And you say, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the offering that is on it is obligated.’
Parallel translations
- WEB ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obligated?’
- KJV And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.
- BSB And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’
- NKJV And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it. ’
- NLT And you say that to swear ‘by the altar’ is not binding, but to swear ‘by the gifts on the altar’ is binding.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
He exposes the same false distinction with the altar and the gift upon it. It continues the indictment of evasive oath-making.
Overview
The leaders taught that swearing by the altar was nonbinding but swearing by the gift on it was binding. This inverted the proper order, since the altar consecrates the gift. Jesus highlights how their traditions twisted truth and obscured the seriousness of an oath made before God.
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Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
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Original language
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