Spoils, plunder
The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and plundered the city, because their sister had been defiled. They took their flocks, their herds, their donkeys, and what was in the city and in the fields. And all their wealth, all their little ones, and their wives they took captive; and they plundered all that was in the houses. (Genesis 34:27-29)
Then the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their tents. (1 Samuel 17:53)
Now Ben-Hadad the king of Syria gathered all his forces together; thirty-two kings were with him, with horses and chariots. And he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it. Then he sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel, and said to him, “Thus says Ben-Hadad: ‘Your silver and your gold are mine; your loveliest wives and children are mine.’” And the king of Israel answered and said, “My lord, O king, just as you say, I and all that I have are yours.” Then the messengers came back and said, “Thus says Ben-Hadad: ‘I have sent to you, saying, “You shall deliver to me your silver and your gold, your wives and your children”; but I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time, and they shall search your house and the houses of your servants. And it shall be, that whatever is pleasant in your eyes, they will put it in their hands and take it.’” ... Therefore all the elders and all the people said to him, “Do not listen or consent.” (1 Kings 20:1-6, 8)
And Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his tent. ... He took all the gold and silver that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria. (2 Kings 14:12, 14)
When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away their spoil, they found among them an abundance of valuables on the dead bodies, and precious jewelry, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away; and they were three days gathering the spoil, because there was so much. (2 Chronicles 20:25)
From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt, and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to humiliation, as it is this day. (Ezra 9:7)
In these letters the king permitted the Jews who were in every city to gather together and protect their lives—to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the forces of any people or province that would assault them, both little children and women, and to plunder their possessions, (Esther 8:11)
Thus the Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, and killed and destroyed them; and they did what they pleased with those who hated them. ... the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, they killed; but they did not lay a hand on the plunder. (Esther 9:5, 10)
...“Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hand is My indignation. I will send him against an ungodly nation, And against the people of My wrath I will give him charge, To seize the spoil, to take the prey, And to tread them down like the mire of the streets. (Isaiah 10:5-6)
Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Lord has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, that He will say, “I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks.” For he says: “By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I am prudent; Also I have removed the boundaries of the people, And have robbed their treasuries, And I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man. My hand has found like a nest the riches of the people, And as one gathers eggs that are left, I have gathered all the earth; And there was no one who moved a wing, Nor opened his mouth with even a peep.” (Isaiah 10:12-14)
They will plunder your riches and pillage your merchandise; they will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses; they will lay your stones, your timber, and your soil in the midst of the water. (Ezekiel 26:12)
A sword shall come upon Egypt, And great anguish shall be in Ethiopia, When the slain fall in Egypt; And they take away her multitude, And her foundations are broken down. (Ezekiel 30:4)
Though he bears fruit, An east wind shall come; The wind of the Lord shall come up from the wilderness, And his spring shall become dry, And his fountain shall be dried up. He shall plunder the treasury Of every desirable prize. (Hosea 13:15)
Therefore thus says the Lord God: “An adversary shall be all around the land; He shall sap your strength from you, And your palaces shall be plundered.” (Amos 3:11)
You should not have entered the gates of My people; You should not have gloated over their calamity in the day of their disaster, Nor laid hands on their substance in the day of their disaster; (Obadiah 1:13)
...“Oh, how Esau shall be searched out! How his hidden treasures shall be sought after! ... In the day that you stood on the other side— In the day that strangers carried captive his forces, When foreigners entered his gates And cast lots for Jerusalem— Even you were as one of them.” (Obadiah 1:6, 11)
...“Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion; For I will make your horn iron, And I will make your hooves bronze; You shall beat in pieces many peoples; I will consecrate their gain to the Lord, And their substance to the Lord of the whole earth.” (Micah 4:13)
Take spoil of silver! Take spoil of gold! There is no end of treasure, Or wealth of every kind. She is empty, desolate, and waste! The heart melts, and the knees shake; Much pain is in every side, And their faces grow pale. (Nahum 2:9-10)
Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and robbery. Its victim never departs. (Nahum 3:1)
...“Will not all these 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 thick clay!’ Will not your creditors rise up suddenly? Will they not awaken who oppress you? And you will become their booty. Because you have plundered many nations, All the remnant of the people shall plunder you, Because of men’s blood And the violence of the land, The city and all who dwell in it. (Habakkuk 2:6-8)
Wail, you inhabitants of Maktesh! For all the merchant people are cut down; All those who bear silver are cut off! ... Therefore their goods shall become a booty, And their houses a desolation; They shall build houses, but not inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards, but not drink their wine. ... Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them In the day of the Lord’s wrath; But the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy, For He will make speedy riddance of all those who dwell in the land. (Zephaniah 1:11, 13, 18)
Therefore as I live,” says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Moab shall be like Sodom, And the people of Ammon like Gomorrah— A field of nettles, a saltpit, And a perpetual desolation. The residue of My people shall plunder them, And the remnant of My people shall possess them.” (Zephaniah 2:9)
Lifestyle
For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened; but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack—that there may be equality. As it is written, “He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.” (2 Corinthians 8:13-15)
In like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, (1 Timothy 2:9)
Restitution
If men contend with each other, and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but is confined to his bed, if he rises again and walks about outside with his staff, then he who struck him shall be acquitted. He shall only pay for his loss of time, and shall provide for him to be thoroughly healed. (Exodus 21:18-19)
If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. (Exodus 21:22)
If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, then the ox shall surely be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be acquitted. But if the ox was customarily pushy in time past, and it has been made known to his owner, and he has not kept it confined, so that it has killed a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death. If there is imposed on him a sum of money, then he shall pay to the redemption of his life whatever is imposed on him. (Exodus 21:28-30)
...“If the ox gores a male or female servant, he shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned. And if a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls in it, the owner of the pit shall make it good; he shall give money to their owner, but the dead animal shall be his. If one man’s ox hurts another’s, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide the money from it; and the dead ox they shall also divide. Or if it was known that the ox tended to thrust in time past, and its owner has not kept it confined, he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead animal shall be his own. (Exodus 21:32-36)
Leaders
So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who asked him for a king. And he said, “This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. ... He will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. (1 Samuel 8:10-11, 14-17)
The prince shall have his portion on that side and on this side of the holy district and the city, along the front of the holy district and along the front of the city, running westward on the west side, and eastward on the east side; and the length shall be the same as one of the portions, from the west border to the east border. In the land, his possession shall be in Israel; and his princes shall no longer oppress My people, but they shall give the rest of the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes. (Ezekiel 45:7-8)
Prophecy
And Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you, saying, “Buy my field which is in Anathoth, for the right of redemption is yours to buy it.”’ ... So I bought the field from Hanamel, the son of my uncle who was in Anathoth, and weighed out to him the money—seventeen shekels of silver. ... Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Take these deeds, both this purchase deed, which is sealed, and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may last many days.’ For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.’ (Jeremiah 32:6-7, 9, 14-15)
And you have said to me, O Lord God, ‘Buy the field for money, and take witnesses’—yet the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.” (Jeremiah 32:25)
Violence has risen up as a rod of wickedness; None of them shall remain, none of their multitude, none of them; Nor shall there be wailing for them. The time has come, the day draws near. Let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn, For wrath is on their whole multitude. For the seller shall not return to what has been sold, Though he may still be alive, For the vision concerns the whole multitude, And it shall not turn back; Nor will anyone strengthen himself who lives by wrongdoing. They will throw their silver into the streets, And their gold will be like refuse; Their silver and their gold will not be able to deliver them In the day of the wrath of the Lord; They will not satisfy their souls, Nor fill their stomachs, Because it caused them to stumble in their iniquity. (Ezekiel 7:11-13, 19)
...‘Thus says the Lord God: “On that day it shall come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will make an evil plan: 11 You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates’— 12 to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land. 13 Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions will say to you, ‘Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?’ ” ’ (Ezekiel 38:10-13)
He shall enter peaceably, even into the richest places of the province; and he shall do what his fathers have not done, nor his forefathers: he shall disperse among them the plunder, spoil, and riches; and he shall devise his plans against the strongholds, but only for a time. (Daniel 11:24)
But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with riches, and valuables, and precious things. (Daniel 11:38)
He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels. (Daniel 11:43)
Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, And your spoil will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken, the houses rifled, And the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. (Zechariah 14:1-2)
Judah also will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations Shall be gathered together: Gold, silver, and apparel in great abundance. (Zechariah 14:14)
Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; (Luke 17:28)
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, (2 Timothy 3:1-2)
And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.” (Revelation 6:6)
And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!” (Revelation 6:15-16)
But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts. (Revelation 9:20-21)
He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. (Revelation 13:16-17)
The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. (Revelation 17:4)
For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.” (Revelation 18:3)
And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore: merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men. The fruits that your soul longed for have gone from you, and all the things which were rich and splendid have gone from you, and you shall find them no more at all. The merchants of these things, who were made rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, and saying, “Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls! For in one hour such great riches came to nothing.” Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, “What is like this great city?” They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying, “Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth! For in one hour she is made desolate.” (Revelation 18:11-19)
Dishonest people in church/religious settings
...“For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt, then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever. Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know, and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered to do all these abominations’? ... Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” says the Lord. (Jeremiah 7:5-9, 11)
Her heads judge for a bribe, Her priests teach for pay, And her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the Lord, and say, “Is not the Lord among us? No harm can come upon us.” (Micah 3:11)
Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ” (Matthew 21:12-13)
Then they came to Jerusalem. And Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. Then He taught, saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ” (Mark 11:15-17)
Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ” (Luke 19:45-46)
And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” (John 2:14-16)
Now for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be burdensome to you; for I do not seek yours, but you. For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. (2 Corinthians 12:14)
A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; (1 Timothy 3:2-3)
Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, (1 Timothy 3:8)
...useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself. Now godliness with contentment is great gain. (1 Timothy 6:5-6)
For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain. (Titus 1:10-11)
The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; (1 Peter 5:1-2)
Perspective
One who loves money will never get enough
He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity. When goods increase, they increase who eat them; So what profit has the owner Except to see them with his eyes? (Ecclesiastes 5:10-11)
Miscellaneous verses
Many waters cannot quench love, Nor can the floods drown it. If a man would give for love All the wealth of his house, It would be utterly despised. (Song of Solomon 8:7)
And it shall be, as with people, so with priest; as with servant, so with master; as with maid, so with mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with the debtor. (Isaiah 24:2)
For thus says the Lord: “You have sold yourselves for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money.” (Isaiah 52:3)
How the gold has become dim! How changed the fine gold! The stones of the sanctuary are scattered At the head of every street. The precious sons of Zion, Valuable as fine gold, How they are now considered as earthen pitchers, The work of the hands of the potter! (Lamentations 4:1-2)
But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. (Matthew 22:5)
Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” (Luke 12:13-15)
He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his goods. So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’ Then the steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do, for my master is taking the stewardship away from me? I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’ So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred measures of, and write eighty.’ So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light. And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own? No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him. (Luke 16:1-14)
And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.” Then Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.” (Acts 8:18-24)
...just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved. (1 Corinthians 10:33)
But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, ... as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things. (2 Corinthians 6:4, 10)
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. (Colossians 3:1-5)
For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; (1 Timothy 4:4)
...for you had compassion on those in chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. (Hebrews 10:34)
By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. (Hebrews 11:24-26)
Good in spite of money offered for evil
Then Joab said to the man who told him, “Look, you saw him! And why did you not strike him to the ground there? I would have given you ten shekels of silver and a belt.” But the man said to Joab, “Though I were to receive a thousand shekels of silver in my hand, I would not lift my hand against the king’s son. For in our hearing the king commanded you, Abishai, and Ittai, saying, ‘Beware lest anyone touch the young man Absalom!’ (2 Samuel 18:11-12)
Mercenary
Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. And Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not allow anyone to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and the treasuries of the king’s house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants. And King Asa sent them to Ben-Hadad, the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying, “There is a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you a present of silver and gold. Come and break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me.” So Ben-Hadad heeded King Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel. He attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maachah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. (1 Kings 15:16-20)
Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war; and they besieged Ahaz but could not overcome him. ... And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house, and sent it as a present to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria heeded him; for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus and took it, and carried its people captive to Kir, and killed Rezin. (2 Kings 16:5, 8-9)
Then Asa brought out silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the Lord and of the king’s house, and sent to Ben-Hadad king of Syria, who dwelt at Damascus, saying, “Let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between your father and my father. See, I am sending you silver and gold; go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.” So Ben-Hadad heeded King Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel. They attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim, and all the storage cities of Naphtali. (2 Chronicles 16:2-4)
Litigation
But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear. ... No one calls for justice, nor does anyone plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies; they conceive evil and bring forth iniquity. (Isaiah 59:2, 4)
Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest the adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny. (Matthew 5:25-26)
If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. (Matthew 5:40)
To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. (Luke 6:29-30)
When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite. (Luke 12:58-59)
Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life? If then you have judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge? I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you, not even one, who will be able to judge between his brethren? But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers! Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated? No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren! (1 Corinthians 6:1-8)
The wicked oppose the work of God when it costs them money
Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour. But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities. (Acts 16:16-19)
For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, brought no small profit to the craftsmen. He called them together with the workers of similar occupation, and said: “Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade. Moreover you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands. So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship.” (Acts 19:24-27)