not swear falsely

The Greek that is translated in English as something like “do not swear falsely” is translated in Balanta-Kentohe as “do not make oaths like an empty groundnut shell” (i.e., with no intention of fulfilling them).

See also swear / vow.

complete verse (Matthew 5:33)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 5:33:

  • Uma: “‘You also know that there is a command that was said to our (incl.) ancestors long ago that says: ‘Don’t retreat from your (sing.) promise or your (sing.) vow. What you (sing.) promised in front of God, you (sing.) must definitely do.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “‘You have also heard about the teaching of the people of old, it says, ‘Do not swear if it is not true. And you shall fulfill it if you promise something before God (lit. in the hearing of God).'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “You know also that which was taught long ago to our ancestors that if there is that which you promised to the Lord, it not possible that you do not fulfill it. You must fulfill it.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Jesus continued saying, ‘You have also heard what was commanded to our ancestors in the distant-past that it is necessary that they not break (as a law) what they have-sworn, but rather that they fulfill what they have sworn to the Lord God.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “‘You (pl.) have also indeed heard that law of the past which says, ‘Don’t ignore/fail-to-act-on your (sing.) promise which you vowed, but on the contrary really fulfill what you promised to God.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “You have heard the word taught to the old-time people in past days, that they were told: ‘ When you call upon God as a witness that you will truly do what you say, then it is very necessary that you do the word which you have promised to do.'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Lord

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The Hebrew adonai in the Old Testament typically refers to God. The shorter adon (and in two cases in the book of Daniel the Aramaic mare [מָרֵא]) is also used to refer to God but more often for concepts like “master,” “owner,” etc. In English Bible translations all of those are translated with “Lord” if they refer to God.

In English Old Testament translations, as in Old Testament translations in many other languages, the use of Lord (or an equivalent term in other languages) is not to be confused with Lord (or the equivalent term with a different typographical display for other languages). While the former translates adonai, adon and mare, the latter is a translation for the tetragrammaton (YHWH) or the Name of God. See tetragrammaton (YHWH) and the article by Andy Warren-Rothlin in Noss / Houser, p. 618ff. for more information.

In the New Testament, the Greek term kurios has at least four different kinds of use:

  • referring to “God,” especially in Old Testament quotations,
  • meaning “master” or “owner,” especially in parables, etc.,
  • as a form of address (see for instance John 4:11: “Sir, you have no bucket”),
  • or, most often, referring to Jesus

In the first and fourth case, it is also translated as “Lord” in English.

Most languages naturally don’t have one word that covers all these meanings. According to Bratcher / Nida, “the alternatives are usually (1) a term which is an honorific title of respect for a high-ranking person and (2) a word meaning ‘boss’, ‘master’, or ‘chief.’ (…) and on the whole it has generally seemed better to employ a word of the second category, in order to emphasize the immediate personal relationship, and then by context to build into the word the prestigeful character, since its very association with Jesus Christ will tend to accomplish this purpose.”

When looking at the following list of back-translations of the terms that translators in the different languages have used for both kurios and adonai to refer to God and Jesus respectively, it might be helpful for English readers to recall the etymology of the English “Lord.” While this term might have gained an exalted meaning in the understanding of many, it actually comes from hlaford or “loaf-ward,” referring to the lord of the castle who was the keeper of the bread (source: Rosin 1956, p. 121).

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Following are some of the solutions that don’t rely on a different typographical display (see above):

  • Navajo: “the one who has charge”
  • Mossi: “the one who has the head” (the leader)
  • Uduk: “chief”
  • Guerrero Amuzgo: “the one who commands”
  • Kpelle: “person-owner” (a term which may be applied to a chief)
  • Central Pame: “the one who owns us” (or “commands us”)
  • Piro: “the big one” (used commonly of one in authority)
  • San Blas Kuna: “the great one over all” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Guhu-Samane: Soopara (“our Supervisor”) (source: Ellis Deibler in Notes on Translation July, 1967, p. 5ff.)
  • Balinese: “Venerated-one” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Yanesha’: “the one who carries us” (source: Nida 1952, p. 159)
  • Northern Emberá: Dadjirã Boro (“our Head”)
  • Rarotongan: Atu (“master or owner of a property”)
  • Gilbertese: Uea (“a person of high status invested with authority to rule the people”)
  • Rotuman: Gagaja (“village chief”)
  • Samoan: Ali’i (“an important word in the native culture, it derives from the Samoan understanding of lordship based on the local traditions”)
  • Tahitian: Fatu (“owner,” “master”)
  • Tuvalu: Te Aliki (“chief”)
  • Fijian: Liuliu (“leader”) (source for this and six above: Joseph Hong in The Bible Translator 1994, p. 329ff. )
  • Bacama: Həmə miye: “owner of people” (source: David Frank in this blog post )
  • Hopi: “Controller” (source: Walls 2000, p. 139)
  • Iyansi: Mwol. Mwol is traditionally used for the “chief of a group of communities and villages” with legal, temporal, and spiritual authority (versus the “mfum [the term used in other Bantu languages] which is used for the chief of one community of people in one village”). Mwol is also used for twins who are “treated as special children, highly honored, and taken care of like kings and queens.” (Source: Kividi Kikama in Greed / Kruger, p. 396ff.)
  • Ghomala’: Cyəpɔ (“he who is above everyone,” consisting of the verb cyə — to surpass or go beyond — and pɔ — referring to people. No human can claim this attribute, no matter what his or her social status or prestige.” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn )
  • Binumarien: Karaambaia: “fight-leader” (Source: Oates 1995, p. 255)
  • Warlpiri: Warlaljamarri (owner or possessor of something — for more information tap or click here)

