Yehezkiel 22:13

22:13 “‘See, I strike my hands together ¹  at the dishonest profit you have made, and at the bloodshed ²  they have done among you.

Matius 21:13

21:13 And he said to them, “It is written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ ³  but you are turning it into a den ⁴  of robbers!” ⁵ 

Yakobus 5:1-4

Warning to the Rich

5:1 Come now, you rich! Weep and cry aloud ⁶  over the miseries that are coming on you. 5:2 Your riches have rotted and your clothing has become moth-eaten. 5:3 Your gold and silver have rusted and their rust will be a witness against you. It will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have hoarded treasure! ⁷  5:4 Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.

[22:13]  ¹ sn This gesture apparently expresses mourning and/or anger (see 6:11; 21:14, 17).

[22:13]  ² tn Heb “the blood which was in you.”

[21:13]  ³ sn A quotation from Isa 56:7.

[21:13]  ⁴ tn Or “a hideout” (see L&N 1.57).

[21:13]  ⁵ sn A quotation from Jer 7:11. The meaning of Jesus’ statement about making the temple courts a den of robbers probably operates here at two levels. Not only were the religious leaders robbing the people financially, but because of this they had also robbed them spiritually by stealing from them the opportunity to come to know God genuinely. It is possible that these merchants had recently been moved to this location for convenience.

[5:1]  ⁶ tn Or “wail”; Grk “crying aloud.”

[5:3]  ⁷ tn Or “hoarded up treasure for the last days”; Grk “in the last days.”