Men and Vows

30 Moses spoke to (A)the heads of the tribes of the people of Israel, saying, “This is what the Lord has commanded. (B)If a man vows a vow to the Lord, or (C)swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. (D)He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.

Women and Vows

“If a woman vows a vow to the Lord and binds herself by a pledge, while within her father's house in her youth, and her father hears of her vow and of her pledge by which she has bound herself and says nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. But if her father opposes her on the day that he hears of it, no vow of hers, no pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. And the Lord will forgive her, because her father opposed her.

“If she marries a husband, while under her (E)vows or any thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she has bound herself, and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her on the day that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. But if, on the day that her husband comes to hear of it, he opposes her, then he makes void her (F)vow that was on her, and the thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she bound herself. (G)And the Lord will forgive her. (But any vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, anything by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her.) 10 And if she vowed in her husband's house or bound herself by a pledge with an oath, 11 and her husband heard of it and said nothing to her and did not oppose her, then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she bound herself shall stand. 12 But if her husband makes them null and void on the day that he hears them, then whatever proceeds out of her lips concerning her vows or concerning her pledge of herself shall not stand. Her husband has made them void, and (H)the Lord will forgive her. 13 Any vow and any binding oath to afflict herself,[a] her husband may establish,[b] or her husband may make void. 14 But if her husband says nothing to her from day to day, then he establishes all her vows or all her pledges that are upon her. He has established them, because he said nothing to her on the day that he heard of them. 15 But if he makes them null and void after he has heard of them, then (I)he shall bear her iniquity.”

16 These are the statutes that the Lord commanded Moses about a man and his wife and about a father and his daughter while she is in her youth within her father's house.

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 30:13 Or to fast
  2. Numbers 30:13 Or may allow to stand

The Law of Vows

30 [a]Then Moses spoke to (A)the heads of the tribes of the sons of Israel, saying, “This is the word which the Lord has commanded: (B)If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or takes an oath to [b]put himself under a binding obligation, he shall not break his word; he shall act in accordance with everything that comes out of his mouth.

“And if a woman makes a vow to the Lord, and puts herself under a binding obligation in her father’s house in her youth, and her father hears her vow and her obligation under which she has put herself, and her father [c]says nothing to her, then all her vows shall [d]remain valid and every binding obligation under which she has put herself shall [e]remain valid. But if her father expresses disapproval to her on the day he hears of it, none of her vows or her obligations under which she has put herself shall remain valid; and the Lord will [f]forgive her because her father has expressed disapproval to her.

“However, if she happens to [g]marry while [h]under her vows or the impulsive statement of her lips by which she has obligated herself, and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her on the day he hears it, then her vows shall remain valid and her binding obligations under which she has put herself shall remain valid. But if on the day her husband hears of it, he expresses disapproval to her, then he will annul her vow which [i]she is under and the impulsive statement of her lips by which she has obligated herself; and the Lord will [j]forgive her.

“But as for the vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, every binding obligation under which she has put herself, shall remain valid against her. 10 However, if a married woman vowed in her husband’s house, or put herself under a binding obligation with an oath, 11 and her husband heard it, but said nothing to her and did not express disapproval to her, then all her vows shall remain valid and every binding obligation under which she put herself shall remain valid. 12 But if her husband actually annuls them on the day he hears them, then no utterance from her lips concerning her vows or the obligation she put on herself shall remain valid; her husband has annulled them, and the Lord will [k]forgive her.

13 “Every vow and every binding oath to humble herself, her husband may confirm it or her husband may annul it. 14 But if her husband in fact says nothing to her from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or all her binding obligations which are on her; he has confirmed them, because he said nothing to her on the day he heard them. 15 However, if he actually annuls them [l]after he has heard them, then he shall bear the responsibility for her guilt.”

16 These are the statutes which the Lord commanded Moses concerning matters between a man and his wife, and between a father and his daughter while she is in her youth in her father’s house.

