Hebrews 6:16
For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
KJV
ἄνθρωποι γὰρ κατὰ τοῦ μείζονος ὀμνύουσιν, καὶ πάσης αὐτοῖς ἀντιλογίας πέρας εἰς βεβαίωσιν ὁ ὅρκος·
Greek NT
Homines enim per majorem sui jurant : et omnis controversiæ eorum finis, ad confirmationem, est juramentum.
Vulgate
For men swear by the greater: and in every dispute of theirs the oath is final for confirmation.
ASV
For men swear by one greater than themselves: and an oath for confirmation is the end of all their controversy.
Douay-Rheims
Open in reader with connections →
In the original Greek
14 distinct Greek words appear in this verse.
αὐτός
autos
pronoun · 5564×
βεβαίωσις
bebaiosis
noun · 2×
γάρ
gar
conjunction · 1036×
εἰς
eis
preposition · 1769×
καί
kai
conjunction · 8973×
κατά
kata
preposition · 470×
μέγας
megas
adjective · 244×
πέρας
peras
noun · 4×
πᾶς
pas
adjective · 1226×
ἀντιλογία
antilogia
noun · 4×
ἄνθρωπος
anthropos
noun · 549×
ὀμνύω
omnuo
verb · 26×
ὁ
o
article · 19778×
ὅρκος
orkos
noun · 10×
Textual variants
1 variant unit attested by manuscript witnesses and modern critical editions.
notable
SBLGNT: ἄνθρωποι | WH/Treg/NIV: ἄνθρωποι | RP: + μὲν
- ἄνθρωποι — SBLGNT
- ἄνθρωποι — Westcott-Hort, Tregelles, Reader's GNT (NA27)
- + μὲν — Robinson-Pierpont
source: sblgnt-apparatus
Historic Christian voices
4 passages from patristic writers, Reformers, and church catechisms citing this verse.
Q. But may we swear an oath in God's name if we do it reverently? A. Yes, when the government demands it, or when necessity requires it, in order to maintain and promote truth and trustworthiness for the glory of God and our neighbor's good. Such oaths are approved in God's Word and were rightly used by Old and New Testament believers.
Cross-references
- Exod 20:7 — Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
- Exod 22:11 — Then shall an oath of the LORD be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour’s goods; and the owner of it shall accept thereof, and he shall not make it good.
- Exod 22:11 — Then shall an oath of the LORD be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour’s goods; and the owner of it shall accept thereof, and he shall not make it good.
- Gen 25:33 — And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
- Gen 26:28 — And they said, We saw certainly that the LORD was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee;
- Gen 26:31 — And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.
- Heb 6:13 — For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
- Heb 6:13 — For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
- Heb 6:17 — Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
- Heb 7:21 — (For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec:)
- Isa 14:24 — The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:
- Isa 54:9 — For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.
- Ps 18:24 — Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.
- Ruth 3:13 — Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman’s part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, the