43 Bible Verses about Rich, The

"The kingdom of heaven is similar to a person finding a treasure hidden in a field. After finding it, he was so happy he hid it [again], then went out and sold everything he owned so he could buy that field. "Again, the kingdom of heaven is similar to a [retail] merchant searching to buy some fine pearls. When he found an extremely valuable one he went and sold all that he owned and bought it.

"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is similar to a certain king who decided to settle his account with his servants.

"The kingdom of heaven is similar to a certain king who held a wedding reception for his son.

But Jesus replied to him, "A certain man prepared a lavish supper and invited many [guests].

"For the kingdom of heaven is similar to a man who planned to go on a trip to a distant country, so called his servants and entrusted to each of them a large sum of money [Note: The narrative that follows suggests that the man was turning over some of his assets to financial managers to invest for him].

So, He said, "A certain distinguished gentleman went to a distant country to receive a royal appointment [i.e., as king over a territory] and then return. [Note: This is the only parable of Jesus' that correlates with a known incident; that of Herod's son Archelaus going to Rome to receive from Caesar Augustus an appointment to rule over Judea, Samaria and Idumaea in

And He told them a parable [i.e., a brief story to illustrate His teaching], saying, "The land of a certain rich man produced a bumper crop,

Then Jesus said, "A certain man had two sons. The younger one said to his father, 'Father, [please] give me my share of your property that I have coming.' So, the father divided up what he had to live on [with his two sons]. And a few days later, this younger son gathered everything together and traveled to a distant country where he squandered his possessions in wild living.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "There was a certain rich man who had a property manager who was reported to be squandering his possessions.

"Two men went up to the Temple [in Jerusalem] to pray. One of them was a Pharisee and the other one was a tax collector.

[Solemnly] urge those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant, nor to place their hope in the uncertainty of [their] wealth, but in God, who generously supplies us with everything to enjoy.

For you are saying, 'I am wealthy; I have made plenty of money and do not need anything.' But you do not know that you are [spiritually] wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.

"So I tell you, do not worry about [the material things of] your life, [such as] what you will eat or what you will drink, or about what you will wear on your body. There are more important things in life than food, and more important things about your body than the clothing you wear. Look at the birds in the sky; they do not plant seeds or harvest [a crop] or store [things] in barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them [adequately]. Are you not a lot more valuable than they are? And which one of you can worry yourself into living a single day longer?read more.
And why are you worrying about clothing? Consider how [wild] lilies grow in a field; they do not work or weave, yet I tell you that even Solomon, clothed in his very finest royal robes, was never dressed [as luxuriously] as one of these flowers. So, if God so [beautifully] dresses the grass in a field, which is [green] today, and [then] tomorrow [dries up and] is thrown in the oven [i.e., as fuel], will He not do even more in providing your clothing, you people with such little faith? Therefore, do not worry by asking, 'What are we going to eat?' or 'What are we going to drink?' or 'What are we going to wear?' For these are the things that the [unconverted] Gentiles keep trying to get. But your heavenly Father [already] knows you need these things. So, you should put the kingdom of God and what He says is right first [in your lives], then all these things [i.e., food, drink and clothing] will be provided for you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have enough to be worried about in itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "So, I tell you, do not worry about [the material things of] your life, [such as] what you will eat or what you will wear on your body. For there are more important things in life than food, and [more important things about] your body than the clothing [you wear]. Look at the ravens; they do not plant seeds or harvest [a crop]; they do not have a storage locker or a barn, and [yet] God feeds them [adequately]. Are you not a lot more valuable than those birds?read more.
And which one of you can worry yourself into living a single day longer? So, if you are not able to do even a little thing like that, why are you worrying about the rest? "Consider how [wild] lilies grow; they do not work or weave, yet I tell you, even Solomon, clothed in his very finest royal robes, was never dressed [as luxuriously] as one of these [flowers]. But if God so [beautifully] dresses the grass in a field, which is [green] today, and [then] tomorrow [dries up and] is thrown into the oven [i.e., as fuel], will He not do even more in providing your clothing, you people with such little faith? So, do not look [anxiously] for what you will eat, and what you will drink, and do not be [continually] worried [i.e., about such things]. For all these things are what the [unconverted] nations of the world keep trying to get. But your Father [already] knows you need these things. So, look for God's kingdom and these things [i.e., food, drink and clothing] will be provided for you.

