¹⁶ For men indeed swear by the greater, and ^(A)an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute.

¹¹ then an ^(A)oath of the Lord shall be between them both, that he has not put his hand into his neighbor’s goods; and the owner of it shall accept that, and he shall not make it good.

God’s Infallible Purpose in Christ

¹³ For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, ^(A)He swore by Himself,

¹⁶ ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘surely ^(A)in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke—with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die. ^17 (B)Nor will Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company do anything in the war, ^(C)when they heap up a siege mound and build a ^[a]wall to cut off many persons. ¹⁸ Since he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, and in fact ^(D)gave^[b] his hand and still did all these things, he shall not escape.’ ”

¹⁹ Therefore thus says the Lord God: “As I live, surely My oath which he despised, and My covenant which he broke, I will recompense on his own head. ²⁰ I will ^(E)spread My net over him, and he shall be taken in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon and ^(F)try him there for the ^[c]treason which he committed against Me.

¹⁵ So Joshua ^(A)made peace with them, and made a covenant with them to let them live; and the rulers of the congregation swore to them.

¹⁶ And it happened at the end of three days, after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they were their neighbors who dwelt near them. ¹⁷ Then the children of Israel journeyed and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were ^(B)Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kirjath Jearim. ¹⁸ But the children of Israel did not ^[a]attack them, ^(C)because the rulers of the congregation had sworn to them by the Lord God of Israel. And all the congregation complained against the rulers.

¹⁹ Then all the rulers said to all the congregation, “We have sworn to them by the Lord God of Israel; now therefore, we may not touch them. ²⁰ This we will do to them: We will let them live, lest ^(D)wrath be upon us because of the oath which we swore to them.”