socialism

⁸It is good to trust in the Lord, rather than to trust in man.

⁴The lazy one is willing and then not willing. But the soul of he who labors shall be made fat.

¹⁸For Scripture says: “You shall not muzzle an ox as it is treading out the grain,” and, “The worker is worthy of his pay.”

⁸Remove, far from me, vanity and lying words. Give me neither begging, nor wealth. Apportion to me only the necessities of my life, ⁹lest perhaps, being filled, I might be enticed into denial, and say: ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or, being compelled by destitution, I might steal, and then perjure myself in the name of my God.

²⁴Let no one seek for himself, but for others.

¹²And I said to them: If it is good in your eyes, bring me my wages. And if not, remain still. And they weighed for my wages thirty silver coins.

¹⁵You shall not steal.

³⁵If your brother has become impoverished, or infirm of hand, and you take him in, like a newcomer or a sojourner, and he lives with you, ³⁶do not accept usury from him, nor anything more than what you gave. Fear your God, so that your brother may be able to live with you. ³⁷You shall not give him your money by usury, nor exact from him an overabundance of produce. ³⁸I am the Lord your God, who led you away from the land of Egypt, so that I might give to you the land of Canaan, and so that I may be your God.

⁸The words of the double-tongued seem simple. And they reach even to the interior of the gut. Fear casts down the lazy, but the souls of the effeminate shall go hungry. ⁹Whoever is dissolute and slack in his work is the brother of him who wastes his own works. ¹⁰The name of the Lord is a very strong tower. The just one rushes to it, and he shall be exalted. ¹¹The substance of the wealthy is the city of his strength, and it is like a strong wall encircling him. ¹²The heart of a man is exalted before it is crushed and humbled before it is glorified.

¹¹But in response, he said to them: “Whoever has two coats, let him give to those who do not have. And whoever has food, let him act similarly.” ¹²Now the tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” ¹³But he said to them, “You should do nothing more than what has been appointed to you.” ¹⁴Then the soldiers also questioned him, saying, “And what should we do?” And he said to them: “You should strike no one, and you should not make false accusations. And be content with your pay.”

⁸Whoever piles up riches by usury and profit gathers them for him who will give freely to the poor.

⁷Who has ever served as a soldier and paid his own stipend? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat from its produce? Who pastures a flock and does not drink from the milk of the flock?

²⁸In the third year, you shall separate another tenth part of all the things which spring forth for you at that time, and you shall store it within your gates. ²⁹And the Levite, who has no other portion or possession with you, and the sojourner as well as the orphan and the widow who are within your gates, shall approach and eat and be satisfied, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the works of your hands which you shall do.”

¹⁶This is the word that the Lord has instructed. Let each one collect as much of it as is sufficient to eat. One omer for each head. According to the number of your souls which live in a tent, so will you take of it.” ¹⁷And the sons of Israel did so. And they collected: some more, others less. ¹⁸And they measured by the measure of an omer. He who collected more, did not have too much; nor did he who prepared less, find too little. But each one gathered according to what they were able to eat.

¹And so we are making known to you, brothers, the grace of God that has been given in the churches of Macedonia. ²For within a great experience of tribulation, they have had an abundance of joy, and their profound poverty has only increased the richness of their simplicity. ³And I bear witness to them, that they were willing to accept what was in accord with their ability, and even what was beyond their ability. ⁴For they were begging us, with great exhortation, for the grace and the communication of the ministry that is with the saints. ⁵And this is beyond what we had hoped, since they gave themselves, first of all to the Lord, and then also to us, through the will of God, ⁶so much so that we petitioned Titus, that in the same manner as he had begun, he would also complete in you this same grace.

³in the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation.

¹Concerning other things, brothers, pray for us, so that the Word of God may advance and be glorified, just as it is among you, ²and so that we may be freed from pertinacious and evil men. For not everyone is faithful. ³But God is faithful. He will strengthen you, and he will guard you from evil. ⁴And we have confidence about you in the Lord, that you are doing, and will continue to do, just as we have instructed. ⁵And may the Lord direct your hearts, in the charity of God and with the patience of Christ. ⁶But we strongly caution you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to draw yourselves away from every brother who is walking in disorder and not according to the tradition that they received from us.