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OET (OET-LV) But let_be the statement of_you_all, yes be yes, no be no, and the additional than these things is from the evil.
OET (OET-RV) Just say ‘yes’ when you commit to doing something, and ‘no’ when you don’t, because going beyond that is actually evil.
For many years, English versions and Christians have commonly referred to Matthew 5–7 as “The Sermon on the Mount.” In some translations, it may be helpful to include a heading for chapters 5–7 that is on a level above the section heading for 5:1–12.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
The Sermon on the Mountain
The sermon that Jesus preached on a mountain
Jesus taught people on the side of a mountain/hill
Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’
If you(plur) mean ‘Yes,’ just say ‘Yes,’ and if you mean ‘No,’ just say ‘No.’
Just speak the truth, a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ without adding a vow.
Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’: This clause indicates that believers are to say only Yes when they truly mean Yes. In the same way, they are to say only No when they truly mean No. They must not use oaths to persuade people to believe what they say. In both cases Jesus emphasizes that believers must be perfectly truthful in their answers.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
Just say ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ (GNT)
All you need say is ‘Yes’ if you mean yes, ‘No’ if you mean no (NJB)
Anything more comes from the evil one.
Any words more than this come from the Evil/Wicked One!”
If you(plur) add a vow to your ‘yes’ or ‘no’ so that people will believe you, the devil is influencing you.”
Anything more: The phrase Anything more refers to any kind of words that are stronger or in addition to a simple “yes” or “no.” This phrase includes using oaths.
Here are some other ways to translate these words:
Anything more than that (GW)
If you say more than yes or no (NCV)
comes from: The phrase comes from indicates the origin or source of such oaths. In this verse, it is “the evil one” (that is, the devil) who causes or inspires the oath taking. It is not of God.
the evil one: There are two ways to interpret the Greek word that the BSB translates as the evil one:
It refers to the evil one, Satan. For example:
the devil (CEV) (BSB, NIV, NRSV, GNT, NJB, GW, CEV, NET, REB, NCV, NLT)
It refers to evil. For example:
anything more than this comes from evil (RSV) (RSV, NASB, JBP, KJV, ESV, NLT96)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) and the majority of English versions and commentators.
Here are some other ways to translate this entire clause:
Any statement more than that comes from the Evil One, the Devil.
If you add an oath to your “yes” or “no” so that people will believe you, it comes from the Devil, who is the Evil One.
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-contrast
δὲ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἔστω Δέ ὁ λόγος ὑμῶν ναί ναί οὒ οὒ τό δέ περισσόν τούτων ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ ἐστίν)
Here, the word But introduces a contrast with what Jesus tells the disciples not to do in the previous verse. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces this kind of contrast, or you could leave But untranslated. Alternate translation: [Instead,] or [Rather,]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / imperative3p
ἔστω & ὁ λόγος ὑμῶν
let_be & the statement ˱of˲_you_all
If your language does not use the third-person imperative in this way, you could state this in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: [your word should be] or [you should only say]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
ὁ λόγος ὑμῶν
the statement ˱of˲_you_all
Here, word represents what a person says using words. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression from your language or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [what you say]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ναὶ ναί, οὒ οὔ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἔστω Δέ ὁ λόγος ὑμῶν ναί ναί οὒ οὒ τό δέ περισσόν τούτων ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ ἐστίν)
Jesus implies that a person is using the word yes to make a promise to say or do something and the word no to make a promise not to say or do something. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [Yes, I will’ or ‘No, I will not]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
τὸ & περισσὸν τούτων
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἔστω Δέ ὁ λόγος ὑμῶν ναί ναί οὒ οὒ τό δέ περισσόν τούτων ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ ἐστίν)
Here Jesus is referring to saying anything more than yes or no when making a promise. He is particularly referring to swearing an oath. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [using more words in your promise] or [including an oath]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
τοῦ πονηροῦ
¬the evil
Here, the phrase the evil one could refer to: (1) the devil, or Satan. Alternate translation: [the devil] (2) evil in general. Alternate translation: [an evil source] or [what is evil]
OET (OET-LV) But let_be the statement of_you_all, yes be yes, no be no, and the additional than these things is from the evil.
OET (OET-RV) Just say ‘yes’ when you commit to doing something, and ‘no’ when you don’t, because going beyond that is actually evil.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.