It is a memento mori painting, which is meant to remind the viewer of the inevitability of death and the futility of the pursuit of material wealth, illustrating the sin of greed.

The painting shows the influence of popular 15th-century handbooks (including text and woodcuts) on the "Art of Dying Well" (Ars moriendi), intended to help Christians choose Christ over earthly and sinful pleasures.

The scene takes place in a narrow, vaulted room that holds a man on his deathbed, similar to the unclothed, thin, and sickly representation of souls in other Bosch triptychs.

It's widely accepted that the old man in green is a slightly younger version of the miser, in full health, storing gold in his money chest (which abounds with demons) while clutching his rosary, indicating both his desire for piety and wealth.

Medieval Church law followed these instructions and denounced usury as a practice and excommunicated members for it until the Council of 1516 passed montes pietatis (mount of piety), which stated that charitable institutions were allowed to issue low interest rate loans to the poor.

In chapter nine, the man is tempted by avarice (greed) upon his deathbed, with his wealth shown by expensive treasures, similar to the trunk at the foot of the bed in Bosch's painting.

"[3] Here we see the angel with one hand upon the miser's shoulder, lifting his other to the light of Christ, imploring him to make the Christian decision rather than succumb to temptation and sin.

[3] Even with the angel's intervention at his bedside, as Death looms, the miser's gaze and hand are directed downward, unable to resist worldly temptations, reaching for the bag of gold offered by a tempting demon.

[6]Bosch's familiarity with the visual tradition of the Ars moriendi can also be seen in the top left roundel (pictured) depicting the death of a sinner in The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things.

Usury was not just a display of avarice as a sin that simply required the offender to confess and seek God for forgiveness internally, but demanded a specific type of repentance.

This concept is strengthened by the setting; an official lombard in Augsburg or Bruges, both hubs of Northern Renaissance merchants and artists, would have a normal place of business, akin to a small warehouse with a public facing office and storerooms to house and organize goods.

Most hypotheses fall into two schools of thought; the fabric, weapons, and armor are of symbolic significance, or they represent the miser's former life, before Death came to take him.

Throughout the following verses, St. Paul mentions specific pieces of armor, assigning certain aspects of Christianity to them; the helmet of salvation, the shield of faith, the hauberk of justice, and the sword of spirit, which represents the word of God itself.