Fraternity

How Nave’s arranged it

• General scriptures concerningGenesis 13:8Deuteronomy 15:7–15Psalms 22:22Psalms 133:1–3Zechariah 11:14Malachi 2:10Matthew 5:22–24Matthew 18:15–18Matthew 18:21Matthew 18:22Matthew 18:35Matthew 23:8Matthew 25:40John 13:34John 15:12John 20:17Romans 12:101 Corinthians 6:1–81 Corinthians 8:1–13Galatians 6:1
• See Brother
• See Church
• See Fellowship
• See Friendship
• INSTANCES OF
• The Nazarites, vows ofNumbers 6:1–21Lamentations 4:7Amos 2:11Amos 2:12Acts 21:24–31
• See Nazarites

The passages, in Bible order (37)

The same references, sorted Genesis to Revelation. The first 16 are quoted in full; the rest are one click beneath them, book by book.

1. Genesis 13:8

   So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no contention between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen. After all, we are brothers.

   ›Commentary on Genesis 13:82 voices

   “Abraham made the division, because "the territory"—says Scripture—"was insufficient to contain them both," because they were too rich. It is a worldly vice that land is always insufficient for the rich. Nothing satisfies the greed of the rich. The richer one is, the more greedily one desires possessions. The rich man is eager to extend the boundaries of his field, to exclude his neighbor. Is this what Abraham was like? Not at all, although at the beginning he too was imperfect. For where could perfection have come from before the coming of Christ?

   “For we be brethren - We are of the same family, worship the same God in the same way, have the same promises, and look for the same end. Why then should there be strife? If it appear to be unavoidable from our present situation, let that situation be instantly changed, for no secular advantages can counterbalance the loss of peace.

   Everything gathered on Genesis 13:8→

   Verse page →Original language →

2. Numbers 6:1–21

   And the LORD said to Moses,

   ›Commentary on Numbers 6:1–211 voice

   “The law of the Nazarite is appropriately added to other enactments which concern the sanctity of the holy nation. That sanctity found its highest expression in the Nazarite vow, which was the voluntary adoption for a time of obligations to high and strict modes of self-dedication resembling, and indeed in some particulars exceeding, those under which the priests were placed. The present enactments do not institute a new kind of observance, but only regulate one already familiar to the Israelites Num 6:2. Num 6:2 A Nazarite - Strictly, Nazirite.

   Everything gathered on Numbers 6:1–21→

   Verse page →Original language →

3. Deuteronomy 15:7–15

   If there is a poor man among your brothers within any of the gates in the land that the LORD your God is giving you, then you are not to harden your heart or shut your hand from your poor brother.

   Verse page →Original language →

4. Psalms 22:22

   I will proclaim Your name to my brothers; I will praise You in the assembly.

   ›Commentary on Psalms 22:221 voice

   “He is the Lord by nature but a brother by grace.

   Everything gathered on Psalms 22:22→

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5. Psalms 133:1–3

   Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!

   ›Commentary on Psalms 133:1–31 voice

   “Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. He says two things: good and pleasant. Martyrdom is good, but it is not pleasant: for it has its tortures and punishments, and there is always pain in torments, and certainly in pain there is no pleasantness. Behold how good and how pleasant. Again, pleasure is pleasant. For example, to eat sweet foods seems to be pleasant: for it drives one to lust.

   Everything gathered on Psalms 133:1–3→

   Verse page →Original language →

6. Lamentations 4:7

   Her dignitaries were brighter than snow, whiter than milk; their bodies were more ruddy than rubies, their appearance like sapphires.

   ›Commentary on Lamentations 4:72 voices

   “Her Nazarites were purer than snow,.... Such who separated themselves by a vow to the Lord, and abstained from drinking wine and strong drink, and by a moderate diet, and often washing themselves, as well as taking great care of their hair, appeared very neat and comely, like snow, without any spot or blemish.

   “The Nazarites from their temperance were remarkable for health and personal beauty, besides being held in religious veneration. Rubies - Or, corals. Their polishing was of sapphire - Or, their shape was “a sapphire.” The allusion is no longer to color, but to form. Their shape was exact and faultless as the cutting of a precious stone.

