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Teaching About Oaths

33 “Again, you have heard that it was said by the ancients, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall fulfill your oaths to the Lord.’[a] 34 But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither 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 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these comes from the evil one.

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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”