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Jeremiah 2:20
“ Long ago you broke off the yoke I put on you. You tore off the ropes I tied you up with. You said,‘ I won’t serve you!’ In fact, on every high hill you lay down like a prostitute. You worshiped other gods under every green tree.
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James 2:5-7
My dear brothers and sisters, listen to me. Hasn’t God chosen those who are poor in the world’s eyes to be rich in faith? Hasn’t he chosen them to receive the kingdom? Hasn’t he promised it to those who love him?But you have disrespected poor people. Aren’t rich people taking advantage of you? Aren’t they dragging you into court?Aren’t they speaking evil things against the worthy name of Jesus? Remember, you belong to him.
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Amos 4:1
Listen to the Lord’ s message, you women who live on the hill of Samaria. You treat poor people badly. You crush those who are in need. You say to your husbands,“ Bring us some drinks!” But you are already as fat as the cows in Bashan.
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Luke 18:24
Jesus looked at him. Then he said,“ How hard it is for rich people to enter God’s kingdom!
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Acts 4:26-27
The kings of the earth rise up. The rulers of the earth gather together against the Lord and against his anointed king.’( Psalm 2:1, 2)In fact, Herod and Pontius Pilate met with the Gentiles in this city. They also met with the people of Israel. All of them made plans against your holy servant Jesus. He is the one you anointed.
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Micah 3:11
Your judges take money from people who want special favors. Your priests teach only if they get paid for it. Your prophets won’t tell fortunes unless they receive money. But you still look for the Lord’ s help. You say,“ The Lord is with us. No trouble will come on us.”
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Ezekiel 22:6-8
“‘ “The princes of Israel are in your city. All of them use their power to spill blood.They have made fun of fathers and mothers alike. They have crushed outsiders. They have treated badly the children whose fathers have died. They have done the same thing to widows.You have looked down on the holy things that were set apart to me. You have misused my Sabbath days.
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Micah 3:1-4
Then I said,“ Listen, you leaders of Jacob’s people! Pay attention, you rulers of Israel! You should want to judge others fairly.But you hate what is good. And you love what is evil. You are like someone who tears the skin off my people. You pull the meat off their bones.You eat my people’s bodies. You strip off their skin. You break their bones in pieces. You chop them up like meat. You put them in a cooking pot.”The time will come when Israel will cry out to the Lord. But he won’t answer them. In fact, he’ll turn his face away from them. They have done what is evil.
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Matthew 19:23-26
Then Jesus said to his disciples,“ What I’m about to tell you is true. It is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.Again I tell you, it is hard for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. But it is even harder for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”When the disciples heard this, they were really amazed. They asked,“ Then who can be saved?”Jesus looked at them and said,“ With people, this is impossible. But with God, all things are possible.”
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Jeremiah 6:13
Everyone wants to get richer and richer, from the least important of them to the most important. Prophets and priests alike try to fool everyone they can.
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Ezekiel 22:25-29
Ezekiel, the princes of the land are like a roaring lion that tears its food apart. They eat people up. They take treasures and other valuable things. They cause many women in the land to become widows.Its priests break my law. They treat things set apart to me as if they were not holy. They treat holy and common things as if they were the same. They teach that there is no difference between things that are‘ clean’ and things that are not. They refuse to keep my Sabbath days. So they treat me as if I were not holy.The officials in the land are like wolves that tear their food apart. They spill blood and kill people to get rich.The prophets cover up these acts for them. The visions of these prophets are false. They use magic to try to find out what is going to happen. But their magic tricks are lies. They say,‘ The Lord and King says.’ But I have not spoken to them.The people of the land get rich by cheating others. They steal. They crush those who are poor and in need. They treat outsiders badly. They refuse to be fair to them.
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Micah 7:3-4
They are very good at doing what is evil. Rulers require gifts. Judges accept money from people who want special favors. Those who are powerful always get what they want. All of them make evil plans together.The best of these people are as harmful as thorns. The most honest of them are even worse. God has come to punish you. The time your prophets warned you about has come. Panic has taken hold of you.
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Zephaniah 3:3-5
Jerusalem’s officials are like roaring lions. Their rulers are like wolves that hunt in the evening. They don’t leave anything to eat in the morning.Their prophets care about nothing. They can’t be trusted. Their priests make the temple“ unclean.” They break the law they teach others to obey.In spite of that, the Lord is good to Jerusalem. He never does anything that is wrong. Every morning he does what is fair. Each new day he does the right thing. But those who do what is wrong aren’t even ashamed of it.
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Psalms 2:2-3
The kings of the earth rise up against the Lord. The rulers of the earth join together against his anointed king.“ Let us break free from their chains,” they say.“ Let us throw off their ropes.”
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Malachi 2:7
“ The lips of a priest should guard knowledge. After all, he is the messenger of the Lord who rules over all. And people seek instruction from his mouth.
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Luke 19:14
“ But those he ruled over hated him. They sent some messengers after him. They were sent to say,‘ We don’t want this man to be our king.’
