Bible Strands
Matthew 5:36
Nor should you swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses His disciples and the surrounding crowds during the Sermon on the Mount, immediately after listing the earth and Jerusalem as oaths to avoid (Matthew 5:35). He places this command directly before His closing rule on oaths in Matthew 5:37.
The words — The text uses κεφαλῇ (kephalēa), literally "head," and ὀμόσῃς (omosēs), meaning "may you swear," to prohibit invoking one's own body in vows. It links this restriction with ὅτι (hoti), translated "because," to state the reason for the command.
The thread — This prohibition against swearing by created things or one's own body connects to the broader biblical pattern of rejecting empty oaths in Matthew 23:16 and parallels the theme of human powerlessness found in Luke 12:25 and Matthew 6:27.
Why it lands — The text states that a person lacks the power to control even a single hair, so swearing by the head is logically empty. It requires the reader to abandon oaths as a crutch for truthfulness and rely solely on straightforward speech.
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
Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
Cross-references
- Luke 12:25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
- Matthew 6:27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
- Matthew 23:16 Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’