The man runs away because he is a hired servant and is unconcerned for the sheep.

For the choirmaster. Of David. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt; their acts are vile. There is no one who does good.

The righteous consider the cause of the poor, but the wicked have no regard for such concerns.

So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest gain.

They only asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.

Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. ... But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?

All who came before Me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness.

Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “Look, my master has spared this Aramean, Naaman, while not accepting what he brought. As surely as the LORD lives, I will run after him and get something from him.” So Gehazi pursued Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running toward him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and asked, “Is everything all right?” “Everything is all right,” Gehazi replied. “My master has sent me to say, ‘I have just now discovered that two young men from the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two sets of clothing.’” But Naaman insisted, “Please, take two talents.” And he urged Gehazi to accept them. Then he tied up two talents of silver in two bags along with two sets of clothing and gave them to two of his servants, who carried them ahead of Gehazi. When Gehazi came to the hill, he took the gifts from the servants and stored them in the house. Then he dismissed the men, and they departed. When Gehazi went in and stood before his master, Elisha asked him, “Gehazi, where have you been?” “Your servant did not go anywhere,” he replied. But Elisha questioned him, “Did not my spirit go with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to accept money and clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, menservants and maidservants? Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman will cling to you and your descendants forever!” And as Gehazi left his presence, he was leprous—as white as snow.

To the wicked, however, God says, “What right have you to recite My statutes and to bear My covenant on your lips? For you hate My instruction and cast My words behind you. When you see a thief, you befriend him, and throw in your lot with adulterers. You unleash your mouth for evil and unharness your tongue for deceit. You sit and malign your brother; you slander your own mother’s son.

And He declared to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer.’ But you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”

nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

Since Judas kept the money bag, some thought that Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the feast, or to give something to the poor.

Instead, it was paid to those doing the work, and with it they repaired the house of the LORD. No accounting was required from the men who received the money to pay the workmen, because they acted with integrity.

Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests, together with Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers, and I weighed out to them the contribution of silver and gold and the articles that the king, his counselors, his leaders, and all the Israelites there had offered for the house of our God. I weighed out into their hands 650 talents of silver, articles of silver weighing 100 talents, 100 talents of gold, 20 gold bowls valued at 1,000 darics, and two articles of fine polished bronze, as precious as gold. Then I told them, “You are holy to the LORD, and these articles are holy. The silver and gold are a freewill offering to the LORD, the God of your fathers. Guard them carefully until you weigh them out in the chambers of the house of the LORD in Jerusalem before the leading priests, Levites, and heads of the Israelite families.” So the priests and Levites took charge of the silver and gold and sacred articles that had been weighed out to be taken to the house of our God in Jerusalem. On the twelfth day of the first month we set out from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem, and the hand of our God was upon us to protect us from the hands of the enemies and bandits along the way. So we arrived at Jerusalem and rested there for three days. On the fourth day, in the house of our God, we weighed out the silver and gold and sacred articles into the hand of Meremoth son of Uriah, the priest. Eleazar son of Phinehas was with him, along with the Levites Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui. Everything was verified by number and weight, and the total weight was recorded at that time.

More than that, this brother was chosen by the churches to accompany us with the offering—the gracious gift we administer to honor the Lord Himself and to show our eagerness to help. We hope to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this generous gift. For we are taking great care to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord, but also in the eyes of men.

Abstain from every form of evil.