So make a vow here in the presence of God that you will not deceive me, my children, or my descendants. I have been loyal to you, so promise that you will also be loyal to me and to this country in which you are living."

They answered, "Now we know that the LORD is with you, and we think that there should be a solemn agreement between us. We want you to promise

Isaac prepared a feast for them, and they ate and drank.

I am ready to make an agreement with you. Let us make a pile of stones to remind us of our agreement."

He told his men to gather some rocks and pile them up. Then they ate a meal beside the pile of rocks.

Laban said to Jacob, "This pile of rocks will be a reminder for both of us." That is why that place was named Galeed.

Laban went on, "If you mistreat my daughters or if you marry other women, even though I don't know about it, remember that God is watching us.

Both this pile and this memorial stone are reminders. I will never go beyond this pile to attack you, and you must never go beyond it or beyond this memorial stone to attack me.

Then Joseph asked his people to make a vow. "Promise me," he said, "that when God leads you to that land, you will take my body with you."

"Do not use my name for evil purposes, for I, the LORD your God, will punish anyone who misuses my name.

the man must go to the place of worship and take an oath that he has not stolen the other man's animal. If the animal was not stolen, the owner shall accept the loss, and the other man need not repay him;

"Listen to everything that I, the LORD, have said to you. Do not pray to other gods; do not even mention their names.

Do not make a promise in my name if you do not intend to keep it; that brings disgrace on my name. I am the LORD your God.

may the LORD make your name a curse among your people. May he cause your genital organs to shrink and your stomach to swell up.

Honor the LORD your God, worship only him, and make your promises in his name alone.

Have reverence for the LORD your God and worship only him. Be faithful to him and make your promises in his name alone.

Now swear by him that you will treat my family as kindly as I have treated you, and give me some sign that I can trust you.

Once again Jonathan made David promise to love him, for Jonathan loved David as much as he loved himself.

I reprimanded the men, called down curses on them, beat them, and pulled out their hair. Then I made them take an oath in God's name that never again would they or their children intermarry with foreigners.

My promise is true, and it will not be changed. I solemnly promise by all that I am: Everyone will come and kneel before me and vow to be loyal to me.

Listen to this, people of Israel, you that are descended from Judah: You swear by the name of the LORD and claim to worship the God of Israel--- but you don't mean a word you say.

Anyone in the land who asks for a blessing will ask to be blessed by the faithful God. Whoever takes an oath will swear by the name of the faithful God. The troubles of the past will be gone and forgotten."

it will be right for you to swear by my name. Then all the nations will ask me to bless them, and they will praise me."

If with all their hearts they will accept the religion of my people and will swear, 'As the LORD lives'---as they once taught my people to swear by Baal---then they will also be a part of my people and will prosper.

I will destroy anyone who goes up on the roof and worships the sun, the moon, and the stars. I will also destroy those who worship me and swear loyalty to me, but then take oaths in the name of the god Molech.

When we make a vow, we use the name of someone greater than ourselves, and the vow settles all arguments.

Abram answered, "I solemnly swear before the LORD, the Most High God, Maker of heaven and earth,

and prayed, "O LORD, the God of Israel, seated on your throne above the winged creatures, you alone are God, ruling all the kingdoms of the world. You created the earth and the sky.

Praise the LORD God of Israel, Creator of heaven and earth! He has given King David a wise son, full of understanding and skill, who now plans to build a temple for the LORD and a palace for himself.

And then the people of Israel prayed this prayer: "You, LORD, you alone are LORD; you made the heavens and the stars of the sky. You made land and sea and everything in them; you gave life to all. The heavenly powers bow down and worship you.

May you be blessed by the LORD, who made heaven and earth!

(You people must tell them that the gods who did not make the earth and the sky will be destroyed. They will no longer exist anywhere on earth.)

some of the heavenly beings saw that these young women were beautiful, so they took the ones they liked.

In those days, and even later, there were giants on the earth who were descendants of human women and the heavenly beings. They were the great heroes and famous men of long ago.

When Esau was forty years old, he married two Hittites, Judith the daughter of Beeri, and Basemath the daughter of Elon.

They made life miserable for Isaac and Rebecca.

Rebecca said to Isaac, "I am sick and tired of Esau's foreign wives. If Jacob also marries one of these Hittites, I might as well die."

Isaac called Jacob, greeted him, and told him, "Don't marry a Canaanite.

Go instead to Mesopotamia, to the home of your grandfather Bethuel, and marry one of the young women there, one of your uncle Laban's daughters.

Esau then understood that his father Isaac did not approve of Canaanite women.

Your sons might marry those foreign women, who would lead them to be unfaithful to me and to worship their pagan gods.

Do not marry any of them, and do not let your children marry any of them,

because then they would lead your children away from the LORD to worship other gods. If that happens, the LORD will be angry with you and destroy you at once.

A married woman is not free as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, then she is free to be married to any man she wishes, but only if he is a Christian.

Do not try to work together as equals with unbelievers, for it cannot be done. How can right and wrong be partners? How can light and darkness live together?

How can God's temple come to terms with pagan idols? For we are the temple of the living God! As God himself has said, "I will make my home with my people and live among them; I will be their God, and they shall be my people."