Matthew 5:33 (LSB)

Passage

“Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord.’

Nearby Context

Matthew 5:31 “Now it was said, ‘Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce’;

Matthew 5:32 but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Matthew 5:33 “Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord.’

Matthew 5:34 But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God,

Matthew 5:35 or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "again", "heard", "ancients", "told", "shall", "make", "false", and "vows". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "again" and "heard", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 32's "but I say to you that everyone..." into verse 34's "But I say to you make no...", so "again" and "heard" belong inside that flow. In Matthew context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "again" and "heard" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.