42 Bible Verses about Coveting, prohibition of
Most Relevant Verses
"You shall not covet the house of your neighbor; you will not covet the wife of your neighbor or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that [is] your neighbor's."
'And you shall not covet the wife of your neighbor, and you shall not crave the house of your neighbor, his field or his slave or his slave woman or his ox and his donkey or anything {that belongs to your neighbor}.'
What then shall we say? [Is] the law sin? May it never be! But I would not have known sin except through the law, for I would not have known covetousness if the law had not said, "Do not covet." But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all [kinds of] covetousness. For apart from the law, sin [is] dead.
For the [commandments], "You shall not commit adultery, you shall not commit murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet," and if [there is] any other commandment, are summed up in this statement: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love does not commit evil against a neighbor. Therefore love [is the] fulfillment of the law.
Ah! Those who {join} house with house, they join field together with field until {there is no place} and you are caused to dwell alone in the midst of the land.
I was angry because of his sin of gain, and I struck him; I hid and I was angry, but he walked apostate, in the ways of his heart.
And they come to you {as people do}, and they sit {before you}, and my people hear your words, and they do not do them, for they [are] showing passion in their mouth, but their heart [is] going after ill-gotten gain.
Thus says Yahweh: "For three transgressions of Israel and for four I will not revoke [the punishment], because they sell the righteous for money and the poor for a pair of sandals!
Therefore, because you trample on [the] poor and you take a grain tax from them, you built houses of dressed stone, but you will not live in them. You built vineyards of delightfulness, but you will not drink their wine. For I know your transgressions [are] many and your sins [are] numerous, [you] foes of [the] righteous, those who take a bribe, and {those who} push aside [the] poor [ones] in the gate!
saying, "When will the new moon be over, so that we can sell grain? And the Sabbath, so that we can open the grain bins, that we can make [the] ephah small and make [the] shekel large, and can practice deceit [with] a set of scales of deceit? {That we can} buy [the] powerless with silver and [the] poor for the sake of a pair of sandals, and we can sell the waste of the grain?"
They covet fields and seize [them], and houses, and they take [them] away. They oppress a man and his house; a man and his inheritance.
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and consuming [insect] destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor consuming [insect] destroy and where thieves do not break in or steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
And he said to them, "Watch out and guard yourselves from all greediness, because not [even] when someone has an abundance {does} his life [consist] of his possessions."
It happened {late one afternoon} [that] David got up from his bed and walked about on the roof of the king's house, and he saw a woman bathing on her roof. Now the woman {was very beautiful}. David sent and inquired about the woman, and [someone] said, "[Is] this not Bathsheba the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" Then David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) And she returned to her house.
"Arise, go down to meet Ahab the king of Israel who is in Samaria. Look in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession of it. You shall say to him, 'Thus says Yahweh: "Have you committed murder and also taken possession?" ' You shall also say to him, 'Thus says Yahweh: "In the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, the dogs will also lick your blood." '"
At that time the disciples came up to Jesus, saying, "Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And calling a child [to himself], he had him stand in their midst and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you turn around and become like young children, you will never enter into the kingdom of heaven!
And they came to Capernaum. And [after he] was in the house, he asked them, "What were you discussing on the way?" But they were silent, because they had argued with one another on the way [about] who [was] greatest. And he sat down [and] called the twelve and said to them, "If anyone wants to be first, he will be last of all and servant of all."
And an argument developed among them as to who of them might be greatest. But Jesus, [because he] knew the thoughts of their hearts, took hold of a child and had him stand beside him and said to them, "Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For the one who is least among you all--this one is great."
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Neither sexually immoral people, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor passive homosexual partners, nor dominant homosexual partners, nor thieves, nor greedy persons, not drunkards, not abusive persons, not swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
But Peter said, "Ananias, for what [reason] has Satan filled your heart, [that] you lied to the Holy Spirit and kept back for yourself [some] of the proceeds of the piece of land? [When it] remained to you, did it not remain [yours]? And [when it] was sold, was it at your disposal? How [is it] that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to people, but to God!" And [when] Ananias heard these words, he fell down [and] died. And great fear came on all those who heard about [it].read more.
So the young men stood up, wrapped him up, and carried [him] out [and] buried [him]. And it happened that [there was] an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter said to her, "Tell me whether you [both] were paid this much [for] the piece of land." And she said, "Yes, this much." So Peter [said] to her, "How [is it] that it was agreed by you [two] to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who buried your husband [are] at the door, and they will carry you out!" And immediately she fell down at his feet and died. So [when] the young men came in, they found her dead, and carried [her] out [and] buried [her] with her husband.
