Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself. These are not the precise words of Exodus 20:7; but they express all that it was currently understood to condemn, namely, false swearing (Leviticus 19:12, etc.) This is plain from what follows.
But I say unto you, Swear not at all. That this was meant to condemn swearing of every kind and on every occasion-as the Society of Friends and some other ultra-moralists allege-is not for a moment to be thought. For even Yahweh is said once and again to have sworn by Himself; and our Lord certainly answered upon oath to a question put to Him by the high priest; and the apostle several times, and in the most solemn language, takes God to witness that He spoke and wrote the truth; and it is inconceivable that our Lord should here have quoted the precept about not forswearing ourselves but performing to the Lord our oaths, only to give a precept of His own directly in the teeth of it. Evidently, it is 'swearing in common conversation and on frivolous occasions' that is here meant. Frivolous oaths were indeed severely condemned in the teaching the times. But so narrow was the circle of them that a man might swear, says Lightfoot, and a hundred thousand times and yet not be guilty of vain swearing. Hardly anything was regarded as an oath if only the name of God were not in it; just as among ourselves, as Trench well remarks, a certain lingering reverence for the name of God leads to cutting off portions of His name, or uttering sounds nearly resembling it, or substituting the name of some pagan deity, in profane exclamations or asseverations. Against all this our Lord now speaks decisively; teaching His audience that every oath carries an appeal to God, whether named or not.
Neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: