James 5:12: Swear Not
2025-05-03
James 5:12
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. (James 5:12)
This is a more concise statement from what the Lord had said during His earthly ministry as quoted in Matthew 5:33-37, during the Sermon on the Mount. Since James grew up with Jesus, despite his initial unbelief, he likely heard some of his brother’s teaching. Regardless, the Spirit places this in the letter for good reason. Let us look at Matthew 5:33-37 first before we proceed.
“Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time...” We see that these quotations in the sermon are not always exact, but rather “it hath been said by them of old time.” Sometimes, Jesus is quoting traditional extrapolations of Old Testament concepts and showing its deficiency. For example: “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy” (Matthew 5:43). The first part of this verse is Leviticus 19:18, truncated. The second half is the opposite of what is taught in Leviticus 19:17: “Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart.” In Matthew 5:33, we see not a direct quotation but a general conclusion from Scripture.
Leviticus 19:12 is one such verse. “And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:12). To swear by God’s name falsely is to profane God’s name. It is to treat the LORD’s name, including His actual name, His authority, and His reputation with disdain. It is to add value to your statement on the LORD’s reputation, but you do not really believe in that integrity in your heart.
Numbers 30 is all about vows, mainly about women in their fathers’ houses or when they are married. The matter can be summarized here: “If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth” (Numbers 30:2).
Consider the following: “When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee. But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee. That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the LORD thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth” (Deuteronomy 23:21-23). This Scripture tells us that it is sin to not fulfill whatever you vowed. In this case, it was a freewill offering. But whatever promise one would vow to the Lord, the same is required to fulfill it.
But we see also that not vowing is not a sin. Then why vow? Why put such a burden on yourself? “When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay” (Ecclesiastes 5:4-5).
Consider the severe consequences that happened because of vows. “And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering” (Judges 11:30-31). Later, we read, “And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter” (Judges 11:34). We know the tragedy that followed.
Again, we read, “Then answered one of the people, and said, Thy father straitly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food this day. And the people were faint. Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey” (1 Samuel 14:28-29). Jonathan almost died that day because of his father’s rash oath.
Here is another example. “And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. And they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy” (Acts 23:12-13). They did not successfully kill the apostle. Did they die of starvation? They should have!
The Israelites of the conquest understood this when they made a rash vow to the Gibeonites. “But all the princes said unto all the congregation, We have sworn unto them by the LORD God of Israel: now therefore we may not touch them. This we will do to them; we will even let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we sware unto them” (Joshua 9:19-20). In this case, when they were supposed to obey God in eradicating the heathen from the land, they could not.
Not only is there pressure to perform vows, but there are also other reasons not to swear oaths. Swearing by heaven, earth, or Jerusalem all swear to something connected to the Lord Himself, which are, respectively, God’s throne, footstool, and city.
If you were to swear by yourself, you cannot, because you cannot control even the hair on your head, making it white or black. What is one’s motive in swearing oaths, but to make your statement sound more serious to your listeners? But we swear to our own downfall.
It suffices for us for mean what we say: “Yea, yea; Nay, nay.” Compare the Lord with His brother: “But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil” (Matthew 5:37). “...but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation” (James 5:12). According to the Spirit here, an oath “cometh of evil” (i.e., not “from above”) and will make one “fall into condemnation.” When we abide above in the Lord, we will not fall into the traps that we saw above and therefore be condemned.
Note that this commandment from the Spirit is qualified by the saying, “But above all things...” This commandment is a grave warning. Perhaps the Jewish audience was prone to making rash oaths to show how serious they were about a matter. Anyway, the Spirit shows us the real damage and condemnation that can occur. The severity of oaths in the Old Testament was not magically erased now that we live in the New Testament era.
The word “condemnation” shows up a few times in this epistle, this being the fourth occasion. They are different but related Greek words.
“My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation” (James 3:1). The teaching master receives greater condemnation because what they say can seriously corrupt his listeners.
“Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you” (James 5:6). The rich condemn the righteous who does not even retaliate.
“Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door” (James 5:9). Holding a grudge will lead to condemnation when the righteous Judge returns to the earth.
And the fourth case is mentioned here. But what of this: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:1). Why I cannot be sure, I see the condemnation of Romans 8:1 being an eternal condemnation, where the other cases are a rebuke in this life or at the Judgment Seat.