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Matthew 5:33-37
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Matthew 5:33-37
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Teaching About Oaths. 33 [a](A)“Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow.’ 34 (B)But I say to you, do not swear at all;[b] not by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. 37 [c]Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one.
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- 5:33 This is not an exact quotation of any Old Testament text, but see Ex 20:7; Dt 5:11; Lv 19:12. The purpose of an oath was to guarantee truthfulness by one’s calling on God as witness.
- 5:34–36 The use of these oath formularies that avoid the divine name is in fact equivalent to swearing by it, for all the things sworn by are related to God.
- 5:37 Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No’: literally, “let your speech be ‘Yes, yes,’ ‘No, no.’” Some have understood this as a milder form of oath, permitted by Jesus. In view of Mt 5:34, “Do not swear at all,” that is unlikely. From the evil one: i.e., from the devil. Oath-taking presupposes a sinful weakness of the human race, namely, the tendency to lie. Jesus demands of his disciples a truthfulness that makes oaths unnecessary.
Matthew 5:33-37
Good News Translation
Matthew 5:33-37
Good News Translation
Teaching about Vows
33 (A)“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.’ 34 (B)But now I tell you: do not use any vow when you make a promise. Do not swear by heaven, for it is God's throne; 35 (C)nor by earth, for it is the resting place for his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Do not even swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black. 37 Just say ‘Yes’ or ‘No’—anything else you say comes from the Evil One.
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Matthew 5:33-37
English Standard Version
Matthew 5:33-37
English Standard Version
Oaths
33 “Again (A)you have heard that it was said to those of old, (B)‘You shall not swear falsely, but (C)shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ 34 But I say to you, (D)Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for (E)it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is (F)the city of the great King. 36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; (G)anything more than this comes from evil.[a]
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- Matthew 5:37 Or the evil one
Matthew 5:33-37
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Matthew 5:33-37
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Concerning Oaths
33 “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.’ 34 But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.[a]
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- Matthew 5:37 Or evil
Matthew 5:33-37
New International Version
Matthew 5:33-37
New International Version
Oaths
33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath,(A) but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’(B) 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all:(C) either by heaven, for it is God’s throne;(D) 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.(E) 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’;(F) anything beyond this comes from the evil one.[a](G)
Footnotes
- Matthew 5:37 Or from evil
James 5:12
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
James 5:12
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
12 (A)But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath, but let your “Yes” mean “Yes” and your “No” mean “No,” that you may not incur condemnation.[a]
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- 5:12 This is the threat of condemnation for the abuse of swearing oaths (cf. Mt 5:33–37). By heaven or by earth: these words were substitutes for the original form of an oath, to circumvent its binding force and to avoid pronouncing the holy name of God (see Ex 22:10).
James 5:12
Good News Translation
James 5:12
Good News Translation
12 (A)Above all, my friends, do not use an oath when you make a promise. Do not swear by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Say only “Yes” when you mean yes, and “No” when you mean no, and then you will not come under God's judgment.
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James 5:12
English Standard Version
James 5:12
English Standard Version
12 But above all, my brothers, (A)do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.
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James 5:12
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
James 5:12
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
12 Above all, my beloved,[a] do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “Yes” be yes and your “No” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.
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- James 5:12 Gk brothers
James 5:12
New International Version
James 5:12
New International Version
12 Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned.(A)
Ben Sira 23:9-10
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Ben Sira 23:9-10
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
9 Do not accustom your mouth to oaths,
or habitually utter the Holy Name.(A)
10 Just as a servant constantly under scrutiny
will not be without bruises,
So one who swears continually by the Holy Name
will never remain free from sin.
Sirach 23:9-10
Good News Translation
Sirach 23:9-10
Good News Translation
9 (A)Don't fall into the habit of taking oaths, and don't use God's holy name too freely. 10 A slave who is constantly beaten will never be free of bruises; someone who is always taking an oath by the Holy Name will never be free of sin.
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Sirach 23:9-10
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Sirach 23:9-10
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
9 Do not accustom your mouth to oaths,
nor habitually utter the name of the Holy One;
10 for as a servant who is constantly under scrutiny
will not lack bruises,
so also the person who always swears and utters the Name
will never be cleansed[a] from sin.
Footnotes
- Sirach 23:10 Syr be free
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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Good News Translation (GNT) 
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English Standard Version (ESV) 
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New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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