Bible Verses About Covetousness: General references

If I have put my trust in gold or called pure gold my security,

if I have rejoiced in my great wealth because my hand had gained so much,

The craving of the slacker kills him because his hands refuse to work.

All day long he covets more, but the righteous give without restraint.

Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself.

When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.

Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread that is my portion.

Otherwise, I may have too much and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, profaning the name of my God.

“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”

What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?

Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.

The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises.

The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course.

All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place from which the streams come, there again they flow.

All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing.

He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile.

When good things increase, so do those who consume them; what then is the profit to the owner, except to behold them with his eyes?

In you they take bribes to shed blood. You engage in usury, take excess interest, and extort your neighbors. But Me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.

Now look, I strike My hands together against your unjust gain and against the blood you have shed in your midst.

The foe pulls all of them up with a hook; he catches them in his dragnet, and gathers them in his fishing net; so he rejoices gladly.

Therefore he sacrifices to his dragnet and burns incense to his fishing net, for by these things his portion is sumptuous and his food is rich.

and wealth indeed betrays him. He is an arrogant man never at rest. He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, and like Death, he is never satisfied. He gathers all the nations to himself and collects all the peoples as his own.

Will not all of these take up a taunt against him, speaking with mockery and derision: ‘Woe to him who amasses what is not his and makes himself rich with many loans! How long will this go on?’

Will not your creditors suddenly arise and those who disturb you awaken? Then you will become their prey.

Because you have plundered many nations, the remnant of the people will plunder you— because of your bloodshed against man and your violence against the land, the city, and all their dwellers.