* **Above all** - This is an idiom that can be translated as "This is important" or "Especially"
* **my brothers** - "my fellow believers"
* ** do not swear** - to "swear" is to say that you will do it and to be held accountable by a higher authority. alternate translation: "do not make an oath" or "do not make a vow."
* **either by heaven nor by the earth -** - ** The words "heaven" and "earth" are metonyms that refers to the powers that are in heaven and earth. See UDB. (See: [[en:ta:vol2:translate:figs_metonymy]])