Genesis 14:22-23

14:22 But Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I raise my hand ¹  to the Lord, the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth, and vow ²  14:23 that I will take nothing ³  belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal. That way you can never say, ‘It is I ⁴  who made Abram rich.’

Genesis 14:2

14:2 went to war ⁵  against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). ⁶ 

Genesis 24:24

24:24 She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom Milcah bore to Nahor. ⁷ 

Acts 20:35

20:35 By all these things, ⁸  I have shown you that by working in this way we must help ⁹  the weak, ¹⁰  and remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” ¹¹ 

Romans 13:8

Exhortation to Love Neighbors

13:8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

Philippians 4:5-8

4:5 Let everyone see your gentleness. ¹²  The Lord is near! 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. 4:7 And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds ¹³  in Christ Jesus.

4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, ¹⁴  whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things.

Colossians 4:5

4:5 Conduct yourselves ¹⁵  with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunities.

Hebrews 13:5

13:5 Your conduct must be free from the love of money and you must be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you and I will never abandon you.” ¹⁶ 

¹ tn Abram takes an oath, raising his hand as a solemn gesture. The translation understands the perfect tense as having an instantaneous nuance: “Here and now I raise my hand.”

² tn The words “and vow” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.

³ tn The oath formula is elliptical, reading simply: “…if I take.” It is as if Abram says, “[May the Lord deal with me] if I take,” meaning, “I will surely not take.” The positive oath would add the negative adverb and be the reverse: “[God will deal with me] if I do not take,” meaning, “I certainly will.”

⁴ tn The Hebrew text adds the independent pronoun (“I”) to the verb form for emphasis.

⁵ tn Heb “made war.”

⁶ sn On the geographical background of vv. 1-2 see J. P. Harland, “Sodom and Gomorrah,” The Biblical Archaeologist Reader, 1:41-75; and D. N. Freedman, “The Real Story of the Ebla Tablets, Ebla and the Cities of the Plain,” BA 41 (1978): 143-64.

⁷ tn Heb “whom she bore to Nahor.” The referent (Milcah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸ sn The expression By all these things means “In everything I did.”

⁹ tn Or “must assist.”

¹⁰ tn Or “the sick.” See Eph 4:28.

¹¹ sn The saying is similar to Matt 10:8. Service and generosity should be abundant. Interestingly, these exact words are not found in the gospels. Paul must have known of this saying from some other source.

¹² tn Grk “let your gentleness be seen by all.” The passive voice construction has been converted to active voice in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹³ tn Grk “will guard the hearts of you and the minds of you.” To improve the English style, the second occurrence of ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “of you”) has not been translated, since it is somewhat redundant in English.

¹⁴ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.

¹⁵ tn Grk “walk.” The verb περιπατέω (peripatew) is a common NT idiom for one’s lifestyle, behavior, or manner of conduct (L&N 41.11).

¹⁶ sn A quotation from Deut 31:6, 8.