⁶ Do not swear. But let your 'yes' be 'yes,' and your 'no,' 'no;' for whatever is more than these comes from the evil one.

Do not swear.

Swearing is not profanity. Swearing is to take an oath, or to swear "to tell the truth." Swearing is forbidden by Jesus and James: "Above all things, my brothers, do not swear, neither by heaven or by earth, nor by any other oath; but let your 'Yes' be yes; and your 'No,' no, to avoid being condemned." James 5:12. The reason Jesus further tells us not to swear by heaven, by earth, (or by the Bible), by God, or even the hairs on your head is because you don't control any of them, so to pretend to be able invoke them is a complete exaggeration, even a lie.

This command by Jesus and James was considered so important, that thousands of early Quakers went to prison rather than swear to tell the truth. The sheriffs knew that an early Quaker would refuse to swear, so they would arrest them and take them to court, where they were sentenced to prison for failure to take an oath — refusing the court's order to swear.

So remember, do not swear at all, even in court. You can simply say you "affirm" that you will answer truthfully, and that you understand you are subject to charges of perjury for any untruthful statement made.

A right to give an affirmation has existed in English law since the Quakers Act 1695 (An Act that the Solemne Affirmation & Declaration of the People called Quakers shall be accepted instead of an Oath in the usual Forme; 7 & 8 Will. 3 c. 34) was passed. The original 1787 text of the Constitution of the United States makes three references to an "oath or affirmation": In Article I, senators must take a special oath or affirmation to convene as a tribunal for impeachment; in Article II, the president is required to take a specified oath or affirmation before entering office; and in Article VI, all state and federal officials must take an oath or affirmation to support the Constitution. Another reference appears in the Fourth Amendment, which specifies that all warrants must be supported by evidence given under oath or affirmation.

But let your 'yes' be 'yes,' and your 'no,' 'no;' for whatever is more than these comes from the evil one.

Until our selfish spirit, the spirit of Satan, that every man has, is crucified, most all of what we speak is from that Spirit of Satan; even if you have "accepted Jesus," your mouth is still controlled by the spirit of Satan until it is crucified on the inward cross of self-denial to be replaced by the Spirit of Christ to rule your heart in thoughts, words, deeds. Until you heart has been purged of the evil in it, by the powerful grace of God to become purified, your words come from the Spirit of Satan. That is why Jesus did not want man to bear witness about him, because he knew what was in their hearts. John 2:25. And many other times, Jesus ordered men not to talk about the miracles he had done; for he did not want the testimony of men with their hearts still full of evil, as we all are, until cleansed by Him. That is why Jesus said: But I say to you, for every idle [non-edifying] word that men speak, they will give an account of the same in the day of judgment. Mat 12:36

Man's heart is full of evil; man's mind is enmity to God. What an uncrucified man speaks is from his evil heart, mind, and spirit; that is why the Lord must give us a new heart, new mind, and new spirit as we must become an entirely new creature, with all old things passed away. That is why a disciple is blind until Jesus, the Master, makes the disciple perfect like Jesus is perfect; to be able to help the disciple's brother remove the spec from his eye. Luke 6:39-45

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