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Read the Bible

Green's Literal Translation

Matthew 23:20

Then the one swearing by the altar swears by it, and by all things on it.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Blindness;   Church;   Ecclesiasticism;   Hypocrisy;   Oath;   Pharisees;   Satire;   Teachers;   Temple;   The Topic Concordance - Blindness;   Guidance;   Hypocrisy;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Oaths;   Pharisees, the;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Pharisees;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Hypocrisy;   Matthew, gospel of;   Pharisees;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Anger;   Blindness;   Destroy, Destruction;   Ethics;   Fool, Foolishness, Folly;   Worship;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Supralapsarians;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Pharisees;   Scribes;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Altar;   Blindness;   Matthew, the Gospel of;   Oaths;   Salutation;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Hypocrite;   Judas Iscariot;   Scribes;   Sin;   Text of the New Testament;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Altar ;   Anger (2);   Children of God;   Claim;   Common Life;   Courage;   Discourse;   Error;   Judgment;   Law of God;   Manuscripts;   Mental Characteristics;   Oath;   Organization (2);   Paradox;   Profaning, Profanity;   Reality;   Sabbath ;   Sanctify, Sanctification;   Self-Control;   Teaching of Jesus;   Woe;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Blindness;   Oath;   Scribes;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Pharisee;   Scribe;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Pharisees;   Scribe;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Oath,;   Scribes;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Vow;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Jesus of Nazareth;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Matthew, the Gospel of;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Hypocrisy;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Therefore, the one who takes an oath by the altar takes an oath by it and by everything on it.
King James Version (1611)
Who so therefore shall sweare by the Altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.
King James Version
Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.
English Standard Version
So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.
New American Standard Bible
"Therefore, the one who swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it.
New Century Version
The person who swears by the altar is really using the altar and also everything on the altar.
Amplified Bible
"Therefore, whoever swears [an oath] by the altar, swears both by it and by everything [offered] on it.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it.
Legacy Standard Bible
Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it.
Berean Standard Bible
So then, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.
Contemporary English Version
Anyone who swears by the altar also swears by everything on it.
Complete Jewish Bible
So someone who swears by the altar swears by it and everything on it.
Darby Translation
He therefore that swears by the altar swears by it and by all things that are upon it.
Easy-to-Read Version
Whoever uses the altar to make a promise is really using the altar and everything on the altar.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Whosoeuer therefore sweareth by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.
George Lamsa Translation
Therefore he who swears by the altar, he swears by it and by everything that is on it.
Good News Translation
So then, when a person swears by the altar, he is swearing by it and by all the gifts on it;
Lexham English Bible
Therefore the one who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything that is on it.
American Standard Version
He therefore that sweareth by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.
Bible in Basic English
He, then, who takes an oath by the altar, takes it by the altar and by all things on it.
Hebrew Names Version
He therefore who swears by the altar, swears by it, and by everything on it.
International Standard Version
Therefore, the one who swears an oath by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.
Etheridge Translation
He therefore who sweareth by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things that are upon it.
Murdock Translation
He therefore who sweareth by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all that is upon it.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Who so therfore sweareth by the aulter, sweareth by it, and by all thynges theron.
English Revised Version
He therefore that sweareth by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.
World English Bible
He therefore who swears by the altar, swears by it, and by everything on it.
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
He therefore that sweareth by the altar, sweareth by it and by all things thereon.
Weymouth's New Testament
He who swears by the altar swears both by it and by everything on it;
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfor he that swerith in the auter, swerith in it, and in alle thingis that ben ther on.
Update Bible Version
He therefore that swears by the altar, swears by it, and by all things thereon.
Webster's Bible Translation
Whoever therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things upon it.
New English Translation
So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.
New King James Version
Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it.
New Living Translation
When you swear ‘by the altar,' you are swearing by it and by everything on it.
New Life Bible
Whoever makes a promise by the altar, promises by it and by everything on it.
New Revised Standard
So whoever swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it;
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
He therefore that hath sworn by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all that is upon it;
Douay-Rheims Bible
He therefore that sweareth by the altar sweareth by it and by all things that are upon it.
Revised Standard Version
So he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it;
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Whosoever therfore sweareth by ye aultre sweareth by it and by all yt there on is.
Young's Literal Translation
`He therefore who did swear by the altar, doth swear by it, and by all things on it;
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Therfore who so sweareth by the altare, sweareth by the same, and by all that is theron:
Mace New Testament (1729)
whoever swears by the altar, swears not only by the altar, but by every thing upon it.
Simplified Cowboy Version

Contextual Overview

13 But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of Heaven before men; for you do not enter, nor do you allow those entering to go in. 14 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour the houses of widows, and pray at length as a pretext. Because of this you will receive more abundant judgment. 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you go about the sea and the dry land to make one proselyte; and when he has become so, you make him twofold more a son of Hell than yourselves. 16 Woe to you, blind guides, who say, Whoever swears by the Holy Place, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the Holy Place is a debtor. 17 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold, or the Holy Place that sanctifies the gold? 18 And you say , Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift on it, he is a debtor. 19 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift? 20 Then the one swearing by the altar swears by it, and by all things on it. 21 And the one swearing by the Holy Place swears by it, and by the One dwelling in it. 22 And the one swearing by Heaven swears by the throne of God, and by the One sitting on it.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Reciprocal: Hebrews 6:16 - swear

Cross-References

Genesis 23:7
And Abraham rose up and bowed himself to the people of the land, to the sons of Heth.
Genesis 23:10
And Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth. And Ephron the Hittite replied to Abraham in the ears of the sons of Heth, to all those entering the gate of his city, saying,
Genesis 23:14
And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him,
Genesis 25:9
And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him at the cave of Machpelah, at the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite which is before Mamre,
Genesis 50:5
My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I am dying; you shall bury me there in the grave which I have dug for myself in the land of Canaan. And now please let me go up and bury my father, and return.
Genesis 50:13
And his sons carried him to the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah; the field which Abraham bought for a burying place from Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.
2 Samuel 24:24
And the king said to Araunah, No, for buying I will buy from you for a price, and I will not offer to Jehovah my God burnt offerings for nothing. And David bought the threshing-floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
2 Kings 21:18
And Manasseh lay with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his house in the Garden of Uzza. And his son Amon reigned in his place.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Whosoever therefore shall swear by the altar,.... Not that Christ allowed of swearing by the altar, or by the temple, or by heaven, or by any creature, animate or inanimate; for such swearing is elsewhere disapproved of by him, and forbid, but if a man did swear by the altar, he ought to know, and consider that he not only

sweareth by it, but by all the gifts, and offerings that are brought, and laid upon it,

and by all things thereon; whatever gifts and sacrifices are offered upon it; which, by being put there, become holy, as the altar itself: so that he that swears by the altar, swears also by the gifts of the altar; and consequently, according to their own traditions, such oaths must be binding.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Matthew 23:20. Whoso - shall swear by the altar — As an oath always supposes a person who witnesses it, and will punish perjury; therefore, whether they swore by the temple or the gold, (Matthew 23:16), or by the altar or the gift laid on it, (Matthew 23:18), the oath necessarily supposes the God of the temple, of the altar, and of the gifts, who witnessed the whole, and would, even in their exempt cases, punish the perjury.


 
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