Matthew 23:21

The Darby Translation

And he that swears by the temple swears by it and by him that dwells in it.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The one who takes an oath by the temple takes an oath by it and by him who dwells

King James Version (1611)
And who so shall sweare by the Temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.

King James Version
And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.

English Standard Version
And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it.

New American Standard Bible
"And the one who swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells in it.

New Century Version
And the person who swears by the Temple is really using the Temple and also everything in the Temple.

Amplified Bible
"And whoever swears [an oath] by the sanctuary of the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells within it.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"And whoever swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells within it.

Legacy Standard Bible
And whoever swears by the sanctuary, swears both by the sanctuary and by Him who dwells within it.

Berean Standard Bible
And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the One who dwells in it.

Contemporary English Version
And anyone who swears by the temple also swears by God, who lives there.

Complete Jewish Bible
And someone who swears by the Temple swears by it and the One who lives in it.

Easy-to-Read Version
And anyone who uses the Temple to make a promise is really using the Temple and God, who lives in it.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And whosoeuer sweareth by the Temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.

George Lamsa Translation
And whoever swears by the temple, swears by it and by him who dwells in it.

Good News Translation
and when he swears by the Temple, he is swearing by it and by God, who lives there;

Lexham English Bible
And the one who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it.

Literal Translation
And the one swearing by the Holy Place swears by it, and by the One dwelling in it.

American Standard Version
And he that sweareth by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.

Bible in Basic English
And he who takes an oath by the Temple, takes it by the Temple and by him whose house it is.

Hebrew Names Version
He who swears by the temple, swears by it, and by him who is living in it.

International Standard Version
The one who swears an oath by the sanctuary swears by it and by the one who lives there.1 Kings 8:13; 2 Chronicles 6:2; Psalm 26:8; 132:14;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
And he who sweareth by the temple, sweareth by it, and by whatever abideth in it.

Murdock Translation
And he who sweareth by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth in it.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And who so sweareth by the temple, sweareth by it, and by hym that dwelleth therin.

English Revised Version
And he that sweareth by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.

World English Bible
He who swears by the temple, swears by it, and by him who is living in it.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And he that sweareth by the temple, sweareth by it and by him that dwelleth therein.

Weymouth's New Testament
he who swears by the Sanctuary swears both by it and by Him who dwells in it;

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And he that swerith in the temple, swerith in it, and in hym that dwellith in the temple.

Update Bible Version
And he that swears by the temple, swears by it, and by him that dwells therein.

Webster's Bible Translation
And whoever shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth in it.

New English Translation
And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and the one who dwells in it.

New King James Version
He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells [fn] in it.

New Living Translation
And when you swear ‘by the Temple,' you are swearing by it and by God, who lives in it.

New Life Bible
Whoever makes a promise by the house of God, promises by it and by Him Who is in it.

New Revised Standard
and whoever swears by the sanctuary, swears by it and by the one who dwells in it;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, he that hath sworn by the Temple, sweareth by it, and by him who dwelleth therein;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And whosoever shall swear by the temple sweareth by it and by him that dwelleth in it.

Revised Standard Version
and he who swears by the temple, swears by it and by him who dwells in it;

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And whosoever sweareth by the teple sweareth by it and by hym yt dwelleth therin.

Young's Literal Translation
and he who did swear by the sanctuary, doth swear by it, and by Him who is dwelling in it;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and who so sweareth by the temple, sweareth by the same, and by him that dwelleth therin.

Mace New Testament (1729)
and whoever swears by the temple, swears by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.

Simplified Cowboy Version

Contextual Overview

¹³ But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye shut up the kingdom of the heavens before men; for *ye* do not enter, nor do ye suffer those that are entering to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye compass the sea and the dry [land] to make one proselyte, and when he is become [such], ye make him twofold more [the] son of hell than yourselves. Woe to you, blind guides, who say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor. Fools and blind, for which is greater, the gold, or the temple which sanctifies the gold? And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it is a debtor. [Fools and] blind ones, for which is greater, the gift, or the altar which sanctifies the gift? He therefore that swears by the altar swears by it and by all things that are upon it. And he that swears by the temple swears by it and by him that dwells in it. And he that swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him that sits upon it. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye pay tithes of mint and anise and cummin, and ye have left aside the weightier matters of the law, judgment and mercy and faith: these ye ought to have done and not have left those aside. Blind guides, who strain out the gnat, but drink down the camel. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but within they are full of rapine and intemperance. Blind Pharisee, make clean first the inside of the cup and of the dish, that their outside also may become clean. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye are like whited sepulchres, which appear beautiful outwardly, but within are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Thus also *ye*, outwardly ye appear righteous to men, but within are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets and adorn the tombs of the just, and ye say, If we had been in the days of our fathers we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. So that ye bear witness of yourselves that ye are sons of those who slew the prophets: and *ye*, fill ye up the measure of your fathers. Serpents, offspring of vipers, how should ye escape the judgment of hell? Therefore, behold, *I* send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes; and [some] of them ye will kill and crucify, and [some] of them ye will scourge in your synagogues, and will persecute from city to city; so that all righteous blood shed upon the earth should come upon *you*, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, [the city] that kills the prophets and stones those that are sent unto her, how often would I have gathered thy children as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate; for I say unto you, Ye shall in no wise see me henceforth until ye say, Blessed [be] he that comes in the name of [the] Lord. ¹⁴ Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, The scribes and the Pharisees have set themselves down in Moses' seat: all things therefore, whatever they may tell you, do and keep. But do not after their works, for they say and do not, but bind burdens heavy and hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of men, but will not move them with their finger. And all their works they do to be seen of men: for they make broad their phylacteries and enlarge the borders [of their garments], and love the chief place in feasts and the first seats in the synagogues, and salutations in the market-places, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But *ye*, be not ye called Rabbi; for one is your instructor, and all *ye* are brethren. And call not [any one] your father upon the earth; for one is your Father, he who is in the heavens. Neither be called instructors, for one is your instructor, the Christ. But the greatest of you shall be your servant. And whoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled, and whoever shall humble himself shall be exalted. But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye shut up the kingdom of the heavens before men; for *ye* do not enter, nor do ye suffer those that are entering to go in. ¹⁵ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye compass the sea and the dry [land] to make one proselyte, and when he is become [such], ye make him twofold more [the] son of hell than yourselves. ¹⁶ Woe to you, blind guides, who say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor. ¹⁷ Fools and blind, for which is greater, the gold, or the temple which sanctifies the gold? ¹⁸ And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it is a debtor. ¹⁹ [Fools and] blind ones, for which is greater, the gift, or the altar which sanctifies the gift? ²⁰ He therefore that swears by the altar swears by it and by all things that are upon it. ²¹ And he that swears by the temple swears by it and by him that dwells in it. ²² And he that swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him that sits upon it.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

and by: 1 Kings 8:13, 1 Kings 8:27, 2 Chronicles 6:2, 2 Chronicles 7:2, Psalms 26:8, Psalms 132:13, Psalms 132:14, Ephesians 2:22, Colossians 2:9

Reciprocal: Psalms 11:4 - the Lord's Isaiah 66:1 - The heaven

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And whoso shall swear by the temple,.... As we have before seen they used to do, and as appears from what the poet says w:

Ecce negas, jurasque mihi per templa tonantis Non credo: jura, verpe, per Anchialum.

In which he intimates, that if the Jew swore by the temple, he would not believe him; as well he might not, since such an oath was accounted nothing; but bids him swear by Anchialus, that is, by אלוה

חי, "Chi Eloah", or חי עליון, "Chi Alon", or "Elion, the living God", or הי העולם, "Chi Haolam, he that lives for ever" x; and suggests, that he should then believe him. Now our Lord, though he did not allow of such swearing, yet justly argues, that he that sweareth by the temple, not only "sweareth by it", which could not be a witness of what was swore; but he must be interpreted to swear by the inhabitant of it, and by him that dwelleth in it; that is, God, for whom it was built, to whom it was dedicated; where he was worshipped, and where he vouchsafed to reside; taking up his dwelling between the cherubim upon the mercy seat, in the most holy place; from whence he communed with men, and gave tokens of his presence; and who only could be the proper witness of the truth, or falsehood, of what was swore; and therefore an oath, by the temple, ought to be looked upon as if made by God himself, and so to be sacred and binding.

w Martial. Epigr. l. 11. Ep. 60. x Vid. Selden. Prolegomena ad lib. de Successionibus.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Him that dwelleth therein - That is, God. The temple was his house, his dwelling. In the first, or Solomon’s temple, he dwelt between the cherubims in the most holy place. He manifested himself there by a visible symbol, in the form of a cloud resting on the mercy-seat, 1 Kings 8:10, 1 Kings 8:13; Psalms 80:1.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Matthew 23:21. Whoso shall swear by the temple — Perhaps it is to this custom of swearing by the temple, that Martial alludes, lib. xi. epist. 95.

Ecce negas, jurasque mihi per templa Tonantis;

Non credo; jura, Verpe, per Anchialum.

"Behold, thou deniest, and swearest to me by the temples of Jupiter; I will not credit thee: swear, O Jew, by the temple of Jehovah."

This word probably comes from היכל יה heical Yah, the temple of Jehovah. This seems a better derivation than אם חי אלהים im chai Elohim, as God liveth, though the sound of the latter is nearer to the Latin.

By him that dwelleth therein. — The common reading is κατοικουντι, dwelleth or INHABITETH, but κατοικησαντι, dwelt or DID inhabit, is the reading of CDEFGHKLM, eighty-six others; this reading has been adopted in the editions of Complutum, Colineus, Bengel, and Griesbach. The importance of this reading may be perceived by the following considerations. In the first Jewish temple, God had graciously condescended to manifest himself - he is constantly represented as dwelling between the cherubim, the two figures that stood at each end of the ark of the covenant; between whom, on the mercy seat, the lid of the ark, a splendour of glory was exhibited, which was the symbol and proof of the Divine presence. This the Jews called שכינה Shekinah, the habitation of Jehovah. Now the Jews unanimously acknowledge that five things were wanting in the second temple, which were found in the first, viz.,

1. The ark;

2. The holy spirit of prophecy;

3. The Urim and Thummim;

4. The sacred fire; and

5. The שכינה Shekinah.

As the Lord had long before this time abandoned the Jewish temple, and had now made the human nature of Jesus the Shekinah, (see John 1:14, the Logos was made flesh, εσκηνωσεν, and made his tabernacle - made the Shekinah,-among us,) our Lord could not, with any propriety, say that the supreme Being did now inhabit the temple; and therefore used a word that hinted to them that God had forsaken their temple, and consequently the whole of that service which was performed in it, and had now opened the new and living way to the holiest by the Messiah. But all this was common swearing; and, whether the subject was true or false, the oath was unlawful. A common swearer is worthy of no credit, when, even in the most solemn manner he takes an oath before a magistrate; he is so accustomed to stake his truth, perhaps even his soul, to things whether true or false, that an oath cannot bind him, and indeed is as little respected by himself as it is by his neighbour. Common swearing, and the shocking frequency and multiplication of oaths in civil cases, have destroyed all respect for an oath; so that men seldom feel themselves bound by it; and thus it is useless in many cases to require it as a confirmation, in order to end strife or ascertain truth. Matthew 5:37.