What Does the Bible Say About Not Swearing?

Ephesians 4:29 ESV / 11 helpful votes

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

James 5:12 ESV / 10 helpful votes

But 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” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

Matthew 5:33-37 ESV / 10 helpful votes

“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.

Exodus 20:7 ESV / 10 helpful votes

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

Luke 6:45 ESV / 8 helpful votes

The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Colossians 3:8 ESV / 7 helpful votes

But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

Matthew 5:34 ESV / 7 helpful votes

But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God,

James 4:7 ESV / 5 helpful votes

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

James 3:10 ESV / 5 helpful votes

From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

Matthew 5:37 ESV / 5 helpful votes

Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.

Matthew 5:34-37 ESV / 5 helpful votes

But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.

Psalm 19:14 ESV / 5 helpful votes

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

1 Corinthians 3:16 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?

Matthew 26:74 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed.

Matthew 23:16-22 ESV / 4 helpful votes

“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind men! 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. ...

Matthew 5:22 ESV / 4 helpful votes

But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

Jeremiah 23:10 ESV / 4 helpful votes

For the land is full of adulterers; because of the curse the land mourns, and the pastures of the wilderness are dried up. Their course is evil, and their might is not right.

Psalm 109:17 ESV / 4 helpful votes

He loved to curse; let curses come upon him! He did not delight in blessing; may it be far from him!

Deuteronomy 5:11 ESV / 4 helpful votes

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

Leviticus 19:12 ESV / 4 helpful votes

You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.

Revelation 21:8 ESV / 3 helpful votes

But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

1 Peter 3:10 ESV / 3 helpful votes

For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit;

James 3:9-12 ESV / 3 helpful votes

With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

James 1:26 ESV / 3 helpful votes

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.

Ephesians 4:29-32 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Romans 12:2 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Matthew 15:17-20 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

Matthew 12:36-37 ESV / 3 helpful votes

I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Matthew 12:34-36 ESV / 3 helpful votes

You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,

Matthew 5:1-48 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. ...

Proverbs 18:21 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.

Proverbs 15:4 ESV / 3 helpful votes

A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

Psalm 10:7 ESV / 3 helpful votes

His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.

1 Peter 1:15 ESV / 2 helpful votes

But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,

1 Thessalonians 5:22 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Abstain from every form of evil.

Colossians 3:8-10 ESV / 2 helpful votes

But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

Philippians 3:8 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

Ephesians 5:4 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

Ephesians 4:31 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV / 2 helpful votes

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

1 Corinthians 7:1-40 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. ...

1 Corinthians 6:19 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,

Romans 12:21 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 4:5 ESV / 2 helpful votes

And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,

Romans 3:14 ESV / 2 helpful votes

“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”

Romans 3:10 ESV / 2 helpful votes

As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;

John 3:16 ESV / 2 helpful votes

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16-17 ESV / 2 helpful votes

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Luke 10:18 ESV / 2 helpful votes

And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

Luke 9:1 ESV / 2 helpful votes

And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases,

Matthew 26:63-64 ESV / 2 helpful votes

But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Matthew 23:1-39 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, ...

Matthew 15:11 ESV / 2 helpful votes

It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”

Matthew 12:34 ESV / 2 helpful votes

You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

Matthew 7:22 ESV / 2 helpful votes

On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’

Matthew 5:34-36 ESV / 2 helpful votes

But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.

Matthew 1:1-25 ESV / 2 helpful votes

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, ...

Hosea 10:4 ESV / 2 helpful votes

They utter mere words; with empty oaths they make covenants; so judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.

Proverbs 30:9 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.

Proverbs 21:23 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.

Proverbs 15:1 ESV / 2 helpful votes

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Proverbs 12:18 ESV / 2 helpful votes

There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

Proverbs 10:31-32 ESV / 2 helpful votes

The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off. The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse.

Psalm 59:12 ESV / 2 helpful votes

For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips, let them be trapped in their pride. For the cursing and lies that they utter,

Numbers 30:2 ESV / 2 helpful votes

If a man vows a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.

66 Bible Verses about Not Swearing

Ephesians 4:29 ESV / 11 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

James 5:12 ESV / 10 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 5:33-37 ESV / 10 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Exodus 20:7 ESV / 10 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Luke 6:45 ESV / 8 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Colossians 3:8 ESV / 7 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 5:34 ESV / 7 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

James 4:7 ESV / 5 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

James 3:10 ESV / 5 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 5:37 ESV / 5 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 5:34-37 ESV / 5 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Psalm 19:14 ESV / 5 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 3:16 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 26:74 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 23:16-22 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 5:22 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Jeremiah 23:10 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Psalm 109:17 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Deuteronomy 5:11 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Leviticus 19:12 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Revelation 21:8 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Peter 3:10 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

James 3:9-12 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

James 1:26 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ephesians 4:29-32 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Romans 12:2 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 15:17-20 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 12:36-37 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 12:34-36 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 5:1-48 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 18:21 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 15:4 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Psalm 10:7 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Peter 1:15 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Thessalonians 5:22 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Colossians 3:8-10 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Philippians 3:8 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ephesians 5:4 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ephesians 4:31 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 7:1-40 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 6:19 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Romans 12:21 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Romans 4:5 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Romans 3:14 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Romans 3:10 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

John 3:16 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

John 3:16-17 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Luke 10:18 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Luke 9:1 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 26:63-64 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 23:1-39 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 15:11 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 12:34 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 7:22 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 5:34-36 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 1:1-25 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Hosea 10:4 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 30:9 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 21:23 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 15:1 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 12:18 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 10:31-32 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Psalm 59:12 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Numbers 30:2 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

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