What does the Bible really say about money? Is every bible verse about money negative?
Should wealth be pursued? Can wealth be enjoyed? Or is money and wealth a stumbling block that should be avoided at all costs?
Today’s post will contain a dozen or so bible verses about money. Let’s uncover around twenty bible verses about wealth, money, and riches.
Old Testament Bible Verses About Money
I highly encourage you to review all of these Bible verses in context.
Genesis 26:12-14 (NASB) Now Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundred times as much. And the Lord blessed him, and the man became rich and continued to grow richer until he became very wealthy; for he had possessions of flocks and herds, and a great household so that the Philistines envied him.
Deuteronomy 8:17-18 Otherwise, you may say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.’ But you are to remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, in order to confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
Ruth 4:11 And all the people who were in the court, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve wealth in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem.
I Samuel 17:25 And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who is coming up? Surely he is coming up to defy Israel. And it will be that the king will make the man who kills him wealthy with great riches, and will give him his daughter and make his father’s house free in Israel.”
I Kings 10:23 So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in wealth and wisdom.
Bible Verses About Money in the Gospels
Jesus spoke about money often. In nearly every instance He was issuing a warning.
Tread cautiously.
Matthew 6:24 No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
Matthew 13:22 And the one sown with seed among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word, and the anxiety of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
Mark 10:23-24 And Jesus, looking around, said to His disciples, “How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus responded again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!
Luke 15:11-13 And He said, “A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that is coming to me.’ And so he divided his wealth between them. And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey to a distant country, and there he squandered his estate in wild living.
Luke 16:9 And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness so that when it is all gone, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings.
Luke 16:11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true wealth to you?
Old Testament Bible Verses About Money
Oh, that more preachers would discern what Elisha was teaching to Gehazi!
II Kings 5:26-27 Then he said to him, “Did my heart not go with you, when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to accept money and to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, sheep, oxen, and male and female slaves? Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your [a]descendants forever.” So he went out from his presence afflicted with leprosy, as white as snow.
Ecclesiastes 5:10 One who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor one who loves abundance with its income. This too is futility.
Ecclesiastes 7:12 For wisdom is protection just as money is protection, But the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom keeps its possessors alive.
Isaiah 55:2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight yourself in abundance.
Micah 3:11 Her leaders pronounce judgment for a bribe, Her priests teach for pay, And her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord not in our midst? Catastrophe will not come upon us.”
Haggai 1:6 You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; and drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.
New Testament Bible Verses
Acts 8:20-21 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you because you thought you could acquire the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this [a]matter, for your heart is not right before God.
I Timothy 3:2-3 An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, [b]temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, skillful in teaching, not overindulging in wine, not [c]a bully, but gentle, not contentious, free from the love of money.
I Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Titus 1:7 For the overseer must be beyond reproach as God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not overindulging in wine, not a bully, not greedy for money,
Hebrews 13:5 Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He, Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever abandon you,”
Money, Wealth, and Riches
Money is a tool. We decide whether its purpose is noble or not.
One camp believes that God wants every person to be a millionaire. Another group of believers is persuaded that money is evil. The truth is somewhere in the middle of those two extremes.
Early in Proverbs, we are taught that prosperity is destructive to fools (Proverbs 1:32, KJV). Additionally, Jesus made it crystal clear that we cannot serve God and money.
It’s imperative that every wealth warning is heeded. We don’t get a pass because of grace or some other crazy idea.
God has given us the power to get wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18). He also teaches us to profit (Isaiah 48:17, ESV). In the provided power and education, He also issues warnings that must be taken seriously (Proverbs 27:12).
Don’t be a financial knucklehead!