My master made me swear an oath. He said, ‘You must not acquire a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living,

or associate with these nations that remain near ¹  you. You must not invoke or make solemn declarations by the names of their gods! ²  You must not worship ³  or bow down to them!

So now swear to me in the Lord’s name ¹  that you will not kill ²  my descendants after me or destroy my name from the house of my father.”

These are the ones who now take oaths ¹  in the name of the sinful idol goddess ²  of Samaria. They vow, ³  ‘As surely as your god ⁴  lives, O Dan,’ or ‘As surely as your beloved one ⁵  lives, O Beer Sheba!’ But they will fall down and not get up again.”

And above all, my brothers and sisters, ¹  do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath. But let your “Yes” be yes and your “No” be no, so that you may not fall into judgment.

Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath. He said, “God will surely come to you. Then you must carry my bones up from this place.”

So now, promise me this with an oath sworn in the Lord’s name. ¹  Because I have shown allegiance to you, show allegiance to my family. ²  Give me a solemn pledge ³ 

You must be truthful, honest and upright when you take an oath saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’ ¹  If you do, ²  the nations will pray to be as blessed by him as you are and will make him the object of their boasting.” ³ 

Jonathan once again took an oath with David, because he loved him. In fact Jonathan loved him as much as he did his own life. ¹ 

Now swear to me right here in God’s name ¹  that you will not deceive me, my children, or my descendants. ²  Show me, and the land ³  where you are staying, ⁴  the same loyalty ⁵  that I have shown you.” ⁶ 

Revere the Lord your God, serve him, be loyal to him and take oaths only in his name.

They said to him, “We have come down to take you prisoner so we can hand you over to the Philistines.” Samson said to them, “Promise me ¹  you will not kill ²  me.”

He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him vow allegiance ¹  in the name of God. He was stubborn and obstinate, and refused to return ²  to the Lord God of Israel.

At that time five cities ¹  in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord who commands armies. One will be called the City of the Sun. ² 

Although you, O Israel, commit adultery, do not let Judah become guilty! Do not journey to Gilgal! Do not go up to Beth Aven! ¹  Do not swear, “As surely as the Lord lives!”

‘My father made me swear an oath. He said, ¹  “I am about to die. Bury me ²  in my tomb that I dug for myself there in the land of Canaan.” Now let me go and bury my father; then I will return.’”

So get up now and go out and give some encouragement to ¹  your servants. For I swear by the Lord that if you don’t go out there, not a single man will stay here with you tonight! This disaster will be worse for you than any disaster that has overtaken you from your youth right to the present time!”

Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph ¹  had made the Israelites solemnly swear, ²  “God will surely attend ³  to you, and you will carry ⁴  my bones up from this place with you.”

So Ezra got up and made the leading priests and Levites and all Israel take an oath to carry out this plan. ¹  And they all took a solemn oath.

I solemnly make this oath ¹  – what I say is true and reliable: ²  ‘Surely every knee will bow to me, every tongue will solemnly affirm; ³