   Everything gathered on Lamentations 4:7→

   Verse page →Original language →

7. Amos 2:11

   I raised up prophets from your sons and Nazirites from your young men. Is this not true, O children of Israel?” declares the LORD.

   ›Commentary on Amos 2:112 voices

   “(Verse 9 and following) But I destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of cedar trees, and he was strong like an oak tree. And I destroyed his fruit from above and his roots from below. I am the one who brought you up from the land of Egypt and led you into the wilderness for forty years, so that you could possess the land of the Amorite. And I raised up prophets from among your sons and Nazirites from among your young men.

   “And I raised up of your sons for prophets - Amos turns from outward mercies to inward, front past to present, from miracles of power to miracles of grace. God’s past mercies live on in those of today; the mercies of today are the assurance to us that we have a share in the past; His miracles of grace are a token that the miracles of His power are not our condemnation. God had, from the time of Moses, “raised up” prophets.

   Everything gathered on Amos 2:11→

   Verse page →Original language →

8. Amos 2:12

   “But you made the Nazirites drink wine and commanded the prophets not to prophesy.

   ›Commentary on Amos 2:122 voices

   “(Verse 12.) Is it not so, sons of Israel, says the Lord, that you offered wine to the Nazarenes and sent commands to the prophets, saying: Do not prophesy. Likewise, the Septuagint. I granted you so many benefits, that I would kill your enemies and give their land to you, and I would choose prophets and Nazarenes from your sons and young men, and I would consecrate them to my worship. Can you say that I have not done these things, and that I have denied my mercy towards you, by which you live?

   “But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink,.... Contrary to their vow and calling, and in contempt of it, and to make them like themselves; they either persuaded them, or forced them to it: and commanded the prophets, saying, prophesy not; hard and heavy things, judgments and denunciations of vengeance, only smooth things; by this authoritative language it appears that this is said of the rulers and governors of the people, as king, princes, and priests; see Amo 7:12.

   Everything gathered on Amos 2:12→

   Verse page →Original language →

9. Zechariah 11:14

   Then I cut in two my second staff called Union, breaking the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

   ›Commentary on Zechariah 11:142 voices

   “(Verse 14) And I cut off my second staff, called 'Favor,' in order to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. Septuagint: And I threw away my second staff, called 'Favor,' in order to annul the covenant that existed between Judah and Israel. And in this place, I came across a long explanation, or rather, intricate puzzles, that I read in the volume of Ezekiel, bringing together the two staffs into one community, and all the things that should be spiritually understood about the harmony between Judah and Ephraim, fitting in with this chapter.

   “That I might break the brotherhood - I cannot, says Newcome, explain this passage, without supposing that the kingdom of Israel subsisted when the prophet wrote it; and that either the wars between Judah and Israel are referred to, (see 2Ki 16:5), or the captivity of the ten tribes, when the brotherly connection between these kingdoms ceased.

   Everything gathered on Zechariah 11:14→

   Verse page →Original language →

10. Malachi 2:10

    Do we not all have one Father? Did not one God create us? Why then do we break faith with one another so as to profane the covenant of our fathers?

    ›Commentary on Malachi 2:101 voice

    “Have we not all one Father? - From this to Mal 2:16 the prophet censures the marriages of Israelites with strange women, which the law had forbidden, Deu 7:3. And also divorces, which seem to have been multiplied for the purpose of contracting these prohibited marriages. - Newcome. Why do we deal treacherously - Gain the affections of the daughter of a brother Jew, and then profane the covenant of marriage, held sacred among our fathers, by putting away this same wife and daughter! How wicked, cruel, and inhuman!

    Everything gathered on Malachi 2:10→

    Verse page →Original language →

11. Matthew 5:22–24

    But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to the fire of hell.

    ›Commentary on Matthew 5:22–242 voices

    “(Verse 22) Because whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment. In some manuscripts it is added, without cause: but in the true definitive sentence, anger is completely eliminated, as the Scripture says: Whoever is angry with his brother. For if we are commanded to offer the other cheek to the one who strikes us, and to love our enemies, and to pray for those who persecute us (Luke 6), all occasion for anger is removed. Therefore, without cause must be removed, because the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God (James 1).

