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James 5:12

in James 5

Above all, my brothers, do not swear, not by heaven or earth or by any other oath. Simply let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, so that you will not fall under judgment.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by the heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath: but let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay; that ye fall not under judgment.

KJV

But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.

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This verse in James 5

Commentary

12 notes on this verse

A commentator

Cyril of Alexandria

CATENA · Written before 444.

Let the witness of our life be stronger than an oath, and if some shameless person dares to ask an oath from you, let your yes be yes and your no be no, instead of swearing an oath. James forbids us to swear by heaven or by earth for this reason, that we should not give the creation more value than it has by deifying it. For those who swear, swear by something greater than themselves, as the apostle says.

This site's exposition

Above all, my brothers, do not swear

on James 5:12-13

Above all, my brothers, do not swear, not by heaven or earth, the Lord's teaching of Matthew 5:34-37, aimed at oaths graded by their formula. Readers divide on the civil oath. Verse 13 opens the letter's closing call: the one suffering should pray, and the cheerful should sing praises.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers2 voices

A commentator

Oecumenius

Commentary on James · Written before 550.

proposed

But above all, my brothers, do not swear, neither by heaven, nor by earth, nor by any other oath. But let your yes be yes, and your no be no, so that you do not fall into hypocrisy. But someone will say: If someone is …

A commentator

John Chrysostom

CATENA · Written in the 5th century.

proposed

What if someone swears an oath and claims that he was forced to do so? The fear of God is more powerful than any force. For though you may start out by swearing all kinds of promises, you will not keep any of them. Moreover, you would not dare to swear or give an oath in matters of human law, which you accept whether you want to or not. You would certainly never claim that you were forced into doing so. Now the person who has heard the blessings of God and who has prepared himself as Christ has commanded will never claim any need to do anything of the kind, for he is respected and honored by all. What is needed beyond a simple yes and no? An oath adds nothing to these, for no one has to be told that evil is the source of both excess and its deficient opposite. An oath is a form of excess.

The Medieval Church3 voices

A commentator

Bede

Homilies on the Gospels 2.23 · Written before 735.

proposed

This is the judgment to which Herod fell victim, so that he found that he had either to break his oath or commit another shameful act in order to avoid breaking it.

A commentator

Leander of Seville

THE TRAINING OF NUNS 29 (19) · Written before 601.

proposed

Jesus said: "Let your yes be yes and your no, no." Any more than this is evil. So do not swear for good reason, because that is evil. It is said to be evil because the need of an oath comes from an unsure conscience. …

A commentator

Theophylact of Ohrid

Commentary on James · Written before 1107.

proposed

Let your affirmation be firm in firmness and your negation be the same. Otherwise: let the testimony of your life be firmer than an oath. If someone shameless, not respecting your life, insistently demands an oath from you, then instead of an oath let your …
5 more voices on this verse

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

But above all things, my brethren, swear not,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

All customary needless swearing is undoubtedly forbidden, and all along in scripture condemned, as a very grievous sin. Profane swearing was very customary among the Jews, and, since this epistle is directed in general to the twelve tribes scattered abroad (as before has been observed), we may conceive this exhortation sent to those who believed not.

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Above all things - swear not - What relation this exhortation can have to the subject in question, I confess I cannot see. It may not have been designed to stand in any connection, but to be a separate piece of advice, as in the several cases which immediately follow. That the Jews were notoriously guilty of common swearing is allowed on all hands; and that swearing by heaven, earth, Jerusalem, the temple, the altar, different parts of the body, was not considered by them as binding oaths, has been sufficiently proved.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

But above all--as swearing is utterly alien to the Christian meek "endurance" just recommended. swear not--through impatience, to which trials may tempt you (Jas 5:10, 11).
But above all things - That is be especially careful on this point; whatever else is done, let not this be. The manner in which James speaks of the practice referred to here, shows that he regarded it as a sin of a very heinous nature; one that was by all means to be avoided by those whom he addressed. The habit of swearing by various things was a very common one among the Jews, and it was important to guard those who from among them had been converted to Christianity on that subject. Swear not - See this command illustrated in the notes at Mat 5:33-34. Nearly the same things are mentioned here, as objects by which they were accustomed to swear, which are referred to by the Saviour. But let our yea be yea - Let there be a simple affirmation, unaccompanied by any oath or appeal to God or to any of his works. A man who makes that his common method of speech is the man who will be believed. See the notes at Mat 5:37. Lest you fall into condemnation - That is, for profaning the name of God. “The Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain,” Exo 20:7.

The words behind it

32 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

16 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Matthew 5:37Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ Anything more comes from the evil one.49 worksMatthew 5:33–37Again, you have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’36 worksExodus 20:7You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.21 worksMatthew 5:34But I tell you not to swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne;20 works2 Corinthians 1:17When I planned this, did I do it carelessly? Or do I make my plans by human standards, so as to say “Yes, yes” when I really mean “No, no”?13 worksMatthew 23:16–22Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’12 works
The other 10 cross-references, with their words ▾
3 John 1:2Beloved, I pray that in every way you may prosper and enjoy good health, as your soul also prospers.9 works1 Peter 4:8Above all, love one another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.5 worksLeviticus 19:12You must not swear falsely by My name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.5 works1 Corinthians 11:29For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.4 worksDeuteronomy 5:11You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.4 worksZechariah 5:3Then he told me, “This is the curse that is going out over the face of all the land, for according to one side of the scroll, every thief will be removed; and according to the other side, every perjurer will be removed.4 worksGenesis 42:15And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here.2 worksMalachi 3:5“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.2 worksJames 3:1–2Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.-5 works1 Corinthians 11:34If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you come together it will not result in judgment. And when I come, I will give instructions about the remaining matters.-6 works

The walk

5 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    1 Peter 4:8

    Above all, love one another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

    it leads to

    • Proverbs 10:12

      Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers all transgressions.

    • Colossians 3:14

      And over all these virtues put on love, which is the bond of perfect unity.

    • Proverbs 17:9

      Whoever conceals an offense promotes love, but he who brings it up separates friends.

    • James 5:20

      consider this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

    • 1 Peter 1:22

      Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth so that you have a genuine love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from a pure heart.

Where this verse is studied

On this page

Studies1

About James

The Feeding of the Multitude, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Feeding of the Multitude, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
James: the study guide →Read James 5 →
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Homilies on the Gospels 2.23; Cyril of Alexandria, CATENA; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, CATENA; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Leander of Seville, THE TRAINING OF NUNS 29 (19); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, Commentary on James and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on James.

Read on in James 5 →