And He told them a parable [i.e., a brief story to illustrate His teaching], saying, "The land of a certain rich man produced a bumper crop, so he thought to himself, 'What should I do, because I do not have any [more] room to store my crops?' Then he said [to himself], 'This is what I will do. I will tear down my barns and build larger [ones]; then I will store all my grain and [other] goods there [i.e., farm supplies].read more.
And I will say to myself, 'Soul, you have plenty of goods [i.e., grain and supplies] stored up for many years, [so], take it easy; eat, drink and have fun.' But God said to him, 'You fool! Tonight your life will be taken away from you. And [then] who will get the things you have stored up [for yourself]?' This is [the way it will be with] the person who stores up treasures for himself, and [yet] is not rich toward God [i.e., does place enough importance on spiritual things]."

"Do not store your valuables [here] on earth, where moths can eat them and where rust can corrode them, and where burglars can break in and steal [them].

For we did not bring anything into the world, and we cannot take anything out of it either.

And the wealthy person [should be happy] that he is humbled [by God], because he will pass away like a flower [blossoming] from grass. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass [so that] its flower [blossoms] fall off, and its beautiful appearance is destroyed. In the same way, the wealthy person will fade away as he goes about his business [affairs].

Jesus said to His disciples, "Truly I tell you, it is difficult for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I tell you, it is [actually] easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." When the disciples heard this, they were utterly amazed, saying, "Who then can [possibly] be saved?"read more.
Jesus looked at them and said, "This would be impossible with men, but everything is possible with God."

Then Jesus looked around Him and said to His disciples, "How difficult it is for rich people to enter the kingdom of God " And His disciples were amazed at what He said. But Jesus spoke to them again and said, "How difficult it is [for anyone] to enter the kingdom of God It is [actually] easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God."read more.
And they were utterly amazed and said to Him, "Then who can [possibly] be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "This would be impossible with men, but not with God, for everything is possible with God."

Now Jesus looked at him and said, "How difficult [it is] for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! For it is [actually] easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a wealthy person to enter the kingdom of God." And those who heard this said, "Then who can [possibly] be saved?"read more.
Jesus answered, "The things that are impossible with people are [certainly] possible with God."

And the person who was sown among the thorns is the one who hears the message, but the anxieties of the world [i.e., of life] and the deceptiveness of [material] riches choke the message and he becomes unproductive.

And other seeds represent those who are sown among thorns. These are people who heard 'the word,' but worry [over things] of the world, and the deceitfulness of material wealth, and the evil desires for other things entered their hearts and choked [the effectiveness of] 'the word,' so that it did not yield a crop [in their lives].

And those people [represented by the seed] that fell among thorns are the ones who have heard [the word], and as they go about their business, they become choked by worry, by money and by worldly pleasures, and produce no mature crop.

Then a rich, young man [See verse 22] came to Him and said, "Teacher, what good deed should I do in order to have never ending life?" Jesus answered him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is [only] One who is good [i.e., God]. But if you want to enter [never ending] life, [then] obey His commandments." The young man asked Him, "Which [ones]?" Jesus answered, "You must not murder. You must not be sexually unfaithful to your mate. You must not steal. You must not give false testimony.read more.
Show honor to your father and mother. And you must love your neighbor the same as you love yourself." The young man said to Him, "I have [already] been observing all of these commandments. What do I [still] lack?" Jesus replied, "If you want to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give [the money] to poor people; then become my follower and you will have treasure in heaven." But when the young man heard these words, he went away saddened, for he had many possessions.

As Jesus was leaving to go on His way, a man ran to Him and kneeled down in front of Him and asked, "Good Teacher, what should I do in order to possess never ending life?" Jesus answered him, "Why are you calling me good? Nobody is good except One, that is, God. You know the commandments: Do not murder. Do not be sexually unfaithful to your mate. Do not steal. Do not give false testimony. Do not cheat. Show honor to your father and mother."read more.
And he replied, "Teacher, I have [already] been observing all these commandments since I was a young lad." And Jesus looked at him, and filled with love, said to him, "There is one thing you [still] lack. Go and sell your possessions and give [the money] to poor people; become my follower, then you will have treasure in heaven." But the man had a sad look on his face when he heard these words, and went away sorrowful, for he had many possessions.

Then a certain ruler [Note: This man was young and rich. See Matt. 19:16-22] asked Jesus, "Good Teacher, what should I do in order to inherit never ending life?" Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me 'good'? No one is good except God only. You know the commandments: Do not be sexually unfaithful to your mate. Do not murder. Do not steal. Do not give false testimony. Show honor to your father and mother."read more.
And the ruler replied, "I have [already] been observing all of these commandments since I was [very] young." When Jesus heard this He said to him, " [There is] one thing you still lack. Sell all your possessions and distribute [the money] to poor people; become my follower, [then] you will have treasure in heaven." But when the ruler heard these words, he became very sad for he was extremely rich.

