to make or do (in a very wide application · verb — aorist active infinitive
one
μίανmian
G1520
one · adjective — accusative singular feminine
hair
τρίχαtricha
G2359
of uncertain derivation · noun — accusative singular feminine
white
λευκὴνleukēn
G3022
white · adjective — accusative singular feminine
or
ἢē
G2228
disjunctive · conjunction
black
μέλαιναν.melainan
G3189
black · adjective — accusative singular feminine
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Luke 12:25 And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?
Matthew 6:27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
Matthew 23:16-21 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the t…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Matthew 5:33-37
We have here an exposition of the third commandment, which we are the more concerned right to understand, because it is particularly said, that God will not hold him guiltless, however he may hold himself, who breaks this commandment, by taking the name of the Lord in vain. Now as to this command,
I. It is agreed on all hands that it forbids perjury, forswearing, and the violation of oaths and vows, Mat 5:33. This was said to them of old time, and is the true intent and meaning of the third commandment. Thou shalt not use, or take up, the name of God (as we do by an oath) in vain, or unto vanity, or a lie. He hath not lift up his soul unto vanity, is expounded in the next words, nor sworn de…
Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black--In the other oaths specified, God's name was profaned quite as really as if His name had been uttered, because it was instantly suggested by the mention of His "throne," His "footstool," His "city." But in swearing by our own head and the like, the objection lies in their being "beyond our control," and therefore profanely assumed to have a stability which they have not.
John Gill on Matthew 5:36
Neither shalt thou swear by thy head,.... This also was a common form of swearing among the Jews: take a few instances.
"If anyone is bound to his friend by an oath, and says to him, vow unto me , "by the life of thy head"; R. Meir says (u), he may retract it; but the wise men say, he cannot.''
Again (w), a certain Rabbi said to Elijah,
"I heard "Bath Kol" (or the voice from heaven) mourning like a dove, and saying, woe to my children; for, because of their sins, I have destroyed my house, and have burnt my temple, and have carried them captive among the nations: and he (Elijah) said unto him , "by thy life, and by the life of thy head", not this time only it says so, but it says so thre…
What "grace" is compatible with "injury? "What "beauty" with "impurities? "Shall a Christian woman heap saffron on her head, as upon an altar? For, whatever is wont to be burned to the honour of the unclean spirit, that-unless it is applied for honest, and necessary, and salutary uses, for which God's creature was provided-may seem to be a sacrifice. But, however, God saith, "Which of you can make a white hair black, or out of a black a white? " And so they refute the Lord! "Behold!" say they, "instead of white or black, we make it yellow,-more winning in grace.
"Neither by thy head," saith He, "because thou canst not make one hair white or black." Here again, not as wondering at man, hath He withdrawn him from swearing by his head (for so man himself would be worshipped), but as referring the glory to God, and signifying that thou art not master even of thyself, and of course therefore not of the oaths made by thy head. For if no one would give up his own child to another, much more will not God give up His own work to thee. For though it be thy head, yet is it the property of another; and so far from being master thereof, thou shalt not be able to do with it, no not the least thing of all. For He said not, "Thou canst not make one hair grow;" but, "Not so much as change its quality."
These words of the Lord whereby he forbids us to swear by these different elements invite a double explanation.First, he wanted to draw us away from the use of oaths and the customs of human error, lest each of us through swearing by these elements accord a creature the honor of divine veneration or believe one has impunity in swearing falsely if one swears by the elements of the world.… It can also be explained in this way: When one swears by heaven and earth, one swears by him who made heaven and earth, as the Lord himself declared elsewhere: "He who swears by the altar swears by it and by all things that are on it; and he who swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it." Jesus goes on to say, "nor by Jerusalem," for it is the city of the great King, that is, the symbol of Christ's body, which is the spiritual and heavenly church. "Neither shall you swear," he says, "by your head," for according to the apostle, "the head of every man is Christ." Therefore the one who swears by these things makes reference to him who is the author of all these things.
Dictionary and topics
Hair — (1.) The Egyptians let the hair of their head and beard grow only when they were in mourning, shaving it off at other times. “So particular were they on this point that to have neglected it was a…
Sermon on the mount — After spending a night in solemn meditation and prayer in the lonely mountain-range to the west of the Lake of Galilee (Luke 6:12), on the following morning our Lord called to him his disciples, and…
Commandments · DISCOURSE — DISCOURSE
Hair, The · Man cannot even change the colour or — Man cannot even change the colour or
Head · The Jews censured for swearing by — The Jews censured for swearing by
Judaism · .To make room for the Gospel — .To make room for the Gospel
Oaths · The Jews: Forbidden to take in the name of any created thing — The Jews: Forbidden to take in the name of any created thing
Religion · TRUE — TRUE
Swearing, Profane · Of all kinds is desecration of God’s name and is forbidden — Of all kinds is desecration of God’s name and is forbidden
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
on Matthew 5:33-37
Matthew 5:33-37
Matthew 5:33-37
33. Again, ye have heard that it was said to the ancients, Thou shalt not perjure thyself: but thou shalt perform to the Lord what thou hast sworn. 34. But I charge you, swear not at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God: 35. Nor by the earth, for it is his footstool: nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King: 36. Nor shalt thou swear by thy head: for thou canst not make one hair white or black. 37. But your speech shall be, Yes, yes; No, no for what is beyond these comes from evil. [410]
33. Thou shalt not perjure thyself This also is not a correction of the law, but a true interpretation of it. For God condemned in the law not o…
Jesus here summarizes the Old Testament teaching on oaths (Lev 19:12; Num 30:2-4; Deut 23:21-23; Ps 50:14; Zech 8:17). The Pharisees had degrees of commitment for oaths—for example, ones that did not mention God were not as binding. Jesus shows that because God is related to all things (heaven, earth, Jerusalem, my head; see also Matt 23:16-22), breaking any oath breaks God’s command (see Exod 20:7). The point is that one must be altogether truthful. Jesus’ righteousness elevates the disciple’s everyday yes and no to the level of binding oath. Oaths become superfluous to the honest person (Jas 5:12).
