Matthew 5:37 - An Understandable Version (2005 edition)

³⁷ But you should just say ‘yes’ [when you mean] yes, and ‘no’ [when you mean] no. Whatever you say beyond these [i.e., enforcing them by oaths] is of the evil one [i.e., the devil].

More versions

King James Version (Oxford) 1769

³⁷ But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

Amplified Bible - Classic Edition

³⁷ Let your Yes be simply Yes, and your No be simply No; anything more than that comes from the evil one. [Lev. 19:12; Num. 30:2; Deut. 23:21.]

American Standard Version (1901)

³⁷ But let your speech be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: and whatsoever is more than these is of the evil one.

Common English Bible

³⁷ Let your yes mean yes, and your no mean no. Anything more than this comes from the evil one.

Catholic Public Domain Version

³⁷ But let your word 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and 'No' mean 'No.' For anything beyond that is of evil.

Matthew 5:37 Cross References

James 5:12

But above everything else, my brothers, do not take oaths, not “by the heaven,” nor “by the earth,” nor by any other oath. But your “yes” should be [simply] “yes,” and your “no,” [simply] “no,” so you do not fall under condemnation.

Colossians 4:6

Your speech should always be favorable, seasoned with salt [i.e., interesting and appropriate], so that you may know how to properly answer each person [you talk with].

Colossians 3:9

Do not lie to one another, since you have put away [the conduct of] your old person with its practices,

John 8:44

You belong to your father the devil, and you are [always] wanting to do what your father desires. He was a murderer from the [very] beginning [Note: This is probably a reference to Satan’s influence on Adam, Eve and Cain in the Garden of Eden] and does not stand for the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he only speaks what is part of his nature, because he is a liar and the father of [all] liars.

Ephesians 4:25

So then, put away lying and [Zech 8:16], “Each one should speak truthfully with his neighbor,” because we are parts of one another [i.e., in the one body].

2 Thessalonians 3:3

But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one [Note: The Greek says just “the evil”].

Matthew 13:19

When anyone hears the message of the kingdom but does not understand it, the evil one [i.e., the devil] comes to him and grabs away what had been sown in his heart. This is the person who was scattered to the side of the road.

Matthew 13:38

and the field [represents] the world. The good seed [represents] the children who belong to the kingdom, and the weeds [represent] the children who belong to the evil one [i.e., the devil].

1 John 5:18

We know that every person who has been [spiritually] conceived by God [and eventually born] does not continue in [a life of] sin, but God’s only conceived One [i.e., His Son] keeps him [from continuing to sin], and the evil one [i.e., Satan] does not continue to touch him [i.e., continue to control his life].

Matthew 6:13

And do not allow us to fall under temptation, but deliver us from [being harmed by] the evil one.’

1 John 2:13

I am writing to you fathers, because you have known Him [i.e., Christ], [who has existed] from the beginning [See John 1:1]. I am writing to you young men, because you have overcome the [power of the] evil one [i.e., through faith they had gained victory over Satan, See 5:4].

1 John 3:12

not [hate each other] the way Cain did, who belonged to the evil one [i.e., Satan], when he murdered his brother [Abel]. And why did he murder him? It was because his [own] actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous [See Heb. 11:4].

John 17:15

I am not praying that you should take them out of the world, but that you should protect them from the evil one [i.e., the devil].

Matthew 15:19

For evil thoughts, murder, extramarital affairs, sexual immorality, stealing, perjury, slander --- [all these] come from a person’s heart,

Matthew 5:36

You should not take an oath, [saying] ‘by my head,’ for you cannot make a single hair white or black.

Ephesians 6:16

And along with everything else, take up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the fire-tipped arrows of the evil one.