He has filled the hungry with good things and has sent the rich away empty-handed.

Come on now, you rich people, cry and wail over the miseries that are coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted and moths have eaten your clothing. Your gold and silver have tarnished and their tarnish will be a testimony against you [i.e., you have hoarded your wealth instead of using it to benefit others], and they will devour your flesh as fire [i.e., your riches will ultimately consume you]. You have hoarded up your riches in these last days.read more.
Look, the wages you have fraudulently refused to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out [against you]. And the cries of these harvest hands have reached the ears of the Lord of [heavenly] armies [i.e., Almighty God].

But you people have dishonored the poor person. Are not rich people the ones who oppress you and drag you to court?

You have condemned and murdered the righteous man [i.e., the innocent person, See verse 4] and he does not [even] resist you.

You people have basked in luxury [here] on earth and lived lives devoted to pleasure. You have fattened yourselves [as sacrificial oxen] for the day of slaughter.

"Now there was a certain rich man who was dressed in purple [clothing] and soft linen [garments] and who lived every day in pleasure and luxury. And a certain beggar named Lazarus, who was full of sores, was laid at the rich man's doorway. He longed to be fed with scraps that fell from the rich man's table and even dogs came and licked his sores.read more.
And it happened that the beggar died and [his spirit] was carried away by angels to a place close to Abraham. And the rich man also died and [his body] was buried. And in the unseen place of departed spirits the rich man, who was being tormented, looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus close beside him. And he shouted out, 'Forefather Abraham, take pity on me and send Lazarus [to me], so he can dip the tip of his finger in water [and touch] my tongue to cool it, because I am in agony in these flames.' But Abraham said [to him], 'Son, remember how you enjoyed good things when you were alive [on earth] and how Lazarus had to put up with bad things? But now here [i.e., in the unseen place of departed spirits] he is being comforted and you are in agony. And besides all this, there is a huge chasm situated between us and you so that those who wanted to go from here to there [where you are] cannot do it. And no one can cross over from there to us [over here].' Then the rich man said, 'I beg you therefore, forefather [Abraham], that you would send Lazarus to my father's house, where I have five brothers. Then he could warn them so that they will not [have to] come to this [terrible] place of torment also.' But Abraham said, 'They have [the writings of] Moses and the prophets; let them pay attention to them.' Then the rich man said, 'No, forefather Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, [then] they will repent [i.e., change their hearts and lives].' And Abraham replied, 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded [even] if someone rises from the dead [i.e., to come back and warn them].'"

Do they not speak against the honorable name by which you are called? [i.e., the name "Christ" or "Christian"].

"Do not store your valuables [here] on earth, where moths can eat them and where rust can corrode them, and where burglars can break in and steal [them]. But [rather] store up your valuables in heaven [i.e., by investing your life in spiritual things], where neither moths can eat nor rust corrode, nor burglars break in and steal, for wherever [you store] your valuables, that is where your heart [i.e., your real concern] will be also.

So, do not look [anxiously] for what you will eat, and what you will drink, and do not be [continually] worried [i.e., about such things]. For all these things are what the [unconverted] nations of the world keep trying to get. But your Father [already] knows you need these things. So, look for God's kingdom and these things [i.e., food, drink and clothing] will be provided for you.

[In that way] they will store up for themselves a treasure [of never ending rewards] for providing a solid foundation for the future, so that they can take hold of the true life [i.e., in heaven].

[Urge them] to do what is good, to be rich in [the practice of] good deeds, to be generous and willing to share [with others].

Jesus replied, "If you want to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give [the money] to poor people; then become my follower and you will have treasure in heaven."

And Jesus looked at him, and filled with love, said to him, "There is one thing you [still] lack. Go and sell your possessions and give [the money] to poor people; become my follower, then you will have treasure in heaven."

When Jesus heard this He said to him, " [There is] one thing you still lack. Sell all your possessions and distribute [the money] to poor people; become my follower, [then] you will have treasure in heaven."

And he answered them, "The person who has two coats should give [one of them] to the person who does not have any; and the person who has food should do the same thing."

But you should give to poor people what you have inside. [Note: This means either what is inside the dish, or what is inside your heart]. And [then] you will see that everything is [ceremonially] clean to you [as well].