GEN. XLII, 15. Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither. 16. Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies. 4. INSTANCES OF SWEARING TO COMMIT SIN, _or to encourage it_. 1 SAM. XXVIII, 10. And Saul sware to her by the Lord, saying, As the Lord liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing. PSALM CII, 8. Mine enemies reproach me all the day; and they that are mad against me are sworn against me. ACTS XXIII, 21. But do not thou yield unto them: for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, which have bound themselves with an oath, that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him: and now are they ready, looking for a promise from thee. _Instances of rash swearing._ MARK VI, 23. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. JUDGES XXI, 1. Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife. 2. And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore; 3. And said, O Lord God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to-day one tribe lacking in Israel? 4. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings. 5. And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the congregation unto the Lord? For they had made a great oath concerning him that came not up to the Lord to Mizpeh, saying, He shall surely be put to death. 6. And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day. 7. How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn by the Lord, that we will not give them of our daughters to wives? 8. And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up to Mizpeh to the Lord? And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabesh-gilead to the assembly. 9. For the people were numbered, and, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead there. 10. And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children. 11. And this is the thing ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man. 12. And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.