He who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God, and by him who sits on it.
Parallel translations
- KJV And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.
- BSB And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the One who sits on it.
- NKJV And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.
- NASB And the one who swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.
- NLT And when you swear ‘by heaven,’ you are swearing by the throne of God and by God, who sits on the throne.
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 heaven is to swear by God's throne and by God who sits on it. It teaches that every oath ultimately invokes God.
Overview
Even an oath that seems to avoid naming God still appeals to heaven, which is God's throne, and thus to God himself. There is no neutral or evasive swearing. The point reinforces Jesus' teaching elsewhere that our speech should be so honest that elaborate oaths are unnecessary, since God witnesses all we say.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Matt 5:34but I tell you, don’t swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God;
- Ps 11:4Yahweh is in his holy temple. Yahweh is on his throne in heaven. His eyes observe. His eyes examine the children of men.
- Isa 66:1Yahweh says, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build to me? Where will I rest?
- Acts 7:49‘heaven is my throne, and the earth a footstool for my feet. What kind of house will you build me?’ says the Lord; ‘or what is the place of my rest?
- Rev 4:2–3Immediately I was in the Spirit. Behold, there was a throne set in heaven, and one sitting on the throne
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 23:22 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.