35 Bible Verses about Oaths, Human

If a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath of binding obligation on himself, he must not break his word, but must do whatever he has promised.

When you make a vow to the Lord your God you must not delay in fulfilling it, for otherwise he will surely hold you accountable as a sinner.

"Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple is bound by nothing. But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by the oath.' Blind fools! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred? And, 'Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing. But if anyone swears by the gift on it he is bound by the oath.'read more.
You are blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and the one who dwells in it. And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and the one who sits on it.

You must revere the Lord your God, serve him, and take oaths using only his name.

Who is allowed to ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may go up to his holy dwelling place? The one whose deeds are blameless and whose motives are pure, who does not lie, or make promises with no intention of keeping them.

But they must make sure you learn to follow the religious practices of my people. Once they taught my people to swear their oaths using the name of the god Baal. But then, they must swear oaths using my name, saying, "As surely as the Lord lives, I swear." If they do these things, then they will be included among the people I call my own.

You must not swear falsely in my name, so that you do not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.

"You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold guiltless anyone who takes his name in vain.

You must not make use of the name of the Lord your God for worthless purposes, for the Lord will not exonerate anyone who abuses his name that way.

or has found something lost and denies it and swears falsely concerning any one of the things that someone might do to sin -- when it happens that he sins and he is found guilty, then he must return whatever he had stolen, or whatever he had extorted, or the thing that he had held in trust, or the lost thing that he had found, or anything about which he swears falsely. He must restore it in full and add one fifth to it; he must give it to its owner when he is found guilty.

The speaker went on to say, "This is a curse traveling across the whole earth. For example, according to the curse whoever steals will be removed from the community; or on the other hand (according to the curse) whoever swears falsely will suffer the same fate." "I will send it out," says the Lord who rules over all, "and it will enter the house of the thief and of the person who swears falsely in my name. It will land in the middle of his house and destroy both timber and stones."

then there will be an oath to the Lord between the two of them, that he has not laid his hand on his neighbor's goods, and its owner will accept this, and he will not have to pay.

Then the priest will put the woman under oath and say to the her, "If no other man has had sexual relations with you, and if you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband's authority, may you be free from this bitter water that brings a curse.

"When someone is accused of sinning against his neighbor and the latter pronounces a curse on the alleged offender before your altar in this temple, be willing to forgive the accused if the accusation is false.

In the seventh year Jehoiada summoned the officers of the units of hundreds of the Carians and the royal bodyguard. He met with them in the Lord's temple. He made an agreement with them and made them swear an oath of allegiance in the Lord's temple. Then he showed them the king's son.

So King Zedekiah made a secret promise to Jeremiah and sealed it with an oath. He promised, "As surely as the Lord lives who has given us life and breath, I promise you this: I will not kill you or hand you over to those men who want to kill you."

He took one from the royal family, made a treaty with him, and put him under oath. He then took the leaders of the land

At that time Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, "God is with you in all that you do. Now swear to me right here in God's name that you will not deceive me, my children, or my descendants. Show me, and the land where you are staying, the same loyalty that I have shown you." Abraham said, "I swear to do this."read more.
But Abraham lodged a complaint against Abimelech concerning a well that Abimelech's servants had seized. "I do not know who has done this thing," Abimelech replied. "Moreover, you did not tell me. I did not hear about it until today." Abraham took some sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech. The two of them made a treaty. Then Abraham set seven ewe lambs apart from the flock by themselves. Abimelech asked Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?" He replied, "You must take these seven ewe lambs from my hand as legal proof that I dug this well." That is why he named that place Beer Sheba, because the two of them swore an oath there.

Now Abimelech had come to him from Gerar along with Ahuzzah his friend and Phicol the commander of his army. Isaac asked them, "Why have you come to me? You hate me and sent me away from you." They replied, "We could plainly see that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should be a pact between us -- between us and you. Allow us to make a treaty with youread more.
so that you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmed you, but have always treated you well before sending you away in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord." So Isaac held a feast for them and they celebrated. Early in the morning the men made a treaty with each other. Isaac sent them off; they separated on good terms.

So now, come, let's make a formal agreement, you and I, and it will be proof that we have made peace." So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a memorial pillar. Then he said to his relatives, "Gather stones." So they brought stones and put them in a pile. They ate there by the pile of stones.read more.
Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. Laban said, "This pile of stones is a witness of our agreement today." That is why it was called Galeed. It was also called Mizpah because he said, "May the Lord watch between us when we are out of sight of one another. If you mistreat my daughters or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one else is with us, realize that God is witness to your actions." "Here is this pile of stones and this pillar I have set up between me and you," Laban said to Jacob. "This pile of stones and the pillar are reminders that I will not pass beyond this pile to come to harm you and that you will not pass beyond this pile and this pillar to come to harm me. May the God of Abraham and the god of Nahor, the gods of their father, judge between us." Jacob took an oath by the God whom his father Isaac feared.

When the residents of Gibeon heard what Joshua did to Jericho and Ai, they did something clever. They collected some provisions and put worn-out sacks on their donkeys, along with worn-out wineskins that were ripped and patched. They had worn-out, patched sandals on their feet and dressed in worn-out clothes. All their bread was dry and hard.read more.
They came to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, "We have come from a distant land. Make a treaty with us." The men of Israel said to the Hivites, "Perhaps you live near us. So how can we make a treaty with you?" But they said to Joshua, "We are willing to be your subjects." So Joshua said to them, "Who are you and where do you come from?" They told him, "Your subjects have come from a very distant land because of the reputation of the Lord your God, for we have heard the news about all he did in Egypt and all he did to the two Amorite kings on the other side of the Jordan -- King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan in Ashtaroth. Our leaders and all who live in our land told us, 'Take provisions for your journey and go meet them. Tell them, "We are willing to be your subjects. Make a treaty with us."' This bread of ours was warm when we packed it in our homes the day we started out to meet you, but now it is dry and hard. These wineskins we filled were brand new, but look how they have ripped. Our clothes and sandals have worn out because it has been a very long journey." The men examined some of their provisions, but they failed to ask the Lord's advice. Joshua made a peace treaty with them and agreed to let them live. The leaders of the community sealed it with an oath. Three days after they made the treaty with them, the Israelites found out they were from the local area and lived nearby. So the Israelites set out and on the third day arrived at their cities -- Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim. The Israelites did not attack them because the leaders of the community had sworn an oath to them in the name of the Lord God of Israel. The whole community criticized the leaders, but all the leaders told the whole community, "We swore an oath to them in the name of the Lord God of Israel. So now we can't hurt them! We must let them live so we can escape the curse attached to the oath we swore to them." The leaders then added, "Let them live." So they became woodcutters and water carriers for the whole community, as the leaders had decided.

At that time Joshua made this solemn declaration: "The man who attempts to rebuild this city of Jericho will stand condemned before the Lord. He will lose his firstborn son when he lays its foundations and his youngest son when he erects its gates!"

When he went out to the gateway, another slave girl saw him and said to the people there, "This man was with Jesus the Nazarene." He denied it again with an oath, "I do not know the man!" After a little while, those standing there came up to Peter and said, "You really are one of them too -- even your accent gives you away!"read more.
At that he began to curse, and he swore with an oath, "I do not know the man!" At that moment a rooster crowed.

But he denied it again. A short time later the bystanders again said to Peter, "You must be one of them, because you are also a Galilean." Then he began to curse, and he swore with an oath, "I do not know this man you are talking about!"

But Abram replied to the king of Sodom, "I raise my hand to the Lord, the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth, and vow that I will take nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal. That way you can never say, 'It is I who made Abram rich.'

so that I may make you solemnly promise by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth: You must not acquire a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living. You must go instead to my country and to my relatives to find a wife for my son Isaac." The servant asked him, "What if the woman is not willing to come back with me to this land? Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?"read more.
"Be careful never to take my son back there!" Abraham told him. "The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and the land of my relatives, promised me with a solemn oath, 'To your descendants I will give this land.' He will send his angel before you so that you may find a wife for my son from there. But if the woman is not willing to come back with you, you will be free from this oath of mine. But you must not take my son back there!" So the servant placed his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and gave his solemn promise he would carry out his wishes.

Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; the years of Jacob's life were 147 in all. The time for Israel to die approached, so he called for his son Joseph and said to him, "If now I have found favor in your sight, put your hand under my thigh and show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt, but when I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place." Joseph said, "I will do as you say."read more.
Jacob said, "Swear to me that you will do so." So Joseph gave him his word. Then Israel bowed down at the head of his bed.

Then Joseph said to his brothers, "I am about to die. But God will surely come to you and lead you up from this land to the land he swore on oath to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath. He said, "God will surely come to you. Then you must carry my bones up from this place."

A song of ascents. O Lord, for David's sake remember all his strenuous effort, and how he made a vow to the Lord, and swore an oath to the powerful ruler of Jacob. He said, "I will not enter my own home, or get into my bed.read more.
I will not allow my eyes to sleep, or my eyelids to slumber, until I find a place for the Lord, a fine dwelling place for the powerful ruler of Jacob."

But Jacob said, "Swear an oath to me now." So Esau swore an oath to him and sold his birthright to Jacob.

or when a person swears an oath, speaking thoughtlessly with his lips, whether to do evil or to do good, with regard to anything which the individual might speak thoughtlessly in an oath, even if he did not realize it, but he himself has later come to know it and is guilty with regard to one of these oaths --

But on Herod's birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod, so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked.

When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you." He swore to her, "Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom."

And above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath. But let your "Yes" be yes and your "No" be no, so that you may not fall into judgment.

"Again, you have heard that it was said to an older generation, 'Do not break an oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.' But I say to you, do not take oaths at all -- not by heaven, because it is the throne of God, not by earth, because it is his footstool, and not by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King.read more.
Do not take an oath by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black. Let your word be 'Yes, yes' or 'No, no.' More than this is from the evil one.