And ye shall not swear by my name falsely
Or "to a falsehood" F24, to any of the above cases; as that a man has not the deposit of another's in his hands, when he has; or that such a man owes him so much money, when he does not, or any other false thing. Stealing, dealing falsely, lying, and false swearing, are mentioned together, as following one another, and as tending to lead on, the one to the other, as Jarchi observes;
``if thou stealest, this will lead thee on to deal falsely, and then to lie, and after that to swear;''and who further remarks, because it may be thought a man is guilty only because of the proper name (of God he may swear by); therefore to comprehend all the surnames (or epithets of God, such as gracious, merciful) it is said, "ye shall not swear by, my name falsely": every name which is mine, by which he is called; and so Gersom, any epithet or attribute of his, or any word or phrase by which he is described, as he that made the heavens, or that dwelleth in the heavens, or liveth for ever and ever, and the like; and the word being of the plural number, ye shall not swear, takes in, as Aben Ezra thinks, him that causes to swear, as well as him that swears:
neither shall thou profane the name of thy God:
through swearing falsely by it, or through any rash or vain oath in common conversation; not only perjury in a court of judicature, but all profane oaths, curses, and imprecations are forbidden, as breaches of the third command, which this refers to; (See Gill on Exodus 20:7):
I [am] the Lord;
whose name is holy, and who can and will revenge every abuse of it in a profane way, and to the injury of men.