    “But I say unto you,.... This is a Rabbinical way of speaking, used when a question is determined, and a false notion is refuted; it is a magisterial form of expression, and well suits with Christ, the great teacher and master in Israel; who spake as one having authority, opposing himself, not to the law of "Moses, thou shalt not kill"; but to the false gloss the ancient doctors had put upon it, with which their later ones agreed.

    Everything gathered on Matthew 5:22–24→

    Verse page →Original language →

12. Matthew 18:15–18

    If your brother sins against you, go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.

    ›Commentary on Matthew 18:15–182 voices

    “(Verse 15) But if your brother sins against you, go and confront him between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. If our brother sins against us, and he harms us in any way, we have the power, indeed the necessity, to forgive our debtors as is commanded. But if someone sins against God, it is not within our power. For divine Scripture says: If a man sins against another man, the priest will pray for him. But if someone sins against God, who will pray for him?

    “Moreover, if thy brother - The word “brother,” here, evidently means a fellow-professor of religion. Christians are called brethren because they belong to the same redeemed family, having a common Father - God; and because they axe united in the same feelings, objects, and destiny. Trespass against thee - That is, injure thee in any way, by words or conduct. The original word means sin against thee. This may be done by injuring the character, person, or property. Go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone - This was required under the law, Lev 19:

    Everything gathered on Matthew 18:15–18→

    Verse page →Original language →

13. Matthew 18:21

    Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

    ›Commentary on Matthew 18:211 voice

    “Then came Peter ... - The mention of the duty Mat 18:15 of seeing a brother when he had offended us, implying that it was a duty to forgive him, led Peter to ask how often this was to be done. Forgive him - To forgive is to treat as though the offence was not committed - to declare that we will not harbor malice or treat unkindly, but that the matter shall be buried and forgotten.

    Everything gathered on Matthew 18:21→

    Verse page →Original language →

14. Matthew 18:22

    Jesus answered, “I tell you, not just seven times, but seventy-seven times!

    ›Commentary on Matthew 18:222 voices

    “Who, moreover, was able to forgive sins? This is His alone prerogative: for "who remitteth sins but God alone? " and, of course, (who but He can remit) mortal sins, such as have been committed against Himself, and against His temple? For, as far as you are concerned, such as are chargeable with offence against you personally, you are commanded, in the person of Peter, to forgive even seventy times sevenfold.

    “Seventy times seven - There is something very remarkable in these words, especially if collated with Gen 4:24, where the very same words are used - “If any man kill Lamech, he shall be avenged seventy times seven.” The just God punishes sin in an exemplary manner. Sinful man, who is exposed to the stroke of Divine justice, should be abundant in forgiveness, especially as the merciful only shall find mercy. See the note on Mat 5:7, and on Mat 6:14, Mat 6:15 (note). The sum seventy times seven makes four hundred and ninety.

    Everything gathered on Matthew 18:22→

    Verse page →Original language →

15. Matthew 18:35

    That is how My heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

    ›Commentary on Matthew 18:352 voices

    “(Verse 35) In this way, my heavenly Father will also do to you, unless each one of you forgives his brother from your heart. This is a frightening statement, if the divine judgment is turned and changed according to our own judgment. If we do not forgive our brothers for small offenses, God will not forgive us for great offenses.

    “So likewise ... - This verse contains the sum or moral of the parable. When Christ has explained one of his own parables, we are to receive it just as he has explained it, and not attempt to draw spiritual instruction from any parts or circumstances which he has not explained. The following seems to be the particulars of the general truth which he meant to teach: 1. That our sins are great. 2. That God freely forgives them. 3. That the offences committed against us by our brethren are comparatively small.

    Everything gathered on Matthew 18:35→

    Verse page →Original language →

16. Matthew 23:8

    But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers.

    ›Commentary on Matthew 23:82 voices

    “(cont. Helvid. 15.) All men may be called brethren in affection, which is of two kinds, general and particular. Particular, by which all Christians are brethren; general, by which all men being born of one Father are bound together by like tie of kindred.

    “But be not ye called Rabbi - As our Lord probably spoke in Hebrew, the latter word rabbi, in this verse, must have been in the plural; but as the contracted form of the plural sounds almost exactly like the singular, the Greek writer would naturally express them both in the same letters.

    Everything gathered on Matthew 23:8→

    Verse page →Original language →