James 5:12
10 Brothers, as an example of patience in affliction, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
11 See how blessed we consider those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
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.
13 Is any one of you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises.
14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- 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.
- 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.
- WEB
- But above all things, my brothers, don’t swear—not by heaven, or by the earth, or by any other oath; but let your “yes” be “yes”, and your “no”, “no”, so that you don’t fall into hypocrisy.
- 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.
- DARBY
- But before all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath; but let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay, that ye do not fall under judgment.
- BLB
- But before all things, my brothers, do not swear, neither [by] heaven nor the earth nor any other oath. But let your⁺ “Yes” be yes, and the “No,” no, so that you⁺ might not fall under judgment.
- ÅB
- Men fremfor alt, mine brødre, sverg ikke, hverken ved himmelen eller ved jorden eller noen annen ed! men deres ja være ja, og deres nei være nei, for at dere ikke skal falle under dommen!
- OTB
- Fremfor alt, mine brødre og søstre, sverg ikke, verken ved himmelen eller ved jorden eller med noen annen ed. La deres "Ja" være ja, og deres "Nei" være nei, så dere ikke faller under dom.
- B1930
- Men fremfor alt, mine brødre, sverg ikke, hverken ved himmelen eller ved jorden eller nogen annen ed! men eders ja være ja, og eders nei være nei, forat I ikke skal falle under dommen!
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Matthew 5:33–37
Again, you have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’
Read in contextMatthew 23:16–22
Woe 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.’
Read in context2 Corinthians 1:17–20
When 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”?
Read in context