the Week of Proper 25 / Ordinary 30
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King James Version
Matthew 5:33
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"You have heard that it was said to our people long ago, ‘When you make a vow, you must not break your promise. Keep the vows that you make to the Lord.'
Agayne ye haue hearde how it was sayd to the of olde tyme thou shalt not forsuere thy selfe but shalt performe thyne othe to God.
"Again, you have heard that it was said to those who lived long ago, 'You must not swear an oath falsely,' but 'You must fulfill your oaths to the Lord.'Leviticus 19:12; Numbers 30:2; Deuteronomy 23:21-23">[fn]Exodus 20:7; Leviticus 19:12; Numbers 30:2; Deuteronomy 5:11; 23:23; Matthew 23:16;">[xr]
"Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, 'YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FALSE VOWS, BUT SHALL FULFILL YOUR VOWS TO THE LORD.'
"You have heard that it was said to our people long ago, ‘Don't break your promises, but keep the promises you make to the Lord.'
Again, you have heard that it was said to them of old time, You shall not forswear yourself, but shall perform to the Lord your oaths:
Again, ye have heard that it hath been said to them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform to the Lord thy oaths:
"Again, you have heard that it was said to the men of old, 'YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FALSE VOWS, BUT YOU SHALL FULFILL YOUR VOWS TO THE LORD [as a religious duty].'
"Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.'
"Again you have heard that it was said to them of old time, 'You shall not make false vows, but shall perform to the Lord your vows,'
Again, ye have heard, that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform thine oaths unto the Lord.
"Again, you have heard that it was said to the ancients, `Thou shalt not swear falsely, but shalt perform thy vows to the Lord.'
Eftsoone ye han herd, that it was seid to elde men, Thou schalt not forswere, but thou schalt yelde thin othis to the Lord.
Again, ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
Again, you have heard that it was said to the ancients, 'Do not break your oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.'
You know that our ancestors were told, "Don't use the Lord's name to make a promise unless you are going to keep it."
Again, ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
Again, you have knowledge that it was said in old times, Do not take false oaths, but give effect to your oaths to the Lord:
"Again, you have heard that our fathers were told, ‘Do not break your oath,' and ‘Keep your vows to Adonai .'
Again, ye have heard that it has been said to the ancients, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt render to the Lord what thou hast sworn.
Again, you have heard it was said to those beforetime, Thou shalt not lie in thine oaths, but shalt fulfil thine oaths unto the Lord.
Again, ye have heard that it hath been said to the ancients, Thou shalt not be false in thy oaths; but thou shalt perform thine oaths to the Lord.
Againe, yee haue heard that it hath beene said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forsweare thy selfe, but shalt performe vnto the Lord thine othes.
"You have also heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the Lord .'
"You have heard that it was said long ago, ‘You must not make a promise you cannot keep. You must carry out your promises to the Lord.'
"Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.'
Againe, ye haue heard that it was sayd to them of old time, Thou shalt not forsweare thy selfe, but shalt performe thine othes to the Lord.
Again you have heard it was said to them who were before you, that you shall not lie in your oaths, but entrust your oaths to the Lord.
Again, ye have heard that it was said, to them of olden time, Thou shalt not swear falsely, - but shalt render unto the Lord, thine oaths.
Again you have heard that it was said to them of old, thou shalt not forswear thyself: but thou shalt perform thy oaths to the Lord.
"Again you have heard that it was said to the men of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.'
Agayne, ye haue hearde that it was sayde vnto them of olde tyme: Thou shalt not forsweare thy selfe, but shalt perfourme vnto the Lorde thine othes.
"You have also heard that people were told in the past, ‘Do not break your promise, but do what you have vowed to the Lord to do.'
“Again, you have heard that it was said to our ancestors,You must not break your oath, but you must keep your oaths to the Lord.
"Again you have heard that it was said to them of old time, 'You shall not make false vows, but shall perform to the Lord your vows,'
"Again you have heard that it was said to the people of old, ‘Do not swear falsely, but fulfill your oaths to the Lord.'
Again, you have heard that it was said to the ancients: "You shall not swear falsely, but shall give your oaths to the Lord." Lev. 19:12; Num. 30:2
`Again, ye heard that it was said to the ancients: Thou shalt not swear falsely, but thou shalt pay to the Lord thine oaths;
Agayne, ye haue herde, how it was sayde to the of olde tyme: Thou shalt not forsweare thy selfe, but shalt performe thyne ooth to God.
Again, ye have heard that it hath been said to the antients, "Thou shalt not for swear thy self, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths."
"And don't say anything you don't mean. This counsel is embedded deep in our traditions. You only make things worse when you lay down a smoke screen of pious talk, saying, ‘I'll pray for you,' and never doing it, or saying, ‘God be with you,' and not meaning it. You don't make your words true by embellishing them with religious lace. In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less true. Just say ‘yes' and ‘no.' When you manipulate words to get your own way, you go wrong.
"Again, you have heard that it was said to an older generation, ‘ Do not break an oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord .'
"Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, "You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.'
"If you remember, the Boss told your granddaddies, 'Don't go back on your word, but stand behind everything you say to the Lord.'
"Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, 'YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FALSE VOWS, BUT SHALL FULFILL YOUR VOWS TO THE LORD.'
"Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord.'
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
it hath: Matthew 23:16
Thou: Exodus 20:7, Leviticus 19:12, Numbers 30:2-16, Deuteronomy 5:11, Deuteronomy 23:23, Psalms 50:14, Psalms 76:11, Ecclesiastes 5:4-6, Nahum 1:15
Reciprocal: Genesis 42:15 - By the life Psalms 15:4 - sweareth Psalms 116:14 - pay my vows Psalms 119:106 - sworn Proverbs 20:25 - after Zechariah 5:3 - sweareth Malachi 2:9 - but Matthew 5:21 - it 1 Timothy 1:10 - perjured James 5:12 - swear not
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Again, ye have heard that it hath been said,.... Besides what has been observed, in ver. 21 and 27 you know it has also been said,
by, or to them of old time, what is written in Leviticus 19:12. "And ye shall not swear by my name falsely"; which seems to be referred to, when it is said, "thou shalt not forswear thyself": and is the law forbidding perjury, or false swearing; and was what the Jews were chiefly, if not only concerned about; little regarding the vanity, only the truth of an oath: for they took swearing vainly, to be the same as swearing falsely; wherefore so long as what they swore was truth, they were not careful whether it was of any importance or not: moreover, these men sinned, in that they swore by the creatures, which they thought they might do, and not sin; and when they had so done, were not under obligation to perform; because they made no use of the name of God, to whom only vows and oaths were to be performed, "but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths", Numbers 30:2 which they understood of vows only made to the Lord, and not to others; and of oaths, when in his name, and not by others; which they did do, and yet thought themselves not obliged by them.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Thou shalt not forswear thyself - Christ here proceeds to correct another false interpretation of the law. The law respecting oaths is found in Leviticus 19:12, and Deuteronomy 23:23. By those laws people were forbid to perjure themselves, or to forswear, that is, swear falsely.
Perform unto the Lord - Perform literally, really, and religiously what is promised in an oath.
Thine oaths - An oath is a solemn affirmation or declaration, made with an appeal to God for the truth of what is affirmed, and imprecating his vengeance, and renouncing his favor if what is affirmed is false. A false oath is called perjury, or, as in this place, forswearing.
It appears, however, from this passage, as well as from the ancient writings of the Jewish rabbins, that while the Jews professedly adhered to the law, they had introduced a number of oaths in common conversation, and oaths which they by no means considered to be binding. For example, they would swear by the temple, by the head, by heaven, by the earth. So long as they kept from swearing by the name Yahweh, and so long as they observed the oaths publicly taken, they seemed to consider all others as allowable, and allowedly broken. This is the abuse which Christ wished to correct. âIt was the practice of swearing in common conversation, and especially swearing by created things.â To do this, he said that they were mistaken in their views of the sacredness of such oaths. They were very closely connected with God; and to trifle with them was a species of trifling with God. Heaven is his throne; the earth his footstool; Jerusalem his special abode; the head was made by him, and was so much under his control that we could not make one hair white or black. To swear by these things, therefore, was to treat irreverently objects created by God, and could not be without guilt. It is remarkable that the sin here condemned by the Saviour prevails still in Palestine in the same form and manner referred to here. Dr. Thomson (The Land and the Book, vol. ii. p. 284) says, âThe people now use the very same sort of oaths that are mentioned and condemned by our Lord. They swear by the head, by their life, by heaven, and by the temple, or what is in its place, the church. The forms of cursing and swearing, however, are almost infinite, and fall on the pained ear all day long.â
Our Saviour here evidently had no reference to judicial oaths, or oaths taken in a court of justice. It was merely the foolish and wicked habit of swearing in private conversation; of swearing on every occasion and by everything that he condemned. This he does condemn in a most unqualified manner. He himself, however, did not refuse to take an oath in a court of law, Matthew 26:63-64. So Paul often called God to witness his sincerity, which is all that is meant by an oath. See Romans 1:9; Romans 9:1; Galatians 1:20; Hebrews 6:16. Oaths were, moreover, prescribed in the law of Moses, and Christ did not come to repeal those laws. See Exodus 22:11; Leviticus 5:1; Numbers 5:19; Deuteronomy 29:12, Deuteronomy 29:14.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse 33. Thou shalt not forswear thyself — They dishonour the great God, and break this commandment, who use frequent oaths and imprecations, even in reference to things that are true; and those who make vows and promises, which they either cannot perform, or do not design to fulfil, are not less criminal. Swearing in civil matters is become so frequent, that the dread and obligation of an oath are utterly lost in it. In certain places, where oaths are frequently administered, people have been known to kiss their thumb or pen, instead of the book, thinking thereby to avoid the sin of perjury; but this is a shocking imposition on their own souls. Deuteronomy 4:26; Deuteronomy 4:26; "Deuteronomy 6:13".
Perform unto the Lord thine oaths — The morality of the Jews on this point was truly execrable: they maintained, that a man might swear with his lips, and annul it in the same moment in his heart. Rab. Akiba is quoted as an example of this kind of swearing. See Schoettgen.
