Bible Strands
Matthew 23:21
And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the One who dwells in it.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus speaks to the crowds and his disciples in Jerusalem during the final week of his ministry, continuing a direct confrontation with the scribes and Pharisees over their handling of oaths.
The words — ναῷ (naō) means temple, and ὀμνύει (omnuei) means swears; the grammatical construction explicitly ties an oath made by the temple to the deity residing within it.
The thread — The identification of the temple as God's dwelling place runs through 1 Kings 8:13, 2 Chronicles 6:2, and Psalms 26:8, which all record the sanctuary as the designated location of His permanent presence.
Why it lands — The text states that swearing by the temple binds the speaker to the One who dwells in it, meaning any oath invoking the sanctuary carries the full weight of a direct appeal to God.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 8:13 I have indeed built You an exalted house, a place for You to dwell forever.”
- Psalms 26:8 O LORD, I love the house where You dwell, the place where Your glory resides.
- 2 Chronicles 6:2 But I have built You an exalted house, a place for You to dwell forever.”
- 1 Kings 8:27 But will God indeed dwell upon the earth? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain You, much less this temple I have built.
- 2 Chronicles 7:2 The priests were unable to enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled it.
- Psalms 132:13 For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His home:
- Ephesians 2:22 And in Him you too are being built together into a dwelling place for God in His Spirit.
- Colossians 2:9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form.