96 Bible Verses on Money

By:
Chris Martin
Perspective:
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The Bible has a lot to say about money. A common misconception is that Scripture says that “Money is the root of all evil.” In fact, as you can see below, it is the love of money that is the root of all kinds of evil (1 Tim. 6:7-10). How we think about money is related to our faith. Christians should have a different relationship with money than non-Christians. For instance, Christians are called to honor God with their finances, and to generously give away money to those who need it (even when it’s difficult).

What other ways does Scripture talk about money that may be surprising to you? Check out our collection of verses below.


What Does the Bible Say About Money?

Old Testament

Exodus 22:25
If you lend silver to my people, to the poor person among you, you must not be like a creditor to him; you must not charge him interest.

Deuteronomy 15:7
If there is a poor person among you, one of your brothers within any of your city gates in the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother.

Deuteronomy 16:17
Everyone must appear with a gift suited to his means, according to the blessing the Lord your God has given you.

Deuteronomy 28:12
The Lord will open for you his abundant storehouse, the sky, to give your land rain in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow.

1 Samuel 2:7
The Lord brings poverty and gives wealth;
he humbles and he exalts.

2 Chronicles 1:11-12
God said to Solomon, ‘Since this was in your heart, and you have not requested riches, wealth, or glory, or for the life of those who hate you, and you have not even requested long life, but you have requested for yourself wisdom and knowledge that you may judge my people over whom I have made you king, wisdom and knowledge are given to you. I will also give you riches, wealth, and glory, unlike what was given to the kings who were before you, or will be given to those after you.’

Psalm 37:16-17
The little that the righteous person has is better
than the abundance of many wicked people.
For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
but the Lord supports the righteous.

Psalm 37:21
The wicked person borrows and does not repay,
but the righteous one is gracious and giving.

Psalms 62:10
Place no trust in oppression
or false hope in robbery.
If wealth increases,
don’t set your heart on it.

[Check out Master Your Money by Ron and Michael Blue for more on this topic.]

Proverbs 1:19
Such are the paths of all who make profit dishonestly;
it takes the lives of those who receive it.

Proverbs 3:9
Honor the Lord with your possessions
and with the first produce of your entire harvest.

Proverbs 10:4
Idle hands make one poor,
but diligent hands bring riches.

Proverbs 11:4
Wealth is not profitable on a day of wrath,
but righteousness rescues from death.

Proverbs 11:28
Anyone trusting in his riches will fall,
but the righteous will flourish like foliage.

Proverbs 13:11
Wealth obtained by fraud will dwindle,
but whoever earns it through labor will multiply it.

Proverbs 16:8
Better a little with righteousness
than great income with injustice.

Proverbs 16:16
Get wisdom —
how much better it is than gold!
And get understanding —
it is preferable to silver.

Proverbs 17:16
Why does a fool have money in his hand
with no intention of buying wisdom?

Proverbs 18:11
The wealth of the rich is his fortified city;
in his imagination it is like a high wall.

Proverbs 22:16
Oppressing the poor to enrich oneself,
and giving to the rich ​— ​both lead only to poverty.

Proverbs 22:26-27
Don’t be one of those who enter agreements,
who put up security for loans.
If you have nothing with which to pay,
even your bed will be taken from under you.

Proverbs 23:4-5
Don’t wear yourself out to get rich;
because you know better, stop!
As soon as your eyes fly to it, it disappears,
for it makes wings for itself
and flies like an eagle to the sky.

Proverbs 28:8
Whoever increases his wealth through excessive interest
collects it for one who is kind to the poor.

Proverbs 28:20
A faithful person will have many blessings,
but one in a hurry to get rich
will not go unpunished.

Proverbs 28:22
A greedy one is in a hurry for wealth;
he doesn’t know that poverty will come to him.

[Check out Your Money Map by Howard Dayton for more on this topic.]

Proverbs 30:8-9
Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me.
Give me neither poverty nor wealth;
feed me with the food I need.
Otherwise, I might have too much
and deny you, saying, ‘Who is the Lord?’
or I might have nothing and steal,
profaning the name of my God.