I saw among the spoil a beautiful robe from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and one bar of gold [that] weighed fifty shekels; I coveted them and took them. They [are] hidden in the ground inside my tent, and the silver [is] under it."
You shall burn the images of their gods with fire; you shall not covet [the] silver or gold [that is] on them, and [so] you take [it] for yourself, so that you are not ensnared by it, for it [is] a detestable thing to Yahweh your God.
Did not Achan son of Zerah commit treachery with devoted things, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? {And he alone} did not perish because of his iniquity.'"
Now the sons of Eli [were] {worthless scoundrels}; they did not know Yahweh. And the custom of the priests with the people [was this]: When any man {brought a sacrifice}, as the meat was boiling, the servant of the priest would take a three-pronged meat fork in his hand and would thrust it into the pan or into the kettle or into the cauldron or into the cooking pot. All that the meat fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This [is] what they used to do to all of the Israelites who came there at Shiloh.read more.
Also, before they {offered up} the fat as a burnt offering, the servant of the priest would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, "Give the priest meat for roasting, for he will not take boiled meat from you, but only {raw}."
But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after gain, they took bribes, and they perverted justice.
However, Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and the cattle and the second [best] of the young fatlings and {all that was valuable}; they were not willing to utterly destroy them. But all the possessions that were despised or worthless, they utterly destroyed. Then the word of Yahweh came to Samuel, saying,
Sheol and barrenness of womb, the land is not satisfied [with] water, and fire does not say "enough!"
"For from the smallest of them to the greatest of them, {everyone} makes profit for unlawful gain. And from the prophet to the priest, {everyone} practices deceit.
Therefore I will give their wives to others, their fields to conquerors, because from [the] smallest to [the] greatest, all of them make profit [for] unlawful gain, from prophet to priest, all of them practice deceit.
{How much less} the defiant; [the] arrogant, treacherous man? He who broadens his throat like Sheol, and who, like death, is not satisfied, and who gathers to himself all the nations, and harvested for himself all the peoples, will not succeed.
And Simon himself also believed, and [after he] was baptized he was {keeping close company with} Philip. And [when he] saw the signs and great miracles that were taking place, he was astonished. Now [when] the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who went down [and] prayed for them so that they would receive the Holy Spirit.read more.
(For he had not yet fallen on any of them, {but they had only been baptized} in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then they placed [their] hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. Now Simon, [when he] saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, offered them money, saying, "Give to me also this power, so that whomever I place [my] hands on may receive the Holy Spirit!" But Peter said to him, "May your silver {be destroyed along with you}, because you thought {you could acquire} the gift of God by means of money! {You have no} part or share in this matter, because your heart is not right before God. Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and ask the Lord if perhaps the intent of your heart may be forgiven you!" For I see you are in {a state of bitter envy} and {bound by unrighteousness}."
Here I am! Testify against me before Yahweh and before his anointed one! Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I exploited? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe, that I may shut my eyes {regarding} him?-then I will restore it to you." Then they said, "You have not exploited us or oppressed us, and you have not taken anything from the hand of anyone." So he said to them, "Yahweh [is] witness against you, and his anointed one [is] witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand." Then they said, "[He is] witness."
I have desired no one's silver or gold or clothing!
If others share this right over you, do we not [do so] even more? Yet we have not made use of this right, but we endure all [things], in order that we may not cause any hindrance to the gospel of Christ.
{Make room for us in your hearts}. We have wronged no one, we have ruined no one, we have defrauded no one.
And [when I] was present with you and was in need, I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my need, and in everything I kept myself from being a burden to you, and will keep [myself from being a burden].
Behold, this third [time] I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden [to you]. For I am not seeking your possessions, but you. For children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. But I will spend and be expended most gladly for your lives. If I love you much more, am I to be loved less? But let [it] be. I have not been a burden to you, but [because I] was crafty, I took you by cunning.read more.
I have not taken advantage of you {through anyone whom I sent to you}, [have I]? I urged Titus [to go], and I sent the brother [with him]. Titus did not take advantage of you, [did he]? Did we not conduct ourselves in the same spirit? Did we not walk in the same footsteps?
{For never} did we come with a word of flattery, just as you know, nor with a pretext of greediness (God [is] witness),
But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.
Pursue love, and strive for spiritual [gifts], but especially that you may prophesy.
The saying [is] trustworthy: if anyone aspires to supervision, he desires a good work.