    We have come to rely on another term which emphasizes God’s essential nature as YHWH, namely jukurrarnu (see tetragrammaton (YHWH)). This word is built on the same root jukurr– as is jukurrpa, ‘dreaming.’ Its basic meaning is ‘timelessness’ and it is used to describe physical features of the land which are viewed as always being there. Some speakers view jukurrarnu in terms of ‘history.’ In all Genesis references to YHWH we have used Kaatu Jukurrarnu. In all Mark passages where kurios refers to God and not specifically to Christ we have also used Kaatu Jukurrarnu.

    New Testament references to Christ as kurios are handled differently. At one stage we experimented with the term Watirirririrri which refers to a ceremonial boss of highest rank who has the authority to instigate ceremonies. While adequately conveying the sense of Christ’s authority, there remained potential negative connotations relating to Warlpiri ceremonial life of which we might be unaware.

    Here it is that the Holy Spirit led us to make a chance discovery. Transcribing the personal testimony of the local Warlpiri pastor, I noticed that he described how ‘my Warlaljamarri called and embraced me (to the faith)’. Warlaljamarri is based on the root warlalja which means variously ‘family, possessions, belongingness’. A warlaljamarri is the ‘owner’ or ‘possessor’ of something. While previously being aware of the ‘ownership’ aspect of warlaljamarri, this was the first time I had heard it applied spontaneously and naturally in a fashion which did justice to the entire concept of ‘Lordship’. Thus references to Christ as kurios are now being handled by Warlaljamarri.” (Source: Stephen Swartz, The Bible Translator 1985, p. 415ff. )

  • Mairasi: Onggoao Nem (“Throated One” — “Leader,” “Elder”) or Enggavot Nan (“Above-One”) (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Obolo: Okaan̄-ene (“Owner of person(s)”) (source: Enene Enene)
  • Angami Naga: Niepu (“master,” “owner”)
  • Lotha Naga: Opvui (“owner of house / field / cattle”) — since both “Lord” and YHWH are translated as Opvui there is an understanding that “Opvui Jesus is the same as the Opvui of the Old Testament”
  • Ao Naga: Kibuba (“human master,” “teacher,” “owner of property,” etc.) (source for this and two above: Nitoy Achumi in The Bible Translator 1992 p. 438ff. )
  • Seediq: Tholang, loan word from Min Nan Chinese (the majority language in Taiwan) thâu-lâng (頭儂): “Master” (source: Covell 1998, p. 248)
  • Thai: phra’ phu pen cao (พระผู้เป็นเจ้า) (divine person who is lord) or ong(kh) cao nay (องค์เจ้านาย) (<divine classifier>-lord-boss) (source: Stephen Pattemore)
  • Arabic often uses different terms for adonai or kurios referring to God (al-rabb الرب) and kurios referring to Jesus (al-sayyid الـسـيـد). Al-rabb is also the term traditionally used in Arabic Christian-idiom translations for YHWH, and al-sayyid is an honorary term, similar to English “lord” or “sir” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin).
  • Tamil also uses different terms for adonai/kurios when referring to God and kurios when referring to Jesus. The former is Karttar கர்த்தர், a Sanskrit-derived term with the original meaning of “creator,” and the latter in Āṇṭavar ஆண்டவர், a Tamil term originally meaning “govern” or “reign” (source: Natarajan Subramani).
  • Burunge: Looimoo: “owner who owns everything” (in the Burunge Bible translation, this term is only used as a reference to Jesus and was originally used to refer to the traditional highest deity — source: Michael Endl in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 48)
  • Aguacateco: Ajcaw ske’j: “the one to whom we belong and who is above us” (source: Rita Peterson in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 49)
  • Konkomba: Tidindaan: “He who is the owner of the land and reigns over the people” (source: Lidorio 2007, p. 66)

Law (2013, p. 97) writes about how the Ancient Greek Septuagint‘s translation of the Hebrew adonai was used by the New Testament writers as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments: “Another case is the use of kurios referring to Jesus. For Yahweh (in English Bibles: ‘the Lord‘), the Septuagint uses kurios. Although the term kurios usually has to do with one’s authority over others, when the New Testament authors use this word from the Septuagint to refer to Jesus, they are making an extraordinary claim: Jesus of Nazareth is to be identified with Yahweh.”

