EXOD378 If a beis din requires one to take an oath, and that person knows that he has spoken falsely, he must not accept upon himself to take such an oath, declaring, "I will swear"--without any real intention to swear--[merely] in order to intimidate the defendant [i.e., it is forbidden for one to make the pretense of swearing merely to intimidate the defendant into capitulation], as the pasuk says [this verse], "You shall not bear," for this also implies that you must not be willing to accept upon yourself an oath that is in vain. So said our Sages, z"l, (Mechilta 20:7; [similarly,] the Targum of "Do not bear a false report" (Exodus 23:1) is, "Do not accept" [As we have seen in paragraph 42, this is a prohibition not to accept lashon hara from another. Rabbeinu Yonah is proving from the Targum that "to bear" means to accept.] It is[further] forbidden to swear in vain, although he may be swearing truthfully, as the pasuk says [Ibid. 20:7), "You shall not bear the Name of Hashem, your God, in vain"; the Targum of ["in vain"] is "for no reason." Similarly, one who causes another person to swear in vain has committed a grave sin.