Numbers 30
Expanded Bible
Rules About Special Promises
30 Moses spoke with the leaders of the ·Israelite tribes [L tribes of the sons/T children of Israel]. He told them these commands from the Lord.
2 “If a man makes a ·promise [vow] to the Lord or ·says he will do something special [swears an oath to bind himself to an obligation], he must ·keep his promise [L not break his word]. He must do what he said [Deut. 23:21; Ps. 50:14; Eccl. 5:4–5; Matt. 5:33–37]. 3 If a young woman still living at ·home [L the house of her father] makes a ·promise [vow] to the Lord or ·pledges to do something special [binds herself to an obligation], 4 and if her father hears about the ·promise [vow] or ·pledge [obligation by which she has bound herself] and says nothing, ·she must do what she promised [L all her vows stand]. ·She must keep her pledge [L All her obligations to which she has bound herself will stand]. 5 But if her father hears about the ·promise [vow] or ·pledge [obligation by which she has bound herself] and ·does not allow it [disapproves], then the ·promise [vow] or ·pledge [obligation] does not ·have to be kept [L stand]. Her father ·would not allow it [disapproves], so the Lord will ·free her from her promise [L forgive her].
6 “If a woman ·makes a pledge [binds herself to an obligation] or speaks a ·careless [rash; thoughtless] ·promise [vow] and then gets married, 7 and if her husband hears about it and says nothing, ·she must keep her promise [L her vow stands] ·or the pledge she made [L and the obligation by which she bound herself will stand]. 8 But if her husband hears about it and ·does not allow it [disapproves], he cancels her ·pledge [vow] or the ·careless [rash; thoughtless] ·promise [vow] ·she made [by which she bound herself]. The Lord will ·free her from keeping it [forgive her].
9 “If a widow or divorced woman makes a ·promise [vow], ·she must do whatever she promised [L all by which she bound herself stands].
10 “If a woman makes a ·promise [vow] or ·pledge [L binds herself in an obligation] ·while she is married [L in the house of her husband], 11 and if her husband hears about it but says nothing and does not ·stop her [disapprove], ·she must keep her promise [all her vows stand] ·or pledge [L and all that to which she bound herself will stand]. 12 But if her husband hears about it and cancels it, ·she does not have to do what she said [L her vow and all that which she bound herself do not stand]. Her husband has canceled it, so the Lord will ·free her from it [forgive her]. 13 A woman’s husband may make her keep or cancel any ·promise [vow] or ·pledge [obligation] she has made to ·deny [mortify] herself. 14 If he says nothing to her about it for several days, ·she must keep her promises [L her vows stand]. If he hears about them and says nothing, ·she must keep her promises [L the obligations by which she bound herself will stand]. 15 But if he cancels them long after he heard about them, he ·is responsible if she breaks her promise [L will bear her guilt].”
16 These are ·commands [statutes; ordinances; requirements] that the Lord gave to Moses for husbands and wives, and for fathers with ·daughters living at home [L his daughters in her youth in the house of her father].
Numbers 30
International Children’s Bible
Special Promises
30 Moses spoke with the leaders of the Israelite tribes. He told them these commands from the Lord.
2 “A person might make a promise to the Lord. He might promise to do something special. If he does, he must keep his promise. He must do what he said. 3 A young woman still living at home might make a promise to the Lord. She might pledge to do something special. 4 Her father might hear about the promise or pledge and say nothing. Then she must do what she promised. She must keep her pledge. 5 But when her father hears about the promise or pledge, he might not allow it. Then the promise or pledge does not have to be kept. Her father would not allow them. So the Lord will free her from her promise.
6 “A woman might make a pledge or a careless promise and then get married. 7 Her husband might hear about it and say nothing. Then she must keep her promise or the pledge she made. 8 But when her husband hears about it, he might not allow it. He cancels her pledge or the careless promise she made. The Lord will free her from keeping it.
9 “A widow or divorced woman might make a promise. She must do whatever she promised.
10 “A woman might make a promise or pledge while she was married. 11 When her husband hears about it, he might say nothing. He might not stop her. Then she must keep her promise or pledge. 12 But when her husband hears about it, he might cancel it. Then she does not have to do what she said. Her husband has canceled it. The Lord will free her from it. 13 A woman’s husband may make her keep or cancel any promise or pledge she has made. 14 But her husband might say nothing to her about it for several days. Then she must keep her promises. If he hears about them and says nothing, she must keep her promises. 15 But he might cancel them long after he heard about them. Then he is responsible if she breaks her promise.”
16 These are commands that the Lord gave to Moses. They are for husbands and wives. And they are for fathers with daughters living at home.
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The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
