68 Bible Verses about Buying and selling

Then Abraham stood up before his dead [wife’s body], and spoke to the sons of Heth (Hittites), saying, “I am a stranger and a sojourner (resident alien) among you; give (sell) me property for a burial place among you so that I may bury my dead [in the proper manner].”

So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every Egyptian sold his field because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh’s. And as for the people, he relocated them [temporarily] to cities from one end of Egypt’s border to the other. Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh, and they lived on the amount which Pharaoh gave them, so they did not sell their land.

He said to the closest relative (redeemer), “Naomi, who has returned from the country of Moab, must sell the plot of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech.

She considers a field before she buys or accepts it [expanding her business prudently];
With her profits she plants fruitful vines in her vineyard.

“I bought the field that was at Anathoth from Hanamel my uncle’s son, and weighed out the money for him, seventeen shekels of silver. I signed the deed and sealed it, and called in witnesses, and weighed out the money on the scales.

So after consultation they used the money to buy the Potter’s Field as a burial place for strangers.

But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have purchased a piece of land and I have to go out and see it; please consider me excused.’

There was not a needy person among them, because those who were owners of land or houses were selling them, and bringing the proceeds of the sales

Another one said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.’

And [the people of] all countries came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the [known] earth.

You will sell me food for money so that I [along with my people] will eat, and you will give me water for money so that I [along with my people] will drink; only let me [and my people] travel through [the land] on foot,

Jesus looked up and saw that a large crowd was coming toward Him, and He said to Philip, “Where will we buy bread for these people to eat?”

Some thought that, since Judas [as the treasurer of the group] had the money box, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or that he was to give something to the poor.

And I heard something like a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius (a day’s wages), and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.”

“And merchants of the earth will weep and grieve over her, because no one buys their cargo (goods, merchandise) anymore— cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet; all kinds of citron (scented) wood and every article of ivory and every article of very costly and lavish wood and bronze and iron and marble; and cinnamon and spices and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat; of cattle and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and carriages; and of slaves and human lives.

Every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, [including] a servant whether born in the house or one who is purchased with [your] money from any foreigner, who is not of your descendants.

“If you purchase a Hebrew servant [because of his debt or poverty], he shall serve six years, and in the seventh [year] he shall leave as a free man, paying nothing.

As for your male and female slaves whom you may have—you may acquire male and female slaves from the pagan nations that are around you. Moreover, from the children of the strangers who live as aliens among you, from them you may buy slaves and from their families who are with you, whom they have produced in your land; they may become your possession.

Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman (Gomer) who is beloved by her husband and yet is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love the raisin cakes [used in the feasts in pagan worship].” So I bought her for myself for fifteen pieces of silver and a homer and a half of barley [the price of a common slave].

‘And if your fellow countryman becomes so poor [in his dealings] with you that he sells himself to you [as payment for a debt], you shall not let him do the work of a slave [who is ineligible for redemption], but he is to be with you as a hired man, as if he were a temporary resident; he shall serve with you until the Year of Jubilee,

“For the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of an estate who went out in the morning at dawn to hire workmen for his vineyard. When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard.

The Hittites replied to Abraham, “Listen to us, my lord; you are a prince of God [a mighty prince] among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our graves; none of us will refuse you his grave or hinder you from burying your dead [wife].” So Abraham stood up and bowed to the people of the land, the Hittites. read more.
And Abraham said to them, “If you are willing to grant my dead a [proper] burial, listen to me, and plead with Ephron the son of Zohar for me, so that he may give (sell) me the cave of Machpelah which he owns—it is at the end of his field; let him give it to me here in your presence for the full price as a burial site [which I may keep forever among you].” Now Ephron was present there among the sons of Heth; so within the hearing of all the sons of Heth and all who were entering the gate of his city, Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham, saying, “No, my lord, hear me; I give you the [entire] field, and I also give you the cave that is in it. In the presence of the men of my people I give (sell) it to you; bury your dead [there].” Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land. He said to Ephron in the presence of the people of the land, “If you will only please listen to me and accept my offer. I will give you the price of the field; accept it from me and I will bury my dead there.”

But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will certainly buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God which cost me nothing.” So David purchased the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

‘You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measurement of weight or quantity. You shall have just and accurate balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

Ephron replied to Abraham, “My lord, listen to me. The land [you seek] is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that between you and me? So bury your dead.” So Abraham listened to Ephron [and agreed to his terms]; and he weighed out for Ephron the [amount of] silver which he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants.

“You shall not have in your bag inaccurate weights, a heavy and a light [so you can cheat others]. You shall not have in your house inaccurate measures, a large and a small. You shall have a perfect (full) and just weight, and a perfect and just measure, so that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you. read more.
For everyone who does such things, everyone who acts unjustly [without personal integrity] is utterly repulsive to the Lord your God.

A false balance and dishonest business practices are extremely offensive to the Lord,
But an accurate scale is His delight.

A just balance and [honest] scales are the Lord’s;
All the weights of the bag are His concern [established by His eternal principles].

Differing weights [one for buying and another for selling] and differing measures,
Both of them are detestable and offensive to the Lord.

“It is [almost] worthless, it is [almost] worthless,” says the buyer [as he negotiates the price];
But when he goes his way, then he boasts [about his bargain].

saying,

“When will the New Moon [festival] be over
So that we may sell grain,
And the Sabbath ended so that we may open the wheat market,
Making the ephah [measure] smaller and the shekel bigger [that is, selling less for a higher price]
And to cheat by falsifying the scales,

“Are there not still treasures gained by wickedness
In the house of the wicked,
And a short (inaccurate) measure [for grain] that is cursed?

“Can I [be guiltless and] justify deceptive scales
And a bag of dishonest weights?

The people curse him who holds back grain [when the public needs it],
But a blessing [from God and man] is upon the head of him who sells it.

If you sell anything to your friend or buy from your friend, you shall not wrong one another.

We have to pay for our drinking water;
Our wood comes to us at a price.

So that we may buy the poor [as slaves] for silver [since they are unable to support themselves]
And the needy for a pair of sandals,
And that we may sell the leftovers of the wheat [as if it were a good grade of grain]?”

A few days later, the younger son gathered together everything [that he had] and traveled to a distant country, and there he wasted his fortune in reckless and immoral living.

As for the peoples of the land who bring merchandise or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on a holy day; and we will give up raising crops during the seventh year [leaving the land uncultivated], and forgive every debt.

In those days I saw some in Judah who were treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves or sacks of grain and loading them on donkeys, as well as wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I protested and warned them on the day they sold the produce. Also men of Tyre were living there who brought fish and all kinds of merchandise, and they were selling them to the people of Judah on the Sabbath, even in Jerusalem. Then I reprimanded the nobles of Judah, and said to them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing—profaning the Sabbath day? read more.
Did your fathers (ancestors) not do the same, and did our God not bring all this trouble on us and on this city? Yet you are adding to the wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.” Now when it began to get dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath [began], I commanded that the doors be shut and not be opened until after the Sabbath. Then I stationed some of my servants at the gates so that no load [of merchandise] would enter [Jerusalem] on the Sabbath day. So once or twice the merchants and sellers of every kind of merchandise spent the night outside Jerusalem. But I warned them, saying, “Why do you spend the night by the wall? If you do so again, I will use force against you.” From that time on, they did not come on the Sabbath. And I commanded the Levites to purify themselves and come and guard the gates to keep the Sabbath day holy. O my God, remember me concerning this also and have compassion on me according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness.

And Jesus entered the temple [grounds] and drove out [with force] all who were buying and selling [birds and animals for sacrifice] in the temple area, and He turned over the tables of the moneychangers [who made a profit exchanging foreign money for temple coinage] and the chairs of those who were selling doves [for sacrifice]. Jesus said to them, “It is written [in Scripture], ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers’ den.”

Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple [grounds] and began driving out [with force] the people who were selling and buying [animals for sacrifice] in the temple area, and overturned the tables of the moneychangers [who made a profit exchanging foreign money for temple coinage] and the seats of those who were selling doves; and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise or household wares through the temple [grounds, using the temple area irreverently as a shortcut]. He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a robbers’ den.”

