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.

Listen to this, O family of Jacob, ¹  you who are called by the name ‘Israel,’ and are descended from Judah, ²  who take oaths in the name of the Lord, and invoke ³  the God of Israel – but not in an honest and just manner. ⁴ 

But they must make sure you learn to follow the religious practices of my people. ¹  Once they taught my people to swear their oaths using the name of the god Baal. ²  But then, they must swear oaths using my name, saying, “As surely as the Lord lives, I swear.” ³  If they do these things, ⁴  then they will be included among the people I call my own. ⁵ 

So King Zedekiah made a secret promise to Jeremiah and sealed it with an oath. He promised, ¹  “As surely as the Lord lives who has given us life and breath, ²  I promise you this: I will not kill you or hand you over to those men who want to kill you.” ³ 

Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, took an oath so as to give them and their troops some assurance of safety. ¹  “Do not be afraid to submit to the Babylonians. ²  Settle down in the land and submit to the king of Babylon. Then things will go well for you.

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!”

But Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I raise my hand ¹  to the Lord, the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth, and vow ² 

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,

Jacob ¹  said, “Swear to me that you will do so.” ²  So Joseph ³  gave him his word. ⁴  Then Israel bowed down ⁵  at the head of his bed. ⁶ 

‘Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to them, he killed them in the wilderness.’

(for he ¹  is a merciful God), he will not let you down ²  or destroy you, for he cannot ³  forget the covenant with your ancestors that he confirmed by oath to them.

He delivered us from there so that he could give us the land he had promised our ancestors.

The Israelites did not attack them because the leaders of the community had sworn an oath to them in the name of the Lord God of Israel. ¹  The whole community criticized ²  the leaders,

How can we find wives for those who are left? ¹  After all, we took an oath in the Lord’s name not to give them our daughters as wives.”

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 

He despises a reprobate, ¹  but honors the Lord’s loyal followers. ²  He makes firm commitments and does not renege on his promise. ³ 

I also swore ¹  to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them to the land I had given them – a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands.

So this is what the sovereign Lord says: I vow ¹  that the nations around you will endure insults as well.

You must divide it equally just as I vowed to give it to your forefathers; ¹  this land will be assigned as your inheritance. ² 

I will remove ¹  those who worship the stars in the sky from their rooftops, ²  those who swear allegiance to the Lord ³  while taking oaths in the name of ⁴  their ‘king,’ ⁵