²³ that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, so that you might not say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’^(A)

¹⁶ But he said, “As the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will accept nothing!” He urged him to accept, but he refused.^(A)

⁹ And when I was with you and was in need, I did not burden anyone, for my needs were supplied by the brothers who came from Macedonia. So I refrained and will continue to refrain from burdening you in any way.^{(A) 10} As the truth of Christ is in me, this boast of mine will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia.^{(B) 11} And why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!^(C)

¹² And what I do I will also continue to do, in order to deny an opportunity to those who want an opportunity to be recognized as our equals in what they boast about.

¹⁵ The Jews who were in Susa gathered also on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and they killed three hundred persons in Susa, but they did not touch the plunder.^(A)

¹⁶ Now the other Jews who were in the king’s provinces also gathered to defend their lives and gained relief from their enemies and killed seventy-five thousand of those who hated them, but they laid no hands on the plunder.^(B)

⁵ Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for he himself has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”^(A)

¹⁴ Here I am, ready to come to you this third time, and I will not be a burden because I do not want what is yours but you, for children ought not to save up for their parents but parents for their children.^(A)

²⁰ Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, thought, “My master has let that Aramean Naaman off too lightly by not accepting from him what he offered. As the Lord lives, I will run after him and get something from him.”^(A)

⁸ But the man of God said to the king, “If you give me half your kingdom, I will not go in with you, nor will I eat food or drink water in this place.^(A)