Numbers 30
English Standard Version
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. 2 (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
3 “If a woman vows a vow to the Lord and binds herself by a pledge, while within her father's house in her youth, 4 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. 5 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.
6 “If she marries a husband, while under her (E)vows or any thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she has bound herself, 7 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. 8 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. 9 (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
- Numbers 30:13 Or to fast
- Numbers 30:13 Or may allow to stand
Numbers 30
Common English Bible
Solemn promises by men
30 Moses spoke to the leaders of the tribes of the Israelites: This is what the Lord has commanded: 2 When a man makes a solemn promise to the Lord or swears a solemn pledge of binding obligation for himself, he cannot break his word. He must do everything he said.
Solemn promises by women
3 When a woman makes a solemn promise to the Lord or a binding obligation while she is young and in her father’s household, 4 and her father hears her solemn promise or her binding obligation for herself and keeps silent[a]—then all her solemn promises and any of her binding obligations for herself will stand. 5 But if her father expresses disapproval to her on the day that he hears her, none of her solemn promises nor any of her binding obligations for herself will stand. The Lord will forgive her, because her father expressed disapproval to her.
6 If she marries while her solemn promise is in effect or makes a statement by which she binds herself, 7 and her husband hears it and on the day he hears it keeps silent—her solemn promises will stand as well as her binding obligations for herself. 8 But if on the day that her husband hears it he expresses disapproval to her, he can break her solemn promise and the statement by which she bound herself. Then the Lord will forgive her.
9 Every solemn promise of a widow or a divorced woman who makes a binding obligation for herself will stand.
10 If a woman makes a solemn promise in her husband’s household or makes a binding obligation for herself with a solemn pledge, 11 and her husband hears, keeps silent, and doesn’t express disapproval to her—then all her solemn promises will stand and all her binding obligations for herself will stand. 12 If her husband breaks them on the day he hears them, then whatever she said with regard to her solemn promises or the binding obligations for herself will not stand. Her husband has broken them. The Lord will forgive her.
13 Her husband may allow any solemn promise or any binding pledge of self-denial to stand or be broken. 14 But if her husband keeps silent from one day to the next, he has upheld all her solemn promises, or all her binding obligations. He has upheld them because he remained silent on the day he heard them. 15 If he breaks them after he has heard them, he will assume her guilt.
16 These are the regulations that the Lord commanded Moses concerning a husband and his wife and between a father and his daughter while she is young and in her father’s household.
Footnotes
- Numbers 30:4 Or her father is deaf to her.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible