Bible Verses About The Rich: General references

Then there arose a great outcry from the common people and their wives against their brothers the [wealthier] Judeans.

Some of them said, "Counting our sons and daughters, there are a lot of us! Allow us to get grain for them, so that we can eat and stay alive."

There were also some who said, "We are mortgaging our fields, vineyards and homes in order to buy grain, because of the famine."

Yet others said, "We have borrowed money for the king's taxes against our fields and vineyards.

Now our flesh is no different from the flesh of our kinsmen, and our children are the same as their children; yet we are bringing our sons and daughters into bondage as slaves. Some of our daughters have gone into slavery already, and it's beyond our power to do anything about it, because other men have our fields and vineyards."

When I heard their outcry and the reasons for it, I became very angry.

I thought the matter over and then took issue with the nobles and rulers. I charged them, "You are lending against pledges, everyone to his brother"; and I summoned a great assembly to deal with them.

I said to them, "We, to the limit of our ability, have redeemed our brothers the Judeans who sold themselves to the pagans. Now you are selling your own brothers, and we will have to buy them back!"They stayed silent; they couldn't think of anything to say.

I also said, "What you are doing is not good! You should be living in fear of our God, so that our pagan enemies won't have grounds for deriding us.

Moreover, my brothers and my servants, I too have loaned them money and grain. Please, let's stop making it so burdensome to go into debt.

Please! Today! Give them back their fields, vineyards, olive groves and homes; also the hundred pieces of silver and the grain, wine and olive oil you demand from them as interest."

They answered, "We will give it back. We will require nothing from them. Yes, we will do it, just as you say."Then I called the cohanim and took an oath from them that they would do as they had promised.

Shaking out the fold in my garment, I said, "May God thus shake every man from his house and from his work who fails to live up to this promise - may he be shaken out like this and made empty." The whole assembly said, "Amen!" and praised ADONAI; and the people did as they had promised.

"Why do the wicked go on living, grow old and keep increasing their power?

They see their children settled with them, their posterity assured.

Their houses are safe, with nothing to fear; God's rod is not on them.

Their bulls are fertile without fail, their cows get pregnant and don't miscarry.

They produce flocks of babies, and their children dance around.

They sing with tambourines and lyres and rejoice to the sound of the pipe.

They spend their days in prosperity and go down to the grave in peace.

"Yet to God they said, 'Leave us alone! We don't want to know about your ways.

What is Shaddai, that we should serve him? What do we gain if we pray to him?'

"This is God's reward for the wicked man, the heritage oppressors receive from Shaddai:

if his sons become many, they go to the sword; and his children never have enough to eat.

Those of his who remain are buried by plague, and their widows do not weep.