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 30:1 Ch 30:2 in Heb
  2. Numbers 30:2 Lit bind on his soul, and similarly throughout the ch
  3. Numbers 30:4 Lit is silent to her, and so throughout the ch
  4. Numbers 30:4 Lit stand, and so throughout the ch
  5. Numbers 30:4 Lit stand, and so throughout the ch
  6. Numbers 30:5 I.e., for not fulfilling them
  7. Numbers 30:6 Lit become a husband’s
  8. Numbers 30:6 Lit her vows are on her
  9. Numbers 30:8 Lit is on her
  10. Numbers 30:8 I.e., for not fulfilling them
  11. Numbers 30:12 I.e., for not fulfilling them
  12. Numbers 30:15 I.e., perhaps a long delay before he annuls them

30 And Moshe spoke unto the Rashei HaMattot (Heads of the Tribes) concerning the Bnei Yisroel saying, This is the thing which Hashem hath commanded:

[MATTOS]

(3) If an ish vow a neder unto Hashem, or swear a shevu’ah (oath) to bind his nefesh with an issar (negative vow, prohibition), he shall not break his dever, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.

(4) If an isha also vow a neder unto Hashem, and bind herself by an issar, being in her bais avi in her youth;

(5) And her av hear her neder, and her issar wherewith she hath bound her nefesh, and her av says nothing to her, then all her nedarim shall stand, and every issar wherewith she hath bound her nefesh shall stand.

(6) But if her av disallow her in the yom that he heareth, not any of her nedarim, or of her issurim (negative vows, prohibitions) wherewith she hath bound her nefesh, shall stand; and Hashem shall forgive her, because her av forbade her.

(7) And if she had at all an ish, when she made nedarim or utterance of her lips, wherewith she bound her nefesh;

(8) And her ish heard it, and said nothing to her in the yom that he heard it, then her nedarim shall stand, and her issurim wherewith she bound her nefesh shall stand.

(9) But if her ish forbade her on the yom that he heard it, then he shall nullify her neder which she vowed, and that which she uttered with her lips, wherewith she bound her nefesh; and Hashem shall forgive her.

(10) But every neder of an almanah, and of a gerushah (divorced woman), wherewith she have bound her nefesh, shall stand against her.

10 (11) And if she vowed in her bais ish, or bound her nefesh by an issar with a shevuah,

11 (12) And her ish heard it, and said nothing to her, and forbade her not, then all her nedarim shall stand, and every issar wherewith she bound her nefesh shall stand.

12 (13) But if her ish hath utterly nullified them on the yom he heard them, then whatsoever proceeded out of her lips concerning her nedarim, or concerning the issar of her nefesh, shall not stand; her ish hath nullified them; and Hashem shall forgive her.

13 (14) Every neder, and every shevuat issar to afflict the nefesh, her ish may let it stand, or her ish may let it have a hafarah.

14 (15) But if her ish say nothing to her from yom to yom, then he will have let stand all her nedarim or all her issurim, which are upon her; he will have let them stand, because he said nothing to her in the yom that he heard them.

15 (16) But if he shall revoke them after that he hath heard them, then nasa (he shall bear) her avon.

16 (17) These are the chukkim, which Hashem commanded Moshe, between an ish and his isha, between the av and his bat, being yet in her youth in her bais avi.

Vows

30 [a]Moses said to the heads of the tribes of Israel:(A) “This is what the Lord commands: When a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.(B)

“When a young woman still living in her father’s household makes a vow to the Lord or obligates herself by a pledge and her father hears about her vow or pledge but says nothing to her, then all her vows and every pledge by which she obligated herself will stand.(C) But if her father forbids her(D) when he hears about it, none of her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand; the Lord will release her because her father has forbidden her.

“If she marries after she makes a vow(E) or after her lips utter a rash promise by which she obligates herself and her husband hears about it but says nothing to her, then her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand. But if her husband(F) forbids her when he hears about it, he nullifies the vow that obligates her or the rash promise by which she obligates herself, and the Lord will release her.(G)

“Any vow or obligation taken by a widow or divorced woman will be binding on her.

10 “If a woman living with her husband makes a vow or obligates herself by a pledge under oath 11 and her husband hears about it but says nothing to her and does not forbid her, then all her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand. 12 But if her husband nullifies them when he hears about them, then none of the vows or pledges that came from her lips will stand.(H) Her husband has nullified them, and the Lord will release her. 13 Her husband may confirm or nullify any vow she makes or any sworn pledge to deny herself.[b] 14 But if her husband says nothing to her about it from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or the pledges binding on her. He confirms them by saying nothing to her when he hears about them. 15 If, however, he nullifies them(I) some time after he hears about them, then he must bear the consequences of her wrongdoing.”

16 These are the regulations the Lord gave Moses concerning relationships between a man and his wife, and between a father and his young daughter still living at home.

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 30:1 In Hebrew texts 30:1-16 is numbered 30:2-17.
  2. Numbers 30:13 Or to fast