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Matthew 23:22

Made Simple — Modern English Translation

Translated by Verse Made Simple Editorial
KJV ORIGINAL
And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.
Close to the original. Clear modern English.
✦ MADE SIMPLE

And if you swear by heaven, you're actually swearing by God's throne and by God himself who sits on it.

⚡ THE BOTTOM LINE

When you invoke heaven in your promises, you're bringing God into it whether you realize it or not.

📚 Historical Context

In the first-century Jewish culture, people often swore oaths by things like heaven to avoid directly invoking God's name, believing it made their promises less binding and easier to evade. Jesus, in His sharp criticism of the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23, was exposing the hypocrisy in these practices as part of His broader teachings on integrity and truthfulness. This verse emphasizes that such oaths still connect directly to God, underscoring the seriousness of all commitments.

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