James 5:12

But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by the heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath: but let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay; that ye fall not under judgment.

Above all ... This should be understood merely in the sense of "especially." It was a common sin of that day to punctuate ordinary conversation with all kinds of imprecations and oaths used as a device for establishing credibility. Apparently, many to whom James wrote were guilty of this, hence the emphasis upon it. Dummelow's paraphrase is: "Avoid especially the use of an oath to strengthen your assertions in ordinary conversation."[37] The words "above all" have the additional utility of identifying the admonition here as having been given originally by the Lord Jesus Christ himself (Matthew 5:34,37). Agreement is felt with Roberts and many others who have insisted that "This passage has nothing to do with solemn and serious and religious oaths."[38] Christ himself permitted himself to be placed under oath for his Great Confession (Mark 14:61,62). The inherent connection of this verse with the foregoing is plain in that it was dealing with the demeanor and attitude of those awaiting "the coming of the Lord" in judgment against Jerusalem. For fuller discussion of the question of oaths, see in my Commentary on Matthew, p. 67.

[37] J. R. Dummelow, op. cit., p. 1037.

[38] J. W. Roberts, op. cit., p. 155.