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

What does this verse mean? Whenever we seek to understand something in the Bible, we should first simply ask God to help us understand it (that is childlike faith and God honors this). One of the ways that God helps us is through context. In other words, we may be able to understand something that God says because of what God is saying in surrounding verses, the same chapter, or within the same book. What God says in the surrounding verses, in the chapter, or in the same book that is related to that which we seek to understand is the context. Sometimes, the entire Bible can provide context.

Let me give you an earthly example of this. If within a letter that I wrote, the phrase “God doesn’t care” appeared and those were the only words that you read, you might conclude that I was wrong. However, if you read the entire sentence which said “Sometimes unsaved people think that God doesn’t care” then you would understand what I was trying to communicate by the phrase “God doesn’t care” and you would probably agree with what I said.

Let’s look at the context of the verse at the top of this page:

“Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.”

Matthew 5:33-37

God is talking about swearing or making oaths in these verses. That is the context. When God says that our communication should be “Yea, yea; Nay, nay” he means that we should not be swearing in our conversation (for example, using the term “I swear to God” in order to convince people that we are telling the truth.) We should simply always be in the habit of telling the truth and our “yes” should mean “yes”, our “no” should mean “no”.