EkaYakobi 5:12

Izhibhalo Ezingcwele

12 Ke kaloku, ngaphezu kweento zonke, bazalwana bam, musani ukufunga, nokuba lizulu, nokuba ngumhlaba, nokuba sesinye isifungo esiyini; makathi ke uewe wenu abe nguewe, nohayi abe nguhayi, ukuze ningeyeli ekugwetyweni.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

above: 1 Peter 4:8, 3 John 1:2

swear not: Matthew 5:33-37, Matthew 23:16-22

but: 2 Corinthians 1:17-20

lest: James 3:1, James 3:2, 1 Corinthians 11:34

Reciprocal: Genesis 42:15 - By the life Exodus 20:7 - take Leviticus 19:12 - ye shall Deuteronomy 5:11 - General Zechariah 5:3 - sweareth Malachi 3:5 - against those Matthew 5:34 - Swear Matthew 5:37 - let 1 Corinthians 11:29 - damnation

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But above all things, my brethren, swear not,.... As impatience should not show itself in secret sighs, groans, murmurings, and repinings, so more especially it should not break forth in rash oaths, or in profane swearing; for of such sort of swearing, and of such oaths, is the apostle to be understood; otherwise an oath is very lawful, when taken in the fear and name of God, and made by the living God, and is used for the confirmation of anything of moment, and in order to put an end to strife; God himself, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and angels, and good men, are in Scripture sometimes represented as swearing: and that the apostle is so to be understood, appears from the form of swearing prohibited,

neither by the heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath; of the like kind; such as are forbidden, and cautioned, and reasoned against by our Lord, in Matthew 5:34 to which the apostle manifestly refers; Matthew 5:34- :,

Matthew 5:34- :,

Matthew 5:34- :.

But let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay; that is, whenever there is an occasion for affirming, or denying anything, let it be done nakedly, simply, and absolutely, without any form of oath annexed to it; for whatever addition of that kind is made comes from evil, and tends to it, and is evil:

lest ye fall into condemnation; by the Lord; for either false, or rash, or profane swearing; for he will not suffer it to go unpunished; see Exodus 20:7. Some copies read, "lest ye fall into hypocrisy"; or dissimulation, and get into a habit and custom of lying and deceiving, as common swearers do; and so reads the Arabic version.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

But above all things - That is be especially careful on this point; whatever else is done, let not this be. The manner in which James speaks of the practice referred to here, shows that he regarded it as a sin of a very heinous nature; one that was by all means to be avoided by those whom he addressed. The habit of swearing by various things was a very common one among the Jews, and it was important to guard those who from among them had been converted to Christianity on that subject.

Swear not - See this command illustrated in the notes at Matthew 5:33-34. Nearly the same things are mentioned here, as objects by which they were accustomed to swear, which are referred to by the Saviour.

But let our yea be yea - Let there be a simple affirmation, unaccompanied by any oath or appeal to God or to any of his works. A man who makes that his common method of speech is the man who will be believed. See the notes at Matthew 5:37.

Lest you fall into condemnation - That is, for profaning the name of God. “The Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain,” Exodus 20:7.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 12. Above all things - swear not — What relation this exhortation can have to the subject in question, I confess I cannot see. It may not have been designed to stand in any connection, but to be a separate piece of advice, as in the several cases which immediately follow. That the Jews were notoriously guilty of common swearing is allowed on all hands; and that swearing by heaven, earth, Jerusalem, the temple, the altar, different parts of the body, was not considered by them as binding oaths, has been sufficiently proved. Rabbi Akiba taught that "a man might swear with his lips, and annul it in his heart; and then the oath was not binding." Matthew 5:33, c., where the subject is considered in great detail.

Let your yea be yea, c.] Do not pretend to say yea with your lips, and annul it in your heart let the yea or the nay which you express be bona fide such. Do not imagine that any mental reservation can cancel any such expressions of obligation in the sight of God.

Lest ye fall into condemnation. — ιναμηυποκρισινπεσητε. Lest ye fall under judgment. Several MSS. join υπο and κρισιν together, υποκρισιν, and prefix εις, into, which makes a widely different reading: Lest ye fall into hypocrisy. Now, as it is a fact, that the Jews did teach that there might be mental reservation, that would annul the oath, how solemnly soever it was taken the object of St. James, if the last reading be genuine, and it is supported by a great number of excellent MSS., some versions, and some of the most eminent of the fathers, was to guard against that hypocritical method of taking an oath, which is subversive of all moral feeling, and must make conscience itself callous.