And the man of God said to the king, If you should give me half of your house, I would not go in with you, neither will I eat bread, neither will I drink water in this place; for thus the Lord charged me by [His] word, saying,

And Elisha said, [As] the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will not take [anything]. And he pressed him to take [something]; but he would not.

And Gehazi the servant of Elisha said, Behold, my Lord has spared this Syrian Naaman, so as not to take of his hand what he has brought; as the Lord lives, I will surely run after him, and take something from him.

And the Jews assembled in Susa on the fourteenth [day] of Adar, and killed three hundred men, but plundered no property.

And the rest of the Jews who were in the kingdom assembled, and helped one another, and obtained rest from their enemies; for they destroyed fifteen thousand of them on the thirteenth [day] of Adar, but took no spoil.

and when I was present with you, and in need, I did not burden anyone; for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my need. And in everything I kept myself from being a burden to you, and so I will keep myself.

Why? Because I do not love you? God knows!

Now for the third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not burden you. For I do not seek what is yours, but you. For the children ought not to store up for the parents, but the parents for the children.

But what I am doing, I will also continue to do, that I may cut off the opportunity of those who desire an opportunity, that in what they boast they may be found just as we [are].

Let [your] way of life [be] without loving money, being satisfied with what you have. For He Himself has said, "By no means shall I desert you, nor in any way shall I forsake you;"