He who swears by the temple, swears by it, and by him who was living in it.
Parallel translations
- KJV And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.
- BSB And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the One who dwells in it.
- NKJV He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it.
- NASB And the one who swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells in it.
- NLT And when you swear ‘by the Temple,’ you are swearing by it and by God, who lives in it.
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
To swear by the temple is to swear by it and by God who dwells in it. It underscores that God himself stands behind such oaths.
Overview
Because the temple was the dwelling place of God's presence, swearing by it invokes God himself. The leaders could not invoke sacred things while pretending God was not involved. This affirms that God is the witness to all our words, and no appeal to holy things can be detached from him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 1 Kgs 8:13I have surely built you a house of habitation, a place for you to dwell in forever.”
- Ps 26:8Yahweh, I love the habitation of your house, the place where your glory dwells.
- 2 Chr 6:2But I have built you a house and home, a place for you to dwell in forever.”
- Ps 132:13–14For Yahweh has chosen Zion. He has desired it for his habitation.
- 2 Chr 7:2The priests could not enter into Yahweh’s house, because Yahweh’s glory filled Yahweh’s house.
- Col 2:9For in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily,
- Eph 2:22in whom you also are built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.
- 1 Kgs 8:27But will God in very deed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens can’t contain you; how much less this house that I have built!
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
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.'
How Matthew 23:21 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.