Jesus went into the temple [enclosure] and began driving out those who were selling, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer’; but you have made it a robbers’ den.”

And in the temple [enclosure] He found the people who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers sitting at their tables. He made a whip of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; then to those who sold the doves He said, “Take these things away! Stop making My Father’s house a place of commerce!”

The time has come, the day has arrived. Let not the buyer rejoice nor the seller mourn, for wrath is against all their multitude [of people].

But I say this, believers: the time has been shortened, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they did not; and those who weep, as though they did not weep; and those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; and those who buy, as though they did not possess [anything]; and those who use the world [taking advantage of its opportunities], as though they did not make full use of it. For the outward form of this world [its present social and material nature] is passing away.

Come now [and pay attention to this], you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and carry on our business and make a profit.”

Also he compels all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead [signifying allegiance to the beast], and that no one will be able to buy or sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.

Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” And he answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the Lord.

We know that the Law is spiritual, but I am a creature of the flesh [worldly, self-reliant—carnal and unspiritual], sold into slavery to sin [and serving under its control].

So the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He gave them into the hands (power) of plunderers who robbed them; and He sold them into the hands of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer stand [in opposition] before their enemies.

You sell Your people cheaply,
And have not increased Your wealth by their sale.

But now, this is what the Lord, your Creator says, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel,
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you [from captivity];
I have called you by name; you are Mine!

The Lord declares this;

“Where is the certificate of divorce
By which I have sent your mother away, [O Israel]?
Or to which one of My creditors did I sell you [as slaves]?
In fact, You were sold for your wickedness [your sin, your injustice, your wrongdoing],
And for your transgressions your mother was sent away.

For the Lord says this, “You were sold for nothing and you will be redeemed, but not with money.”

Take care and be on guard for yourselves and for the whole flock over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers, to shepherd (tend, feed, guide) the church of God which He bought with His own blood.

You were bought with a price [you were actually purchased with the precious blood of Jesus and made His own]. So then, honor and glorify God with your body.

You were bought with a price [a precious price paid by Christ]; do not become slaves to men [but to Christ].

For you know that you were not redeemed from your useless [spiritually unproductive] way of life inherited [by tradition] from your forefathers with perishable things like silver and gold, but [you were actually purchased] with precious blood, like that of a [sacrificial] lamb unblemished and spotless, the priceless blood of Christ.

But [in those days] false prophets arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will subtly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves.

Buy truth, and do not sell it;
Get wisdom and instruction and understanding.

“Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;
And you who have no money come, buy grain and eat.
Come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without cost [simply accept it as a gift from God].

“The kingdom of heaven is like a [very precious] treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid again; then in his joy he goes and sells all he has and buys that field [securing the treasure for himself]. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, and upon finding a single pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

But the wise replied, ‘No, otherwise there will not be enough for us and for you, too; go instead to the dealers and buy oil for yourselves.’

I counsel you to buy from Me gold that has been heated red hot and refined by fire so that you may become truly rich; and white clothes [representing righteousness] to clothe yourself so that the shame of your nakedness will not be seen; and healing salve to put on your eyes so that you may see.

“But where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?

“Man does not know the value of it;
Nor is it found in the land of the living.

“The deep says, ‘It is not in me’;
And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
read more.

“It cannot be obtained for pure gold,
Nor can silver be weighed as its price.

“It cannot be valued in [terms of] the gold of Ophir,
In the precious onyx or beryl, or the sapphire.

“Gold and glass cannot equal wisdom,
Nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold.

“No mention of coral and crystal can be made;
For the possession of wisdom is even above [that of] rubies or pearls.

“The topaz of Ethiopia cannot compare with it,
Nor can it be valued in pure gold.

None of them can by any means redeem [either himself or] his brother,
Nor give to God a ransom for him—

For the ransom of his soul is too costly,
And he should cease trying forever—

For what will a man give in exchange for his soul and eternal life [in God’s kingdom]?

But Peter said to him, “May your money be destroyed along with you, because you thought you could buy the [free] gift of God with money!