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 5:4

5:4 or when a person swears an oath, speaking thoughtlessly ⁴  with his lips, whether to do evil or to do good, with regard to anything which the individual might speak thoughtlessly in an oath, even if he did not realize it, but he himself has later come to know it and is guilty with regard to one of these oaths ⁵  –

Matthew 5:33-34

Oaths

5:33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to an older generation, ⁶  ‘Do not break an oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ ⁷  5:34 But I say to you, do not take oaths at all – not by heaven, because it is the throne of God,

Matthew 14:7-9

14:7 so much that he promised with an oath ⁸  to give her whatever she asked. 14:8 Instructed by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 14:9 Although it grieved the king, ⁹  because of his oath and the dinner guests he commanded it to be given.

Acts 23:12

The Plot to Kill Paul

23:12 When morning came, ¹⁰  the Jews formed ¹¹  a conspiracy ¹²  and bound themselves with an oath ¹³  not to eat or drink anything ¹⁴  until they had killed Paul.

Acts 23:2

23:2 At that ¹⁵  the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near ¹⁶  Paul ¹⁷  to strike ¹⁸  him on the mouth.

Colossians 1:23

1:23 if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm, ¹⁹  without shifting ²⁰  from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become its servant.

Colossians 1:9-11

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, ²¹  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ²²  to fill ²³  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 1:10 so that you may live ²⁴  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ²⁵  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God, 1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of ²⁶  all patience and steadfastness, joyfully

[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.”

[5:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “to speak thoughtlessly”; cf. NAB “rashly utters an oath.”

[5:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “and is guilty to one from these,” probably referring here to any of “these” things about which one might swear a thoughtless oath (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 45), with the word “oath” supplied in the translation for clarity. Another possibility is that “to one from these” is a dittography from v. 5 (cf. the note on v. 5a), and that v. 4 ends with “and is guilty” like vv. 2 and 3 (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:300).

[5:33]  ⁶ tn Grk “the ancient ones.”

[5:33]  ⁷ sn A quotation from Lev 19:12.

[14:7]  ⁸ tn The Greek text reads here ὁμολογέω (Jomologew); though normally translated “acknowledge, confess,” BDAG (708 s.v. 1) lists “assure, promise with an oath” for certain contexts such as here.

[14:9]  ⁹ tn Grk “and being grieved, the king commanded.”

[23:12]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “when it was day.”

[23:12]  ¹¹ tn Grk “forming a conspiracy, bound.” The participle ποιήσαντες (poihsantes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:12]  ¹² tn L&N 30.72 has ‘some Jews formed a conspiracy’ Ac 23:12”; BDAG 979 s.v. συστροφή 1 has “Judeans came together in a mob 23:12. But in the last pass. the word may also mean – 2. the product of a clandestine gathering, plot, conspiracy” (see also Amos 7:10; Ps 63:3).

[23:12]  ¹³ tn Or “bound themselves under a curse.” BDAG 63 s.v. ἀναθεματίζω 1 has “trans. put under a curse τινά someone…pleonastically ἀναθέματι ἀ. ἑαυτόν Ac 23:14…ἀ. ἑαυτόν vss. 12, 21, 13 v.l.” On such oaths see m. Shevi’it 3:1-5. The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[23:12]  ¹⁴ tn The word “anything” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[23:2]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “and” (δέ, de); the phrase “at that” has been used in the translation to clarify the cause and effect relationship.

[23:2]  ¹⁶ tn BDAG 778 s.v. παρίστημι/παριστάνω 2.b.α has “οἱ παρεστῶτες αὐτῷ those standing near him Ac 23:2.”

[23:2]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:2]  ¹⁸ tn Or “hit” (‘strike’ maintains the wordplay with the following verse). The action was probably designed to indicate a rejection of Paul’s claim to a clear conscience in the previous verse.

[1:23]  ¹⁹ tn BDAG 276 s.v. ἑδραῖος suggests “firm, steadfast.”

[1:23]  ²⁰ tn BDAG 639 s.v. μετακινέω suggests “without shifting from the hope” here.

[1:9]  ²¹ tn Or “heard about it”; Grk “heard.” There is no direct object stated in the Greek (direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context). A direct object is expected by an English reader, however, so most translations supply one. Here, however, it is not entirely clear what the author “heard”: a number of translations supply “it” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV; NAB “this”), but this could refer back either to (1) “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8, or (2) “your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (v. 4). In light of this uncertainty, other translations supply “about you” (TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). This is preferred by the present translation since, while it does not resolve the ambiguity entirely, it does make it less easy for the English reader to limit the reference only to “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8.

[1:9]  ²² tn The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “the knowledge of his will” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ²³ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as substantival, indicating the content of the prayer and asking. The idea of purpose may also be present in this clause.

[1:10]  ²⁴ tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”

[1:10]  ²⁵ tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”

[1:11]  ²⁶ tn The expression “for the display of” is an attempt to convey in English the force of the Greek preposition εἰς (eis) in this context.