Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt not forswear thyself; but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths. But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by the heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, for thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your speech be, Yea, yea; nay, nay; whatsoever is more than these is from evil (Matt. 5:33-37). These words involve that truths Divine are to be confirmed from the Lord, and not from man, which is effected when men are internal, and not external; for external men confirm truths by oaths, but internal men by reasons. They who are still more internal do not confirm them; but only say that it is so, or that it is not so. External men are they who are called natural men; internal men are they who are called spiritual men; and still more internal men are they who are called celestial men. (That these celestial men perceive from the Lord whether a thing is true or not, see n. 2708, 2715, 2718, 3246, 4448, 7877.) From all this it is evident what is involved in the Lord's saying, "Swear not at all," and "Let your speech be, Yea, yea; nay, nay." But it shall be explained why He also said that they should not swear by heaven, nor by the earth, nor by Jerusalem, nor by the head, and that any speech more than yea, yea, and nay, nay, is from evil. [4] "To swear by heaven" denotes by the Divine truth, and thus by the Lord in heaven; for heaven is not heaven from the angels regarded in themselves, but from the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, and thus from the Lord in them; for it is the Divine in them that causes them to be, and to be called, angels of heaven. From this it is that they who are in heaven are said to be "in the Lord;" also that the Lord is everything in each and all things of heaven; and likewise that the angels are truths Divine, because they are recipients of truth Divine from the Lord. (That heaven is, and is called, heaven, from the Divine of the Lord therein, see n. 552, 3038, 3700; also that the angels are truths Divine, n. 4295, 4402, 7268, 7873, 8301; and that something of the Lord is meant in the Word by an "angel," n. 1925, 2821, 3039, 4085, 4295, 6280.) Because heaven is the Lord as to Divine truth, it is said, "thou shalt not swear by heaven, for it is God's throne," for "God's throne" denotes the Divine truth which proceeds from the Lord (see n. 5313, 6397, 9039). [5] But "to swear by the earth" denotes by the church, and thus by the Divine truth therein; for as heaven is the Lord by virtue of the Divine truth which proceeds from Him, so also is the church, because the church is the Lord's heaven, or His kingdom, on earth ("earth" in the Word being the church, n. 662, 1066, 1262, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 2928, 3355, 4535, 4447, 5577, 8011, 8732). And as "the earth" denotes the church, wherein is the Divine of the Lord beneath heaven, it is therefore said, "thou shalt not swear by the earth, for it is God's footstool." "The footstool" denotes truth Divine under heaven, such as is the Word in the literal sense, for upon this sense rests, and as it were stands, the truth Divine in heaven, which is the Word in the internal sense. This truth is signified by "footstool" in David (Ps. 99:5; 132:7); in Isaiah (60:13); and in the Lamentations of Jeremiah (2:1). [6] "To swear by Jerusalem" denotes by the doctrine of truth from the Word, for "Jerusalem" in a wide sense denotes the church (n. 2117, 3654). But when mention is made of "the earth," which denotes the church, and afterward of "Jerusalem," then by "Jerusalem" is signified the doctrine of the church, consequently the doctrine of truth Divine from the Word. Hence it is that it is called "the city of the great King," for by "a city" in the Word in its internal sense is signified the doctrine of truth (see n. 402, 2449, 2943, 3216, 4478, 4492, 4493). [7] "To swear by one's own head" denotes by the truth which the man himself believes to be truth, and which he makes of his faith, for this makes the head with the man, and is also signified by the "head" in Isa. 15:2; 29:10; Ezek. 7:18; 13:18; 16:12; 29:18; Matt. 6:17; and elsewhere. Wherefore it is also said, "for thou canst not make one hair white or black," for "hair" denotes the truth of the external or natural man (n. 3301), such as those have who are in the faith of truth, not because they perceive it to be truth, but because the doctrine of the church so teaches. And because they do not know it from any other source, it is said that they "shall not swear by it, because they cannot make one hair white or black." "To make a hair white" denotes to declare from one's self that truth is truth; and "to make a hair black" denotes to declare from one's self that falsity is falsity; for "white" is predicated of truth (n. 3301, 3993, 4007, 5319), and consequently "black" is predicated of falsity. [8] From all this it is now evident what is meant by "not swearing at all, neither by heaven, nor by the earth, nor by Jerusalem, nor by one's own head," namely, that truth Divine is not to be confirmed from man, but from the Lord in man. On this account it is lastly said, "let your speech be, Yea, yea; nay, nay; for whatsoever is more than these is from evil." For they who perceive and see truth from the Lord, do not otherwise confirm it; as is the case with the angels of the inmost or third heaven, who are called celestial angels, and are spoken of above. The reason why speech more than this is from evil, is that what is more than this is not from the Lord, but from man's own, thus from evil, for man's own is nothing but evil (n. 210, 215, 874-876, 987, 1023, 1044, 1047, 3812, 4328, 5660, 8941, 8944). From all this it is again evident in what manner the Lord spoke, namely, so that in each and all things there is an internal sense; because He spoke from the Divine, and thus for the angels at the same time as for men, for the angels perceive the Word according to its internal sense.