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Deuteronomy 5:11

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Deuteronomy 5:11 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain: for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain: for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
Deuteronomy 5:11 — American Standard Version

Context — Deuteronomy 5

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
8Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, [nor] any likeness [of anything] that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
9thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them; for I, Jehovah, thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the third and upon the fourth generation of them that hate me;
10and showing lovingkindness unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.
11Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain: for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
12Observe the sabbath day, to keep it holy, as Jehovah thy God commanded thee.
13Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work;
14but the seventh day is a sabbath unto Jehovah thy God: [in it] thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy man-servant and thy maid-servant may rest as well as thou.
← Deuteronomy 5:10Deuteronomy 5:12 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Compare Exodus 20:0 and notes. Moses here adopts the Ten Words as a ground from which he may proceed to reprove, warn, and exhort; and repeats them, with a certain measure of freedom and adaptation. Our Lord Mark 10:19 and Paul Ephesians 6:2-3 deal similarly with the same subject. Speaker and hearers recognized, however, a statutory and authoritative form of the laws in question, which, because it was familiar to both parties, needed not to be reproduced with verbal fidelity. Deuteronomy 5:12-15 The exhortation to observe the Sabbath and allow time of rest to servants (compare Exodus 23:12) is pointed by reminding the people that they too were formerly servants themselves. The bondage in…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain - Hast thou never used the name of God, unless on solemn and weighty occasions? Hast thou then used it with the deepest awe? Hast thou duly honoured his word, his ordinances, his ministers? Hast thou considered all things as they stand in relation to him, and seen God in all? Hast thou looked upon heaven as God's throne? Up on earth as God's footstool? On every thing therein as belonging to the great king? On every creature as full of God? Deuteronomy 5:12”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“5:11 misuse the name (literally take up the name in vain): Someone who “takes the name of the Lord in vain” uses it manipulatively to achieve a desired end, uses it thoughtlessly, or takes an oath by God’s name that a falsehood is true.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“Deu 6:13; Exo 20:7; Lev 19:12; Psa 139:20; Jer 4:2; Mat 5:33, Mat 5:34; Jam 5:12 Deuteronomy 5:12”
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Related study paths

Read Deuteronomy 5 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification