Bible

The Bible is the central authority enshrining prohibitions against swearing, but it is also a storehouse of curses and strong language, which has attracted bowdlerism. Biblical injunctions against swearing are frequent and punitive, especially in the Old Testament. The third commandment (Exodus 20:7) is quite explicit: “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” Equally explicit is the prescription in Leviticus, chapter 24, where a young man has “blasphemed the name of the LORD and cursed”:

13. And the Lord spake unto Moses and saying,

14. Bring forth him that hath cursed … and let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him.

15. And thou shall speak unto the children of Israel, saying, whoever curseth his God shall bear his sin.

16. And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well as the stranger as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the LORD, shall be put to death.

This injunction clearly gives divine sanction to the death penalty for blasphemy, even placing an obligation on witnesses to take action. The text formed the basis for many stringent and punitive responses to blasphemy and profanity from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.

However, the seminal New Testament text, Christ’s Sermon on the Mount (Matthew, chapter 5), advocates a less vengeful attitude toward swearing as well as other aspects of human sinfulness. Nevertheless, the prohibition is very clear:

34. But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by Heaven: for it is God’s throne:

35. Nor by earth: for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.

36. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, for thou canst not make one hair white or black.

37. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

This remarkable text advocates a total ban on swearing, making no distinction between blasphemy in its most extreme sense, the use of the Lord’s name, and less heinous asseverations. Significantly, no punishments are prescribed. The ban has been put into practice only by one Christian sect, the Quakers.

Modern attitudes toward swearing, even among people who are not religious, tend to be divided between Old Testament disapproval and New Testament acceptance. Most would regard a complete ban on swearing as being unrealistic. The Bible is also a source of strong language. This is especially apparent of the older translations, such as those by Wycliffe (1380), Tyndale (1535), and the King James Version (1611), produced at a time when robust language was not considered inappropriate in Holy Writ and before modern taboos had set in.

Examples from Wycliffe’s Version include the following:

Luke 11:27: “Blessed be the teetis which thou hast sokun [sucked].”

Examples from the King James Version include the following:

I Kings 14:10 and II Kings 9:8: “I will cut off … him that pisseth against the wall.”

II Kings 18:27 and Isaiah 36:12: “they may eat their own dung and drink their own piss with you?”