The Sermon on the Mount: Taking Oaths

33 “Again you have heard that it was said to the people of old,[a] ‘Do not swear falsely,[b] but fulfill your oaths to the Lord.’[c] 34 But I say to you, do not swear at all, either by heaven, because it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, because it is the footstool of his feet, or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great king. 36 And do not swear by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black. 37 But let your statement be ‘Yes, yes; no, no,’ and anything beyond these is from the evil one.[d]

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 5:33 Literally “ancients”
  2. Matthew 5:33 Or “do not break your oath”
  3. Matthew 5:33 A quotation from Lev 19:12
  4. Matthew 5:37 Or “is of evil”

The Temptation of Jesus

Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil, and after he[a] had fasted forty days and forty nights, then he was hungry. And the tempter approached and[b] said to him, “If you are the Son of God, order that these stones become bread.” But he answered and[c] said, “It is written, ‘Man will not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.”[d]

Then the devil took him to the holy city[e] and placed him on the highest point of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down! For it is written,

‘He will command his angels concerning you,’[f]

and

‘On their hands they will lift you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”[g]

Jesus said to him, “On the other hand it is written, ‘You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.’”[h]

Again the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and he said to him, “I will give to you all these things, if you will fall down and[i] worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan, for it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”[j] 11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and began ministering to him.

Public Ministry in Galilee

12 Now when he[k] heard that John had been arrested,[l] he withdrew into Galilee.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 4:2 Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“had fasted”) which is understood as temporal
  2. Matthew 4:3 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“approached”) has been translated as a finite verb
  3. Matthew 4:4 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb
  4. Matthew 4:4 A quotation from Deut 8:3
  5. Matthew 4:5 That is, Jerusalem
  6. Matthew 4:6 A quotation from Ps 91:11
  7. Matthew 4:6 A quotation from Ps 91:12
  8. Matthew 4:7 A quotation from Deut 6:16
  9. Matthew 4:9 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“will fall down”) has been translated as a finite verb
  10. Matthew 4:10 A quotation from Deut 6:13
  11. Matthew 4:12 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal
  12. Matthew 4:12 Literally “had been handed over”