35 Bible Verses about Oaths, Human

if a man makes a vow for Yahweh or swears an oath with a binding pledge on himself, he must not render his word invalid; he must do all that went out from his mouth.

"{When you make a vow} to Yahweh your God, you shall not postpone {fulfillment of it}, [for] certainly Yahweh your God shall require it from you and [if postponed] {you will incur guilt}.

"Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing! But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound [by his oath].' Fools and blind [people]! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold holy? And, 'Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing! But whoever swears by the gift [that is] on it is bound [by his oath].'read more.
Blind [people]! For which [is] greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy Therefore the one who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything [that is] on it. And the one who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells [in] it And the one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by the one who sits on it.

"You shall fear Yahweh your God, and you shall serve him, and by his name you shall swear.

Who may ascend [the] mountain of Yahweh? And who may stand in his holy place? He who is innocent of hands and pure of heart, who does not lift up his soul to falseness, and does not swear deceitfully.

{And then}, if they diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, '{as Yahweh lives},' even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they will live in the midst of my people.

and you shall not swear {falsely} in my name, and so [one of] you profane the name of your God; I [am] Yahweh.

"You shall not {misuse the name of Yahweh your God}, because Yahweh will not leave unpunished [anyone] who {misuses his name}.

You shall not take up the name of Yahweh your God for worthless purpose, for Yahweh will not leave unpunished [anyone] who uses his name for worthless purpose.

or he finds lost property and lies about it and swears {falsely} {in regard to} any one of these things by which {a person} might commit sin, {and when} he sins and is guilty, then he shall bring back {the things he had stolen} or {what he had extorted} or {something with which he had been entrusted} or the lost property that he had found, or {regarding} anything about which he has sworn {falsely}, then he shall repay it {according to} its value and shall add one-fifth of its value to it--he must give it {to whom it belongs} on the day of his guilt offering.

And he said to me, "This [is] the curse going out over the surface of the whole earth. For everyone who steals has gone unpunished according to it, and [likewise] everyone who swears [falsely] has gone unpunished according to it. 'I have sent it out,' {declares} Yahweh of hosts, 'and it will go into the house of the thief and into the house of the one swearing {falsely by my name}, and it will spend the night in that house and will destroy it, with its timber and its stone.'"

the oath of Yahweh will be between the two of them [concerning] whether or not he has reached out his hand to his neighbor's possession, and its owner will accept [this], and he will not make restitution.

Then the priest will make her swear an oath, and he will say to the woman, "If a man has not slept with you, and if you have not had an impurity affair under your husband, go unpunished from the waters of bitterness that brings this curse.

[If] a man sins against his neighbor and he pronounces an oath against him to curse him, and the curse comes before your altar in this house,

But in the seventh year Jehoiada sent and took the commanders of the hundreds of the Carites and the runners, and he brought them to himself to the temple of Yahweh. Then he {made} a covenant with them and made them swear in the house of Yahweh and showed them the son of the king.

So Zedekiah the king swore to Jeremiah in secret, {saying}, "{As Yahweh lives}, who has made for us this life, I will not kill you and I will not give you into the hand of these men who are seeking your life."

And he took from the seed of the kingship, and he made with him a covenant, and {he brought him under oath}, and he took the rulers of the land,

And it happened [that] at that time, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, "God [is] with you, in all that you do. So now, swear to me here by God [that] you will not deal with me falsely, or with my descendants, or my posterity. According to the kindness that I have done to you, you shall [pledge] to do with me and with the land where you have dwelled as an alien." And Abraham said, "I swear."read more.
Then Abraham complained to Abimelech on account of the well of water that servants of Abimelech had seized. And Abimelech said, "I do not know who did this thing, neither did you tell me, nor have I heard [of it] except for today." And Abraham took sheep and cattle and gave [them] to Abimelech. And the two of them {made} a covenant. Then Abraham set [off] seven ewe-lambs of the flock by themselves. And Abimelech said to Abraham, "What [is the meaning of] these seven ewe-lambs that you have set [off] by themselves?" And he said, "You shall take the seven ewe-lambs from my hand {as proof on my behalf} that I dug this well." Therefore that place is called Beersheba, because there the two of them swore an oath.

Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his friend and Phicol his army commander. And Isaac said to them, "Why have you come to me? You hate me and sent me away from you." And they said, "We see clearly that Yahweh has been with you, so we thought let there be an oath between us--between us and you--and let us {make} a covenant with youread more.
that you may not do us harm just as we have not touched you, but have only done good to you and sent you away in peace. You [are] now blessed by Yahweh." So he made a meal for them, and they ate and drank. And they arose early in the morning and each one swore to the other, and Isaac sent them away. And they left him in peace.

So now, come, let us {make} a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between me and you." And Jacob took a stone and set it up [as] a stone pillar. And Jacob said to his kinsmen, "Gather stones." And they took stones and made a pile of stones, and they ate there by the pile of stones.read more.
And Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. Then Laban said, "This pile of stones [is] a witness between me and you today." Therefore its name is called Galeed, and Mizpah, because he said, "Yahweh watch between me and you when {we are out of sight of each other}. If you mistreat my daughters, and if you take wives besides my daughters, [when] there is no man with us, see--God [is] a witness between me and you." And Laban said to Jacob, "See, this pile of stones, and see the pillar that I have set up between me and you. This pile of stones [is] a witness, and the pillar [is] a witness, that I will not pass beyond this pile of stones to you, and that you will not pass beyond this pile of stones and this pillar to me intending harm. May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father judge between us." Then Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.

