Deuteronomy 6:13

6:13 You must revere the Lord your God, serve him, and take oaths using only his name.

Exodus 20:7

20:7 “You shall not take ¹  the name of the Lord your God in vain, ²  for the Lord will not hold guiltless ³  anyone who takes his name in vain.

Leviticus 19:12

19:12 You must not swear falsely ⁴  in my name, so that you do not profane ⁵  the name of your God. I am the Lord.

Psalms 139:20

139:20 They ⁶  rebel against you ⁷  and act deceitfully; ⁸ 

your enemies lie. ⁹ 

Jeremiah 4:2

4:2 You must be truthful, honest and upright

when you take an oath saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’ ¹⁰ 

If you do, ¹¹  the nations will pray to be as blessed by him as you are

and will make him the object of their boasting.” ¹² 

Matthew 5:33-34

Oaths

5:33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to an older generation, ¹³  ‘Do not break an oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ ¹⁴  5:34 But I say to you, do not take oaths at all – not by heaven, because it is the throne of God,

James 5:12

5:12 And above all, my brothers and sisters, ¹⁵  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 into judgment.

[20:7]  ¹ tn Or “use” (NCV, TEV); NIV, CEV, NLT “misuse”; NRSV “make wrongful use of.”

[20:7]  ² tn שָׁוְא (shav’, “vain”) describes “unreality.” The command prohibits use of the name for any idle, frivolous, or insincere purpose (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 196). This would include perjury, pagan incantations, or idle talk. The name is to be treated with reverence and respect because it is the name of the holy God.

[20:7]  ³ tn Or “leave unpunished.”

[19:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “And you shall not swear to the falsehood.”

[19:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “and you shall not profane”; NAB “thus profaning.”

[139:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “who.”

[139:20]  ⁷ tc Heb “they speak [of] you.” The suffixed form of the verb אָמַר (’amar, “to speak”) is peculiar. The translation assumes an emendation to יַמְרֻךָ (yamrukha), a Hiphil form from מָרָה (marah, “to rebel”; see Ps 78:40).

[139:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “by deceit.”

[139:20]  ⁹ tc Heb “lifted up for emptiness, your cities.” The Hebrew text as it stands makes no sense. The form נָשֻׂא (nasu’; a Qal passive participle) should be emended to נָשְׂאוּ (nosÿu; a Qal perfect, third common plural, “[they] lift up”). Many emend עָרֶיךָ (’arekha, “your cities”) to עָלֶיךָ (’alekha, “against you”), but it is preferable to understand the noun as an Aramaism and translate “your enemies” (see Dan 4:16 and L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 253).

[4:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “If you [= you must, see the translator’s note on the word “do” later in this verse] swear/take an oath, ‘As the Lord lives,’ in truth, justice, and righteousness…”

[4:2]  ¹¹ tn 4:1-2a consists of a number of “if” clauses, two of which are formally introduced by the Hebrew particle אִם (’im) while the others are introduced by the conjunction “and,” followed by a conjunction (“and” = “then”) with a perfect in 4:2b which introduces the consequence. The translation “You must…. If you do,” was chosen to avoid a long and complicated sentence.

[4:2]  ¹² tn Heb “bless themselves in him and make their boasts in him.”

[5:33]  ¹³ tn Grk “the ancient ones.”

[5:33]  ¹⁴ sn A quotation from Lev 19:12.

[5:12]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.