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Exodus 20:7
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Exodus 20:7
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
7 You shall not invoke the name of the Lord, your God, in vain.[a](A) For the Lord will not leave unpunished anyone who invokes his name in vain.
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- 20:7 In vain: i.e., to no good purpose, a general framing of the prohibition which includes swearing falsely, especially in the context of a legal proceeding, but also goes beyond it (cf. Lv 24:16; Prv 30:8–9).
Exodus 20:7
New International Version
Exodus 20:7
New International Version
7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.(A)
Leviticus 19:12
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Leviticus 19:12
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
12 You shall not swear falsely by my name, thus profaning the name of your God.(A) I am the Lord.
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Leviticus 19:12
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Leviticus 19:12
New International Version
Leviticus 24:16
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Leviticus 24:16
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
16 whoever utters the name of the Lord in a curse shall be put to death.(A) The whole community shall stone that person; alien and native-born alike must be put to death for uttering the Lord’s name in a curse.
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Leviticus 24:16
New International Version
Leviticus 24:16
New International Version
16 anyone who blasphemes(A) the name of the Lord is to be put to death.(B) The entire assembly must stone them. Whether foreigner or native-born, when they blaspheme the Name they are to be put to death.
Deuteronomy 5:11
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Deuteronomy 5:11
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
11 You shall not invoke the name of the Lord, your God, in vain.(A) For the Lord will not leave unpunished anyone who invokes his name in vain.
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Deuteronomy 5:11
New International Version
Deuteronomy 5:11
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Matthew 5:33-37
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Matthew 5:33-37
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Teaching About Oaths. 33 [a](A)“Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow.’ 34 (B)But I say to you, do not swear at all;[b] not 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 Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. 37 [c]Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one.
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- 5:33 This is not an exact quotation of any Old Testament text, but see Ex 20:7; Dt 5:11; Lv 19:12. The purpose of an oath was to guarantee truthfulness by one’s calling on God as witness.
- 5:34–36 The use of these oath formularies that avoid the divine name is in fact equivalent to swearing by it, for all the things sworn by are related to God.
- 5:37 Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No’: literally, “let your speech be ‘Yes, yes,’ ‘No, no.’” Some have understood this as a milder form of oath, permitted by Jesus. In view of Mt 5:34, “Do not swear at all,” that is unlikely. From the evil one: i.e., from the devil. Oath-taking presupposes a sinful weakness of the human race, namely, the tendency to lie. Jesus demands of his disciples a truthfulness that makes oaths unnecessary.
Matthew 5:33-37
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Matthew 5:33-37
New International Version
Oaths
33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath,(A) but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’(B) 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all:(C) either by heaven, for it is God’s throne;(D) 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.(E) 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’;(F) anything beyond this comes from the evil one.[a](G)
Footnotes
- Matthew 5:37 Or from evil
James 5:12
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
James 5:12
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
12 (A)But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath, but let your “Yes” mean “Yes” and your “No” mean “No,” that you may not incur condemnation.[a]
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- 5:12 This is the threat of condemnation for the abuse of swearing oaths (cf. Mt 5:33–37). By heaven or by earth: these words were substitutes for the original form of an oath, to circumvent its binding force and to avoid pronouncing the holy name of God (see Ex 22:10).
James 5:12
New International Version
James 5:12
New International Version
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)
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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