John Calvin Commentary James 5:12

"But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by the heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath: but let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay; that ye fall not under judgment." — James 5:12 (ASV)

But above all things. It has been a common vice in almost all ages to swear lightly and inconsiderately. For so bad is our nature that we do not consider what an atrocious crime it is to profane the name of God.

For though the Lord strictly commands us to reverence His name, yet people devise various subterfuges and think that they can swear with impunity. They imagine, then, that there is no evil, provided they do not openly mention the name of God; and this is an old deceptive interpretation.

So the Jews, when they swore by heaven or earth, thought that they did not profane God’s name, because they did not mention it. But while people seek to be ingenious in dissembling with God, they delude themselves with the most frivolous evasions.

It was a vain excuse of this kind that Christ condemned in Matthew 5:34. James, now subscribing to the decree of his Master, commands us to abstain from these indirect forms of swearing.

For whoever swears in vain and on frivolous occasions profanes God’s name, whatever form they may give to their words. The meaning, then, is that it is no more lawful to swear by heaven or by the earth than openly by the name of God.

The reason is mentioned by Christ: because the glory of God is everywhere inscribed and everywhere shines forth. Indeed, people take the words "heaven" and "earth" in their oaths in no other sense and for no other purpose than if they named God Himself; for by speaking this way, they only designate the Worker by His works.

But he says, above all things, because the profanation of God’s name is not a slight offense. The Anabaptists, building on this passage, condemn all oaths, but they only show their ignorance.

For James does not speak of oaths in general, nor does Christ in the passage to which I have referred. Instead, both condemn that evasion which had been devised, where people took the liberty to swear without expressing the name of God—a liberty repugnant to the prohibition of the law.

And this is what the words clearly mean: Neither by heaven, neither by the earth. For, if the question had been about oaths in themselves, to what purpose were these forms mentioned?

It then appears evident that both Christ and James rebuked the childish cleverness of those who taught that they could swear with impunity, provided they adopted some circuitous expressions.

So that we may understand the meaning of James, we must first understand the precept of the law: Thou shalt not take the name of God in vain. Thus, it appears clear that there is a right and lawful use of God’s name.

Now, James condemns those who did not indeed dare to directly profane God’s name, but endeavored to evade the profanation which the law condemns by using circumlocutions.

But let your yea be yea. He brings the best remedy to correct the vice he condemns: that is, that people should habitually maintain truth and faithfulness in all their sayings.

For from where does the wicked habit of swearing come, if not from the fact that human falsehood is so prevalent that people's words alone are not believed? If they observed faithfulness in their words, as they ought, there would be no necessity for so many superfluous oaths.

Since, then, human perfidy or levity is the fountain from which the vice of swearing flows, James teaches us that to take away the vice, the fountain ought to be removed. For the right way of healing is to begin with the cause of the illness.

Some copies have, Let your word (or speech) be, yea, yea; no, no. The true reading, however, is what I have given and is commonly received. What he means I have already explained: that is, that we ought to tell the truth and be faithful in our words. To the same purpose is what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:18, that he was not in his preaching yea and nay, but pursued the same course from the beginning.

Lest you fall into condemnation. There is a different reading, owing to the affinity of the words ὑπὸ κρίσιν and ὑπόκρισιν. If you read it as "into judgment" or "condemnation," the sense will clearly be that taking God’s name in vain will not go unpunished. But it is not unsuitable to say "into hypocrisy," because, as has already been said, when simplicity prevails among us, the occasion for superfluous oaths is cut off. If, then, fidelity appears in all we say, the dissimulation that leads us to swear rashly will be removed.