Teaching on Oaths and Honesty
Matthew 5:33-37
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Matt.5.33 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Παλιν: ADV
- ηκουσατε: VERB,aor,act,ind,2,pl
- οτι: CONJ
- ερρεθη: VERB,aor,pass,ind,3,sg
- τοις: ART,dat,pl,m
- αρχαιοις·Ουκ: NOUN,dat,pl,m
- επιορκησεις: VERB,fut,act,ind,2,sg
- αποδωσεις: VERB,fut,act,ind,2,sg
- δε: CONJ
- τω: ART,dat,sg,m
- κυριω: NOUN,dat,sg,m
- τους: ART,acc,pl,m
- ορκους: NOUN,acc,pl,m
- σου: PRON,gen,sg,2
Parallels
- Leviticus 19:12 (quotation): Direct Old Testament prohibition: do not swear falsely by God's name; the Mosaic law underlying Jesus' ‘you have heard’ formulation.
- Numbers 30:2 (thematic): Law about vows and oaths—if a man makes a vow to the LORD, he must not break his word—reflects the covenantal concern for keeping oaths.
- Deuteronomy 23:21-23 (quotation): Instruction to fulfill vows made to the LORD and to pay what one has promised immediately—parallels Matthew's emphasis on fulfilling oaths to God.
- Matthew 23:16-22 (verbal): Jesus later critiques Pharisaic casuistry about oaths (by heaven, earth, Jerusalem), expanding and intensifying the Sermon on the Mount teaching about truthful speech and the misuse of oaths.
- James 5:12 (thematic): New Testament exhortation not to swear but to let one’s yes be yes and no be no, echoing Jesus’ prohibition on oath-taking as a remedy for dishonest or equivocal speech.
Alternative generated candidates
- You have heard that it was said, 'Do not swear falsely, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you make.'
- Again, you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but you shall perform to the Lord your oaths.'
Matt.5.34 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- εγω: PRON,nom,sg,1
- δε: CONJ
- λεγω: VERB,pres,act,ind,1,sg
- υμιν: PRON,dat,pl,2
- μη: PART
- ομοσαι: VERB,aor,act,inf
- ολως·μητε: ADV
- εν: PREP
- τω: ART,dat,sg,m
- ουρανω: NOUN,dat,sg,m
- οτι: CONJ
- θρονος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- εστιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- του: ART,gen,sg,m
- θεου·: NOUN,gen,sg,m
Parallels
- James 5:12 (quotation): Direct New Testament echo of Jesus' prohibition: '...but above all my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth...' paralleling the injunction not to swear at all.
- Matthew 23:16-22 (verbal): Jesus elsewhere criticizes the misuse of oaths, repeating the argument that heaven is God's throne (and earth his footstool) to undermine pledges 'by heaven,' closely echoing the language and logic of 5:34.
- Leviticus 19:12 (allusion): Old Testament legal prohibition against swearing falsely by God's name ('You shall not swear by my name falsely'), which forms the background for Jesus' teaching against oaths.
- Isaiah 66:1 (verbal): Declaration that 'Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool' provides the scriptural basis for Jesus' claim that heaven is God's throne and thus should not be used as an oath.
Alternative generated candidates
- But I tell you, do not swear at all—neither by heaven, for it is God's throne,
- But I tell you, do not swear at all—neither by heaven, for it is God's throne;
Matt.5.35 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- μητε: CONJ
- εν: PREP
- τη: ART,dat,sg,f
- γη: NOUN,nom,sg,f
- οτι: CONJ
- υποποδιον: NOUN,nom,sg,n
- εστιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- των: ART,gen,pl,f
- ποδων: NOUN,gen,pl,m
- αυτου·μητε: PRON,gen,sg,m
- εις: PREP
- Ιεροσολυμα: NOUN,nom,sg,f
- οτι: CONJ
- πολις: NOUN,nom,sg,f
- εστιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- του: ART,gen,sg,m
- μεγαλου: ADJ,gen,sg,m
- βασιλεως·: NOUN,gen,sg,m
Parallels
- Isaiah 66:1 (quotation): Verbal parallel—'Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool' echoes Jesus' reason for not swearing by the earth (earth as God's footstool).
- Psalm 48:2 (verbal): Calls Zion/Jerusalem 'the city of the great King,' directly paralleling Jesus' label for Jerusalem in this verse.
- Acts 7:49 (allusion): Stephen quotes Isaiah 66:1 ('Heaven is my throne and the earth my footstool'), showing early Christian use of the same image Jesus invokes about the earth.
- Matthew 5:34 (structural): Immediate context in the Sermon on the Mount—Jesus forbids swearing by heaven, earth, or Jerusalem; Matt 5:35 is part of this same teaching on oaths.
- James 5:12 (thematic): The New Testament echoes Jesus' prohibition of oath-making: 'Do not swear... let your yes be yes,' reflecting the same concern for simple, truthful speech.
Alternative generated candidates
- nor by the earth, for it is his footstool, nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
- nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
Matt.5.36 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- μητε: CONJ
- εν: PREP
- τη: ART,dat,sg,f
- κεφαλη: NOUN,dat,sg,f
- σου: PRON,gen,sg,2
- ομοσης: VERB,fut,act,ind,2,sg
- οτι: CONJ
- ου: PART,neg
- δυνασαι: VERB,pres,mid,ind,2,sg
- μιαν: NUM,acc,sg,f
- τριχα: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- λευκην: ADJ,acc,sg,f
- ποιησαι: VERB,aor,act,inf
- η: ART,nom,sg,f
- μελαιναν: ADJ,acc,sg,f
Parallels
- Matthew 5:34 (verbal): Immediate context in the Sermon on the Mount: Jesus forbids swearing ('but I say to you, do not swear at all'), closely linked to the prohibition against swearing by one's head in v.36.
- Matthew 23:16-22 (allusion): Jesus criticizes Pharisees' casuistic oaths (swearing by temple/altar), developing the same concern about careless oaths and their hollow attempts to control meaning.
- James 5:12 (verbal): Echoes the teaching against swearing in the Christian community: 'Do not swear...let your yes be yes and your no be no,' paralleling Matthew's warning about oaths.
- Matthew 10:30 (verbal): Speaks of God's knowledge and authority over the hairs of the head ('the very hairs of your head are all numbered'), which contrasts human inability to change a single hair as noted in 5:36.
Alternative generated candidates
- Nor shall you swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black.
- Neither shall you swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.
Matt.5.37 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- εστω: VERB,pres,act,imp,3,sg
- δε: CONJ
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- λογος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- υμων: PRON,gen,pl,2
- ναι: PART
- ναι: PART
- ου: PART,neg
- ου·το: ART,nom,sg,n
- δε: CONJ
- περισσον: NOUN,nom,sg,n
- τουτων: PRON,gen,pl,m
- εκ: PREP
- του: ART,gen,sg,m
- πονηρου: ADJ,gen,sg,m
- εστιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
Parallels
- James 5:12 (quotation): Directly repeats Jesus' instruction — 'let your yes be yes and your no be no' — warning against oaths and swearing in nearly identical wording.
- Matthew 5:33-36 (structural): Immediate Matthean context addressing oaths and vows (do not swear at all; on heaven, earth, Jerusalem, your head), of which v.37 is the concluding summary.
- Deuteronomy 23:21-23 (allusion): Old Testament regulation about vows and the obligation to fulfill spoken promises, providing legal and ethical background to Jesus' teaching on speech and oaths.
- Ecclesiastes 5:2 (thematic): Warns against rash speech before God and urges restraint in utterance, reflecting the same concern for simple, careful, and binding speech found in Matt 5:37.
Alternative generated candidates
- Let your word be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from the evil one.
- Let your 'Yes' be yes, and your 'No' be no; anything more than this comes from the evil one.
Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord the vows you make.’ But I tell you, do not swear at all—neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne—
nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
Nor shall you swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.
Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No’; anything more than these comes from the evil one.