But the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua did to Jericho and Ai, and they acted on their part with cunning: they went and prepared provisions, and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys and old wineskins [that were] torn and mended. The sandals on their feet [were] patched and old, their clothes [were] old, and their food was dry and crumbled.read more.
And they went to Joshua at the camp [at] Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, "We have come from a far land; so then {make a covenant with us}." And the men of Israel said to the Hivites, "Perhaps you [are] living among us; how can we {make a covenant} with you?" They said to Joshua, "We [are] your servants." And Joshua said to them, "Who [are] you, and from where do you come?" And they said to him, "Your servants have come from a very far land because of the name of Yahweh your God; we have heard of his reputation, of all that he did in Egypt, and of all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who [were] beyond the Jordan--to Sihon king of Heshbon and to Og king of Bashan, who [was] in Ashtaroth. So our elders said to us and all the inhabitants of our land, 'Take in your hand provisions for the journey, and go to meet them, and say to them, "We [are] your servants; so then {make a covenant with us}." ' This [is] our bread; [it was] hot [when] we took it from our houses as provisions on the day we set out to come to you. But now, look, it is dry and crumbled. These [are] the wineskins that we filled new, but look, they have burst; and these [are] our clothes and sandals that have worn out from the very long journey." So the leaders took from their provisions, but {they did not ask direction from Yahweh}. And Joshua made peace with them, and {he made a covenant with them} to allow them to live happily, and the leaders of the congregation swore [an oath] to them. And it happened that at the end of three days, after they made a covenant with them, they heard that {they were their neighbors} and living among them. And the {Israelites} set out and went to their cities on the third day (their cities [were] Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim). But the {Israelites} did not attack them, because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by Yahweh the God of Israel. And all the congregation murmured {against their leaders}. But all the leaders of the congregation said, "We have sworn to them by Yahweh the God of Israel, and so we cannot touch them. This we will do to them: [we will] let them live so that wrath will not be on us because of the oath we swore to them." And the leaders said to them, "Let them live." So they became woodcutters and water carriers for all the congregation, just as the leaders had said to them.

And Joshua swore at that time, saying, "Cursed [is] anyone before Yahweh who gets up and builds Jericho, this city. At the cost of his firstborn he will lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates."

And [when he] went out to the gateway, another [female slave] saw him and said to those [who were] there, "This man was with Jesus the Nazarene." And again he denied [it] with an oath, "I do not know the man!" And after a little [while] those who were standing there came up [and] said to Peter, "You really are [one] of them also, because even your accent {reveals who you are}."read more.
Then he began to curse and to swear with an oath, "I do not know the man!" And immediately a rooster crowed.

But he denied [it] again. And after a little [while], again the bystanders began to say to Peter, "You really are [one] of them, because you also are a Galilean, and your accent {shows it}!" And he began to curse and to swear with an oath, "I do not know this man whom you are talking about!"

And Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to Yahweh, God Most High, Maker of heaven and earth, {that neither a thread nor} a thong of a sandal would I take from all that [belongs] to you, that you might not say, 'I made Abram rich.'

that I may make you swear by Yahweh, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose midst I am dwelling, but that you will go to my land and to my family, and take a wife for my son, for Isaac." And the servant said to him, "Perhaps the woman will not be willing {to follow} me to this land--must I then return your son to the land from whence you came?"read more.
Abraham said to him, "{You must take care} that you do not return my son there. Yahweh, the God of heaven who took me from the house of my father and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, 'to your offspring I will give this land,' he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. And if the woman is not willing {to follow} you, then you shall be released from this oath of mine--only you must not return my son there." Then the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and he swore to him concerning this matter.

And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. And the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were one hundred and forty-seven years. When {the time of Israel's death drew near}, he called to his son, to Joseph. And he said to him, "If I have found favor in your eyes, please put your hand under my thigh, that you might [vow] to deal kindly and faithfully with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt, but let me lie with my ancestors. Carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial site." And he said, "I will do according to your word."read more.
Then he said, "Swear to me." And he swore to him. Then Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed.

And Joseph said to his brothers, "I [am about] to die, but God will certainly visit you and bring you up from this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob." Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath, saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall bring up my bones from here."

O Yahweh, remember with regard to David all his affliction. How he swore to Yahweh, he vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob: "I will not enter into the tent of my house, I will not go up to the couch of my bed,read more.
I will give no sleep to my eyes, [no] slumber to my eyelids, until I find a place for Yahweh, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob."

Then Jacob said, "Swear to me {first}." And he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.

Or when a person swears, speaking thoughtlessly with [his] lips, to do evil or to do good {with regard to} anything that {the person} in a sworn oath speaks thoughtlessly, but {he is unaware of it}, he will be guilty {in any of} these.

But [when] Herod's birthday celebration took place, the daughter of Herodias danced in the midst [of them] and pleased Herod. Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked.

And [when] the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced and 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." And he swore to her, "Anything whatever you ask me for I will give you, up to half my kingdom!"

Now above all, my brothers, do not swear either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your yes be yes and your no, no, in order that you may not fall under judgment.

"Again you have heard that it was said to the {people of old}, 'Do not swear falsely, but fulfill your oaths to the Lord.' But I say to you, do not swear at all, either by heaven, because it is the throne of God, or by the earth, because it is the footstool of his feet, or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great king.read more.
And do not swear by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black. But let your statement be 'Yes, yes; no, no,' and anything beyond these is from the evil one.