³ And he said to me, “This is the curse^(A) that is going out over the whole land; for according to what it says on one side, every thief^(B) will be banished, and according to what it says on the other, everyone who swears falsely^(C) will be banished.

Stubborn Israel

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)

¹⁰ For all who rely on the works of the law^(A) are under a curse,^(B) as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”^{[a](C) 11} Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God,^(D) because “the righteous will live by faith.”^{[b](E) 12} The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.”^{[c](F) 13} Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law^(G) by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”^[d](H)

⁶ He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children,^(A) and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike^(B) the land with total destruction.”^(C)

⁴ The Lord Almighty declares, ‘I will send it out, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of anyone who swears falsely^(A) by my name. It will remain in that house and destroy it completely, both its timbers and its stones.^(B)’”