35 Bible Verses about Oaths, Human

If a man vow a vow unto the LORD or swear an oath and bind his soul, he shall not go back with his word: but shall fulfill all that proceedeth out of his mouth.

When thou hast vowed a vow unto the LORD thy God, see thou be not slack to pay it. For he will surely require it of thee, and it shall be sin unto thee.

Woe be unto you, blind guides, for ye which say, 'Whosoever swear by the temple, it is nothing: but whosoever swear by the gold of the temple, he offendeth.' Ye fools and blind: whether is greater; the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? And, 'Whosoever sweareth by the altar it is nothing: but whosoever sweareth by the offering that lieth on the altar offendeth.'read more.
Ye fools and blind: whether is greater; the offering, or the altar which sanctifieth the offering? Whosoever therefore sweareth by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all that thereon is. And whosoever sweareth by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. And he that sweareth by heaven, sweareth by the seat of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.

But fear the LORD thy God and serve him, and swear by his name,

Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or, who shall rise up in his holy place? Even he that hath clean hands, and a pure heart, and that hath not lift up his mind unto vanity, nor sworn to deceive his neighbour.

And if they, namely that trouble my people, will learn the ways of them, to swear by my name, 'The LORD liveth' - like as they learned my people to swear by Baal - then shall they be reckoned among my people.

Ye shall not swear by my name falsely, that thou defilest not the name of thy God; I am the LORD.

"Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

'Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless, that taketh his name in vain.

or hath found that which was lost and denieth it, and sweareth falsely, in whatsoever thing it be that a man doth and sinneth therein; Then when he hath sinned or trespassed, he shall restore again that he took violently away, or the wrong which he did, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found, or whatsoever it be about which he hath sworn falsely, he shall restore it again in the whole sum, and shall add the fifth part more thereto and give it unto him to whom it pertaineth, the same day that he offereth for his trespass,

Then said he unto me, 'This is the curse, that goeth forth over the whole earth: for all thieves shall be judged after this book, and all swearers shall be judged according to the same. I will bring it forth, sayeth the LORD of Hosts, so that it shall come to the house of the thief, and to the house of him, that falsely sweareth by my name: and shall remain in his house, and consume it, with the timber and stones thereof.'

then shall an oath of the LORD go between them, whether he have put his hand unto his neighbor's good, and the owner of it shall take the oath, and the other shall not make it good.

If no man have lain with thee, neither hast gone aside and defiled thyself behind thy husband, then have thou no harm of this bitter, cursing water.

And if any man trespass against his neighbour, and his neighbour take an adjuration to adjure him withal, and the adjuration come before thine altar at this house,

And the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds with the captains and them of the guard, and took them into him into the house of the LORD, and made a bond with them, and took an oath of them in the house of the LORD, and showed them the king's son.

So the king swore an oath secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, "As truly as the LORD liveth, that made us these souls, I will not slay thee, nor give thee in to the hands of them that seek after thy life."

He took of the king's seed, and made a covenant with him, and took an oath of him: The princes of the land toke he with him also,

And it chanced, the same season, that Abimelech and Phicol his chief captain spake unto Abraham saying, "God is with thee in all that thou doest. Now therefore swear unto me even here by God, that thou wilt not hurt me nor my children, nor my children's children. But that thou shalt deal with me and the country where thou art a stranger, according unto the kindness that I have showed thee." Then said Abraham, "I will swear."read more.
And Abraham rebuked Abimelech for a well of water, which Abimelech's servants had taken away. And Abimelech answered, "I wist not who did it: Also thou toldest me not, neither heard I of it, but this day." And Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them unto Abimelech. And they made both of them a bond together. And Abraham set seven lambs by themselves. And Abimelech said unto Abraham, "What mean these seven lambs which thou hast set by themselves?" And he answered, "Seven lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that it may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well." Wherefore the place is called Beersheba, because they sware both of them.

Then came Abimelech to him from Gerar; and Ahuzzath his friend, and Phicol his chief captain. And Isaac said unto them, "Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me and have put me away from you?" Then said they, "We saw that the LORD was with thee, and therefore we said that there should be an oath betwixt us and thee, and that we would make a bond with thee:read more.
that thou shouldest do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and have done unto thee nothing but good, and send thee away in peace: for thou art now the blessed of the LORD." And he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. And they rose up betimes in the morning and sware one to another. And Isaac sent them away. And they departed from him in peace.

Now therefore, come on, let us make a bond, I and thou together, and let it be a witness between thee and me." Then took Jacob a stone and set it up on end, and said unto his brethren, "Gather stones." And they took stones, and made a heap, and they ate there, upon the heap.read more.
And Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called Gilead. Then said Laban, "This heap be witness between thee and me this day." Therefore is it called Gilead. "And this toot-hill which the LORD seeth," said he, "be witness between me and thee when we are departed one from another: that thou shalt not vex my daughters neither shalt take other wives unto them. Here is no man with us: behold, God is witness betwixt thee and me." And Laban said moreover to Jacob, "Behold, this heap and this mark which I have set here, betwixt me and thee: this heap be witness and also this mark, that I will not come over this heap to thee, and thou shalt not come over this heap and this mark, to do any harm. The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their fathers, be judge betwixt us." And Jacob sware by him that his father Isaac feared.

But when the Inhabiters of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho, and Ai, they played wilily, and went and sent ambassadors: and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles old and rent and knit together again, and old clouted shoes upon their feet, and old raiment upon them and all their provision of bread was dried up and hoared.read more.
And they came unto Joshua, unto the host to Gilgal, and said unto him and unto the men of Israel, "We be come from a far country, now therefore make agreement with us." And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, "Peradventure you dwell among us, and then how should we make peace with you?" And they said unto Joshua, "We are thy servants." And Joshua said unto them, "What are ye, and whence come ye?" And they answered him, "From a very far country thy servants are come, in the name of the LORD thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt, and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites beyond Jordan, Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan which dwelt at Ashtaroth. Wherefore our elders and all the inhabiters of our country spake to us saying, 'Take victuals with you to serve by the way, and go against them, and say unto them: We are your servants.' Now therefore make a covenant of peace with us. This, our provision of bread, we took with us out of our houses, hot, the day we departed to come unto you. And now behold it is dried up and hoared. And these bottles of wine which we filled were new: and see, they be rent. And these our garments and shoes are waxen old by reason of the exceeding long journey." And the men took of their victuals, and counseled not with the mouth of the LORD. And Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them, to save their lives: and the lords of the congregation sware unto them. But three days after they had made peace with them, they heard that they were neighbours unto them, and that they dwelt among them. For the children of Israel took their journey and came unto their cities the third day: and their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth and Kiriathjearim. And the children of Israel slew them not, because the lords of the congregation had sworn unto them by the LORD God of Israel. And therefore all the multitude murmured against the lords. But all the lords said unto all the congregation, "We have sworn unto them by the LORD God of Israel, and therefore we may not hurt them. But this we will do to them and let them live: and so shall no wrath be upon us because of the oath which we sware unto them." And the lords said unto them, "Let them live, that they may be hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all the congregation," as the lords said unto them.

And Joshua cursed at that time, saying, "Cursed be the man before the LORD, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: so that he lay the foundation with the death of his eldest son, and with the death of his youngest set up the gates."

When he was gone out into the porch, another wench saw him, and said unto them that were there, "This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth." And again he denied with an oath that he knew the man. And after a while, came unto him they that stood by, and said unto Peter, "Surely thou art even one of them, for thy speech betrayeth thee."read more.
Then began he to curse and to swear, that he knew not the man. And immediately the cock crew.

And he denied it again. And anon after, they that stood by, said again to Peter, "Surely thou art one of them, for thou art of Galilee, and thy speech agreeth thereto." And he began to curse and to swear, saying, "I know not this man of whom ye speak."

And Abram answered the king of Sodom, "I lift up my hand unto the LORD God most high, possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take of all that is thine, so much as a thread or a shoe latchet, lest thou shouldest say 'I have made Abram rich.'

that I may make thee swear by the LORD that is God of heaven and God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son, of the daughters of the Canaanites, among which I dwell. But shalt go unto my country and to my kindred, and there take a wife unto my son Isaac." Then said the servant unto him, "What and if the woman will not agree to come with me unto this land, shall I bring thy son again unto the land which thou camest out of?"read more.
And Abraham said unto him, "Beware of that, that thou bring not my son thither. The LORD God of heaven which took me from my father's house and from the land where I was born, and which spake unto me and sware unto me saying 'unto thy seed will I give this land' - he shall send his angel before thee, that thou mayest take a wife unto my son from thence. Nevertheless, if the woman will not agree to come with thee then shalt thou be without danger of this oath. But above all things bring not my son thither again." And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham and sware to him as concerning that matter.

Moreover, Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years, so that the whole age of Jacob was a hundred and forty seven years. When the time drew nigh that Israel must die, he sent for his son Joseph and said unto him, "If I have found grace in thy sight, put thy hand under my thigh and deal mercifully and truly with me, that thou bury me not in Egypt: but let me lie by my fathers, and carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burial." And he answered, "I will do as thou hast said."read more.
And he said, "Swear unto me." And he sware unto him. And then Israel bowed him unto the bed's head.

And Joseph said unto his brethren, "I die; And God will surely visit you and bring you out of this land, unto the land which he sware unto Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel and said, "God will not fail but visit you: see therefore that ye carry my bones hence."

{A song of the stairs} LORD, remember David and all his trouble, how he swore unto the LORD, and vowed a vow unto the almighty one of Jacob, "I will not come within the tabernacle of my house, nor climb up into my bed;read more.
I will not suffer mine eyes to sleep, nor mine eyelids to slumber, until I find out a place for the temple of the LORD, a habitation for the mighty one of Jacob."

And Jacob said, "Swear to me then this day." And he swore to him and sold his birthright unto Jacob.

Either when a soul sweareth: so that he pronounceth with his lips to do evil or to do good - whatsoever it be that a man pronounceth with an oath - and the thing be out of his mind and afterward cometh to the knowledge of it, then he hath offended in one of these.

But when Herod's birthday was come, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod. Wherefore he promised with an oath, that he would give her whatsoever she would ask.

And the daughter of the said Herodias came in and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat at board also. Then the king said unto the maiden, "Ask of me what thou wilt, and I will give it thee." And he sware unto her, "Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, even unto the one half of my kingdom."

But above all things, my brethren, swear not: neither by heaven, neither by earth, neither by any other oath. Let your yea be "yea," and your nay, "nay," lest ye fall into hypocrisy.

"Again, ye have heard how it was said to them of old time, 'Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform thine oath to God': But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's seat: nor yet by the earth; for it is His footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of that great King:read more.
neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one white hair or black: But your communication shall be, 'Yea, Yea; Nay, nay': for whatsoever is more than that cometh of evil.