That I would not take a thread or a sandal-thong or anything that is yours: this is the content of what Abram has sworn not to do. The Hebrew construction is used particularly following an oath and expresses an emphatic negative equivalent to something like “I certainly will not take,” “Under no conditions will I take….” Abram will not take anything, not even a thread or a sandal-thong, which is the equivalent of saying that he would not keep for himself even the most insignificant item in the loot. Sandal-thong refers to the strap on a sandal used for tying the sandal to the foot and ankle. See Good News Translation “sandal strap.” If sandals are not known, it may be possible to say “shoe string” or to use a more idiomatic expression that refers to a personal object of least possible value. One example of the way this whole statement may be expressed in translation is “… I will not keep anything at all that is yours. Even if it is only a sandal strap, it will be given back to you.”

Lest you should say may need to be expressed “in order that you will not be able to say” or “so that you cannot claim.”

I have made Abram rich: for comments on rich see 13.2. These words are a direct quotation, which may have to be adjusted in some languages to say “so that you can’t say you made me a rich man.” This part of the verse is expressed in one translation as “… so that you can’t keep me in your heart [or, insides] and say you have made me rich.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .