12. That we must not swear.

In Solomon: “A man that sweareth much shall be filled with iniquity, and the plague shall not depart from his house; and if he swear vainly, he shall not be justified.”^42654265    Ecclus. xxiii. 11. From some ancient text the Oxford edition adds here, “Et si frustra juraverit dupliciter punietur”—“and if he swear with no purpose, he shall be punished doubly.” Of this same matter, according to Matthew: “(Again, ye have heard that it was said to them of old, Thou shalt not swear falsely, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths.) I say unto you, Swear not at all: (neither by heaven, because it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, because it is His footstool; nor 537by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King; neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.) But let your discourse be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: (for whatever is fuller than these is of evil.”)^42664266    Matt. v. 34–37. All these passages are wanting in the Oxford text; [also in ed. Paris, 1574]. Of this same thing in Exodus: “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.”^42674267    Ex. xx. 7. [Compare old Paris ed. on this section.]