See also Father / Lord.

Translation commentary on Matthew 5:33

Matthew now returns to his exposition of the Ten Commandments. The words about swearing deal with the commandment in the Decalogue concerning false witness, following those concerning murder and adultery.

Again (first used in 4.7, 8) translates an adverb which is used when a speaker takes up a formula previously used and continues. In Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch it is left implicit, where the first sentence of verse 33 is “You know that our ancestors were told….” Good News Translation has translated this as “also.” Barclay has tried to show the meaning with “To take another example….”

Have heard (so most English translations) renders an aorist tense in Greek, which may be rendered “heard.” New English Bible and Jerusalem Bible render “have learned,” and New American Bible has “heard the commandment imposed on….” As noted above, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “You know….” It is important that the translation imply that the hearers are familiar with the command, rather than that it is merely hearsay to them, as may be suggested to some by the use of the verb “to hear.” Translators should refer to verse 21 for have heard. Here, this can be “Another thing you know God said to your ancestors is that…” or “Another thing people have told you God said to the men of long ago….”

To the men of old is also found in verse 21, but nowhere else in the Sermon on the Mount.

As in verses 21 and 27, You shall not is a formula for a command and should not be translated as a simple future.

Neither the negative command (shall not swear falsely) nor the positive command (shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn) is a direct quotation from any Old Testament passage. The two commands constitute a summary of Leviticus 19.12; Exodus 20.7; Deuteronomy 5.11; Numbers 30.3; and Deuteronomy 23.22.

Swear falsely translates a Greek verb which may mean either “break an oath” or “commit perjury.” This is its only occurrence in the New Testament, and both meanings are possible for the context. A related noun form is used in 1 Timothy 1.10 (Good News Translation “those who … give false testimony”). Translations are divided rather sharply on the meaning. Good News Translation, New English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible have “break promise (or, oath)”; while others go in the direction of “to perjure” (for example, Moffatt, Phillips “forswear”; New American Bible “take a false oath”; Revised Standard Version, An American Translation, Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition “swear falsely”). Anchor Bible has “make vows rashly.” As one may expect, New Testament scholars are also divided on their interpretation of this verb, though several commentators note that the meaning “break an oath” goes better with the last clause of the verse.

Translators who choose the first interpretation can have phrases such as “Do not fail to do what you promised (before God),” “Always do what you promised (before God),” or “Don’t promise (or, swear) to do something when in fact you do not intend to do it.” Those who choose the second interpretation will have translations such as “Don’t swear (by God) something is true when you know it isn’t.” But the first interpretation does seem to fit the context of the passage better, particularly since perform to the Lord does imply a promise. Of course, languages that have a word that covers both meanings, as the Greek does, will do best to use that word. See notes below for a discussion of “swear.”

What you have sworn (Good News Translation “what you have vowed”) alters the Greek noun phrase “your vows” to a relative clause with a verb describing the action.

The meaning of the clause shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn is seen in Good News Translation. You are commanded “to do the things you vowed to the Lord you would do.”

Some languages have difficulty with the distinctions between “promise,” “vow,” “swear,” and “oath.” To promise simply means to affirm that you will do something. However, to vow is to make a sacred promise in front of witnesses. Usually the person making the vow will invoke a deity’s punishment if he fails to do what he is saying. To make an oath is very similar to vowing. It is to make a pledge to do something while calling upon God or a sacred object as a witness. In swearing, one makes a solemn declaration stating something is true, and invokes a deity or sacred object to confirm that what is said is in fact true.

As can be seen, these terms are similar and in fact overlap a great deal in actual usage. Most languages have a word for “promise,” so that word poses no problem to translators. A problem sometimes arises with the other words when translators are reluctant to use the traditional words that would be the closest natural equivalents. In their cultures oaths or vows are made before idols or involve other ceremonies that the translators consider inappropriate to include in Christian Scriptures. But these translators should realize that formally these customs in their cultures are similar to what the Jews did, and the main difference is in the deity or spirit power involved.

If there are no close expressions in the language, translators can find various other solutions. For example, “vow” can often be translated “make a promise using God’s name,” and “oath” can be handled in the same way. “Swear” can be “to declare as true,” or “declare before God that something is true,” or “declare in God’s name (or, by God) something is true.” However, translators should always look to the context to see what is most appropriate in each case.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .