And do not swear translates a Greek negative particle, literally “nor,” with the verb swear implied. This is its fourth occurrence in this passage (once in verse 34, twice in verse 35, and once in verse 36); when used in sequence it means “neither … nor … nor….” Its four occurrences in Good News Translation are rendered: “Do not swear … nor … nor … Do not even swear.” A similar restructuring is found in Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch.

To swear by your head has sometimes been difficult to express. Some translators have said here “Do not even use your own head as authority when you declare something is true” or “When you declare something true, don’t even refer to your head to confirm it.”

For you cannot make one hair white or black reveals that God is called into the situation even when one invokes one’s own head. Even the color of one’s hair is determined by God. The translation can be “you can’t even make one hair change color (from white to black).” The translation should not mean one hair is first made white then black or that some hairs will be made one color and others the other color. Some translations have had to say “because you do not even have enough authority over your head to make one hair white or black (or, to change the color of one hair).”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .