What Does the Bible Say About Commerce?

“And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there.”

“And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him,”

“My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.”

“And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.”

“And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.”

“Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content. were: Heb. hearkened”

“Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen ; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.”

“And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard. officer: Heb. eunuch: but the word doth signify not only eunuchs, but also chamberlains, courtiers, and officers captain: or, chief marshal: Heb. chief of the slaughter men, or executioners”

“And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die.”

“And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt.”

“But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him.”

“And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan.”

“And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth.”

“And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food. roughly: Heb. hard things with them”

“And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.”

“And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.”

“And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come.”

“We are all one man's sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies.”

“And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.”

“And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.”

“And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies:”

“Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.”

“Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies. kept: Heb. bound”

“And he put them all together into ward three days. put: Heb. gathered”

“And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God:”

“If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses:”

“But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.”

“And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.”

“And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.”

“And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter. he spake: Heb. an interpreter was between them”

“And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes.”

“Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man's money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way: and thus did he unto them.”

“And they laded their asses with the corn, and departed thence.”

“And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn, he espied his money; for, behold, it was in his sack's mouth.”

“And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack: and their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God hath done unto us? failed: Heb. went forth”

“And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them; saying,”

“The man, who is the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country. roughly: Heb. with us hard things”

“And we said unto him, We are true men; we are no spies:”

“We be twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.”

“And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye are true men; leave one of your brethren here with me, and take food for the famine of your households, and be gone:”

“And bring your youngest brother unto me: then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are true men: so will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffick in the land.”

“Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt. weights: Heb. stones”

“Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the LORD.”

“And if thou sell ought unto thy neighbour, or buyest ought of thy neighbour's hand, ye shall not oppress one another:”

“Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God: for I am the LORD your God.”

“If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and maketh merchandise of him, or selleth him; then that thief shall die; and thou shalt put evil away from among you.”

“And he said unto the kinsman, Naomi, that is come again out of the country of Moab, selleth a parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech's:”

“And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.”

“And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.”

“And all the drinking vessels of king Solomon were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold: none were of silver; it was not any thing accounted of in the days of Solomon. pure: Heb. shut up none were of silver: or, there was no silver in them”

“For the king's ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram: every three years once came the ships of Tarshish bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks. ivory: or, elephants' teeth”

“And king Solomon passed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.”

“After him repaired Malchiah the goldsmith's son unto the place of the Nethinims, and of the merchants, over against the gate Miphkad, and to the going up of the corner. going: or, corner chamber”

“And between the going up of the corner unto the sheep gate repaired the goldsmiths and the merchants. going: or, corner chamber”

“They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;”

“These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.”

“For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. raiseth: Heb. maketh to stand”

“They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.”

“They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end. are: Heb. all their wisdom is swallowed up”

“Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.”

“He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.”

“Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.”

“The king that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be established for ever.”

“The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.”

“She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.”

“She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.”

“She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. buyeth: Heb. taketh”

“She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.”

“She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night. She: Heb. She tasteth”

“Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished. still: Heb. silent”

“Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth?”

“Thus saith the LORD, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God.”

“The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the LORD.”

“To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me.”

“Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men.”

“Behold, therefore I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee.”

“The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy mariners: thy wise men, O Tyrus, that were in thee, were thy pilots.”

“Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kind of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded in thy fairs.”

“Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy merchants: they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass in thy market. market: or, merchandise”

“They of the house of Togarmah traded in thy fairs with horses and horsemen and mules.”

“The men of Dedan were thy merchants; many isles were the merchandise of thine hand: they brought thee for a present horns of ivory and ebony.”

“Syria was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of the wares of thy making: they occupied in thy fairs with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and agate. the wares: Heb. thy works agate: or, chrysoprase”

“Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy merchants: they traded in thy market wheat of Minnith, and Pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm. balm: or, rosin”

“Damascus was thy merchant in the multitude of the wares of thy making, for the multitude of all riches; in the wine of Helbon, and white wool.”

“Dan also and Javan going to and fro occupied in thy fairs: bright iron, cassia, and calamus, were in thy market. going: or, Meuzal”

“Dedan was thy merchant in precious clothes for chariots. precious: Heb. clothes of freedom”

“Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they occupied with thee in lambs, and rams, and goats: in these were they thy merchants. they occupied: Heb. they were the merchants of thy hand”

“The merchants of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy merchants: they occupied in thy fairs with chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold.”

“These were thy merchants in all sorts of things, in blue clothes, and broidered work, and in chests of rich apparel, bound with cords, and made of cedar, among thy merchandise. all: or, excellent things clothes: Heb. foldings”

“The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market: and thou wast replenished, and made very glorious in the midst of the seas.”

“And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee, saying, What city is like Tyrus, like the destroyed in the midst of the sea?”

“When thy wares went forth out of the seas, thou filledst many people; thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy merchandise.”

“In the time when thou shalt be broken by the seas in the depths of the waters thy merchandise and all thy company in the midst of thee shall fall.”

“All the inhabitants of the isles shall be astonished at thee, and their kings shall be sore afraid, they shall be troubled in their countenance.”

“The merchants among the people shall hiss at thee; thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt be any more . a terror: Heb. terrors never: Heb. shalt not be for ever”

“By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches: thy great: Heb. the greatness of thy wisdom”

“Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. sardius: or, ruby beryl: or, chrysolite emerald: or, chrysoprase”

“By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.”

“Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.”

“Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.”