Greed

Greed, called covetousness in the King James Version, is an excessive desire for wealth or possessions. Coveting is forbidden in the Ten Commandments, and the love of money is repeatedly warned against.

Thou shalt not covet

• Exodus 20:17
  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
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• Romans 7:7
  What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.What then shall we say? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed, I would not have been mindful of sin if not for the law. For I would not have been aware of coveting if the law had not said, “Do not covet.”
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Warnings against covetousness

• Luke 12:15-21
  ¹⁵And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” ¹⁶And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:Then He told them a parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced an abundance. ¹⁷And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?So he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, since I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ¹⁸And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and will build bigger ones, and there I will store up all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ ²⁰But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’ ²¹So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.This is how it will be for anyone who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.”
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• Colossians 3:5
  Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.
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• Ephesians 5:3-5
  ³But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;But among you, as is proper among the saints, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed. ⁴Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or crude joking, which are out of character, but rather thanksgiving. ⁵For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure, or greedy person (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
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• 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
  ⁹Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts, ¹⁰Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
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The love of money

• 1 Timothy 6:9-10
  ⁹But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
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• Ecclesiastes 5:10
  He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile.
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• Hebrews 13:5
  Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”
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• Matthew 6:24
  No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
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The fruit of greed

• Proverbs 15:27
  He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live.He who is greedy for unjust gain brings trouble on his household, but he who hates bribes will live.
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• Proverbs 1:19
  So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.Such is the fate of all who are greedy, whose unjust gain takes the lives of its possessors.
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• James 4:1-2
  ¹From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?What causes conflicts and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from the passions at war within you? ²Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.You crave what you do not have; you kill and covet, but are unable to obtain it. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask.
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• Joshua 7:21
  When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.When I saw among the spoils a beautiful cloak from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”
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Treasure in heaven

• Matthew 6:19-21
  ¹⁹Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
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• Mark 8:36
  For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?
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• 1 Timothy 6:17-19
  ¹⁷Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy. ¹⁸That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, and to be generous and ready to share, ¹⁹Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.treasuring up for themselves a firm foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.
  Show context · Read 1 Timothy 6 →

See also

• Money
• Contentment
• Generosity
• Jealousy
• Ten Commandments

Notes

1. Verses are quoted in the translation chosen in the Translation menu at the top of the page. See Translations for sources and copyright notices.
2. Each reference links to the full chapter so the verse can be read in context.