Oaths

³³ “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath,^(A) but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’^(B)

²¹ If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not be slow to pay it,^(A) for the Lord your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin.^(B)

¹² “‘Do not swear falsely^(A) by my name^(B) and so profane^(C) the name of your God. I am the Lord.

⁴ When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it.^(A) He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow.^{(B) 5} It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it.^{(C) 6} Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, “My vow was a mistake.” Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands?

²³ Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the Lord your God with your own mouth.

² 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.^(A)

³ “When a young woman still living in her father’s household makes a vow to the Lord or obligates herself by a pledge ⁴ 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.^{(B) 5} But if her father forbids her^(C) 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.

⁶ “If she marries after she makes a vow^(D) or after her lips utter a rash promise by which she obligates herself ⁷ and her husband hears about it but says nothing to her, then her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand. ⁸ But if her husband^(E) 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.^(F)

⁹ “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.^(G) 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.^{[a] 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^(H) 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.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, blind guides!^(A) You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’^{(B) 17} You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred?^{(C) 18} You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ ¹⁹ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?^{(D) 20} Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. ²¹ And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells^(E) in it. ²² And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.^(F)