Matthew 23:20-21

23:20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 23:21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and the one who dwells in it.

Matthew 23:18

23:18 And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing. ¹  But if anyone swears by the gift on it he is bound by the oath.’

Matthew 23:22

23:22 And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and the one who sits on it.

Matthew 23:16

23:16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple is bound by nothing. ²  But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by the oath.’

Matthew 5:34

5:34 But I say to you, do not take oaths at all – not by heaven, because it is the throne of God,

Matthew 5:36

5:36 Do not take an oath by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black.

Matthew 26:74

26:74 At that he began to curse, and he swore with an oath, “I do not know the man!” At that moment a rooster crowed. ³ 

[23:18]  ¹ tn Grk “Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing.”

[23:16]  ¹ tn Grk “Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing.”

[26:74]  ¹ tn It seems most likely that this refers to a real rooster crowing, although a number of scholars have suggested that “cockcrow” is a technical term referring to the trumpet call which ended the third watch of the night (from midnight to 3 a.m.). This would then be a reference to the Roman gallicinium (ἀλεκτοροφωνία, alektorofwnia; the term is used in Mark 13:35 and is found in some mss [Ì^37vid,45 ˹] in Matt 26:34) which would have been sounded at 3 a.m.; in this case Jesus would have prophesied a precise time by which the denials would have taken place. For more details see J. H. Bernard, St. John (ICC), 2:604. However, in light of the fact that Mark mentions the rooster crowing twice (Mark 14:72) and in Luke 22:60 the words are reversed (ἐφώνησεν ἀλέκτωρ, efwnhsen alektwr), it is more probable that a real rooster is in view. In any event natural cockcrow would have occurred at approximately 3 a.m. in Palestine at this time of year (March-April) anyway.