Hvad betyder det at tage navnet på herren din gud forgæves?
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain
I selve den hebraiske bibel er buddet rettet mod misbrug af Guds navn, ikke mod enhver brug; der er mange eksempler i den hebraiske bibel og nogle få i Det Nye Testamente, hvor Guds navn påberåbes i edsaflæggelser for at sige sandheden eller for at understøtte sandheden i den erklæring, som man sværger på, og i Daniels og Åbenbaringens bøger findes der eksempler på, at en engel sendt af Gud påberåber sig Guds navn for at understøtte sandheden i apokalyptiske åbenbaringer. Gud selv fremstilles som en person, der sværger ved sit eget navn ("Så sandt jeg lever ...") for at garantere sikkerheden i forskellige begivenheder, der er forudsagt af profeterne.
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain
In the Hebrew Bible itself, the commandment is directed against abuse of the name of God, not against any use; there are numerous examples in the Hebrew Bible and a few in the New Testament where God's name is called upon in oaths to tell the truth or to support the truth of the statement being sworn to, and the books of Daniel and Revelation include instances where an angel sent by God invokes the name of God to support the truth of apocalyptic revelations. God himself is presented as swearing by his own name ("As surely as I live ...") to guarantee the certainty of various events foretold through the prophets.
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain