Again, ye have heard that it hath been said
Besides what has been observed, in ver. 21 and 27 you know it has
also been said,
by, or to them of old time,
what is written in ( Leviticus
19:12 ) . "And ye shall not swear by my name falsely"; which
seems to be referred to, when it is said, "thou shalt not
forswear thyself": and is the law forbidding perjury, or false
swearing; and was what the Jews were chiefly, if not only
concerned about; little regarding the vanity, only the truth of
an oath: for they took swearing vainly, to be the same as
swearing falsely; wherefore so long as what they swore was truth,
they were not careful whether it was of any importance or not:
moreover, these men sinned, in that they swore by the creatures,
which they thought they might do, and not sin; and when they had
so done, were not under obligation to perform; because they made
no use of the name of God, to whom only vows and oaths were to be
performed, "but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths", (
Numbers
30:2 ) which they understood of vows only made to the Lord,
and not to others; and of oaths, when in his name, and not by
others; which they did do, and yet thought themselves not obliged
by them.