What Does the Bible Say About Sales?
Here are 15 Bible verses about sales, ordered by how relevant readers found them, with the King James Version and the modern Berean Standard Bible side by side.
- #1Proverbs 11:1
A false balance is abomination to the Lord: but a just weight is his delight.
BSBDishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, but an accurate weight is His delight.
- #2Matthew 21:12-13
And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
BSBThen Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves. 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.’”
- #3Proverbs 20:14
It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer: but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.
BSB“Worthless, worthless!” says the buyer, but on the way out, he gloats.
- #4Leviticus 19:35-36
Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure. 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.
BSBYou must not use dishonest measures of length, weight, or volume. You shall maintain honest scales and weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
- #5James 4:13-17
Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
BSBCome now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.” You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your proud intentions. All such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do, yet fails to do it, is guilty of sin.
- #61 Timothy 6:10
For 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.
BSBFor 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.
- #7Proverbs 22:16
He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.
BSBOppressing the poor to enrich oneself or giving gifts to the rich will surely lead to poverty.
- #8Amos 8:4-6
Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail, Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit? That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?
BSBHear this, you who trample the needy, who do away with the poor of the land, asking, “When will the New Moon be over, that we may sell grain? When will the Sabbath end, that we may market wheat? Let us reduce the ephah and increase the shekel; let us cheat with dishonest scales. Let us buy the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the chaff with the wheat!”
- #9Leviticus 25:14
And if thou sell ought unto thy neighbour, or buyest ought of thy neighbour’s hand, ye shall not oppress one another:
BSBIf you make a sale to your neighbor or a purchase from him, you must not take advantage of each other.
- #10Proverbs 20:23
Divers weights are an abomination unto the Lord; and a false balance is not good.
BSBUnequal weights are detestable to the LORD, and dishonest scales are no good.
- #11Proverbs 20:10
Divers weights, and divers measures, both of them are alike abomination to the Lord.
BSBDiffering weights and unequal measures— both are detestable to the LORD.
- #12John 2:16
And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise.
BSBTo those selling doves He said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn My Father’s house into a marketplace!”
- #13Deuteronomy 25:13-16
Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small. Thou shalt not have in thine house divers measures, a great and a small. But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have: that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. For all that do such things, and all that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto the Lord thy God.
BSBYou shall not have two differing weights in your bag, one heavy and one light. You shall not have two differing measures in your house, one large and one small. You must maintain accurate and honest weights and measures, so that you may live long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. For everyone who behaves dishonestly in regard to these things is detestable to the LORD your God.
- #14Proverbs 11:26
He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it.
BSBThe people will curse the hoarder of grain, but blessing will crown the one who sells it.
- #15Matthew 22:21
They say unto him, Cesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Cesar the things which are Cesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.
BSB“Caesar’s,” they answered. So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
Verse rankings: OpenBible.info Topical Bible (CC BY). Scripture: KJV & BSB (public domain).