Ecclesiastes 5:10
The one who loves silver is never satisfied with silver, and whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with income. This too is futile.

Ecclesiastes 5:18-20
Here is what I have seen to be good: It is appropriate to eat, drink, and experience good in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of his life God has given him, because that is his reward. Furthermore, everyone to whom God has given riches and wealth, he has also allowed him to enjoy them, take his reward, and rejoice in his labor. This is a gift of God, for he does not often consider the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.

Ecclesiastes 7:11-12
Wisdom is as good as an inheritance
and an advantage to those who see the sun,
because wisdom is protection as silver is protection;
but the advantage of knowledge
is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.

Malachi 3:10
‘Bring the full tenth into the storehouse so that there may be food in my house. Test me in this way,’ says the Lord of Armies. ‘See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure.’

New Testament

Matthew 6:1-4
Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father in heaven. So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Matthew 6:19-21
Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:24
No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Matthew 13:22
Now the one sown among the thorns ​— ​this is one who hears the word, but the worries of this age and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

Matthew 13:44
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.

Matthew 19:21
‘If you want to be perfect,’ Jesus said to him, ‘go, sell your belongings and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’

Matthew 21:12-13
Jesus went into the temple and threw out all those buying and selling. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. He said to them, “”It is written, my house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of thieves!”

Mark 12:41-44
Sitting across from the temple treasury, he watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich people were putting in large sums. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little. Summoning his disciples, he said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. For they all gave out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had ​— ​all she had to live on.’

Luke 3:12-14
Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they asked him, ‘Teacher, what should we do?’ He told them, ‘Don’t collect any more than what you have been authorized.’ Some soldiers also questioned him, ‘What should we do?’ He said to them, ‘Don’t take money from anyone by force or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.’

Luke 12:15
He then told them, ‘Watch out and be on guard against all greed, because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.’

[Check out Wise Women Managing Money by Miriam Neff and Valerie Neff Hogan for more on this topic.]

Luke 12:33-34
Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Make money-bags for yourselves that won’t grow old, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Luke 16:13-15
‘No servant can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and scoffing at him. And he told them, ‘You are the ones who justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly admired by people is revolting in God’s sight.’

Acts 2:44-45
Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. 45 They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need.

Acts 4:34-35
For there was not a needy person among them because all those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the proceeds of what was sold, 35 and laid them at the apostles’ feet. This was then distributed to each person as any had need.

Acts 8:20
But Peter told him, ‘May your silver be destroyed with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!’

Romans 13:8
Pay your obligations to everyone: taxes to those you owe taxes, tolls to those you owe tolls, respect to those you owe respect, and honor to those you owe honor. Do not owe anyone anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

1 Corinthians 16:2
On the first day of the week, each of you is to set something aside and save in keeping with how he is prospering, so that no collections will need to be made when I come.

Philippians 4:11-13
I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself. I know how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content ​— ​whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me.

1 Timothy 6:7-10
For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out. If we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

1 Timothy 6:17-19
Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and willing to share, storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of what is truly life.

Hebrews 13:5
Keep your life free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for he himself has said, I will never leave you or abandon you.

James 5:1-6
Come now, you rich people, weep and wail over the miseries that are coming on you. Your wealth has rotted and your clothes are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up treasure in the last days. Look! The pay that you withheld from the workers who mowed your fields cries out, and the outcry of the harvesters has reached the ears of the Lord of Armies. You have lived luxuriously on the earth and have indulged yourselves. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned, you have murdered the righteous, who does not resist you.

1 Peter 5:2-3
Shepherd God’s flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed for money but eagerly; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

1 John 2:15-17
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world ​— ​the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions ​— ​is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does the will of God remains forever.

Revelation 3:17
For you say, ‘I’m rich; I have become wealthy and need nothing,’ and you don’t realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.

For Further Reading:

Master Your Money

by Ron Blue with Michael Blue

A step-by-step guide to financial freedom Do you know if you have enough? Do you know how much is enough? If you can’t answer these...

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