Numbers 30
International Standard Version
Regulations Concerning Vows
30 [a]Later, Moses told the elders of the Israeli tribes, “This is what the Lord has commanded: 2 ‘When a man makes a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath—an obligation that is binding to himself—he is not to break his word. Instead, he is to fulfill whatever promise[b] came out of his mouth.’”
Vows by Unmarried Women
3 “When a young woman makes a vow to the Lord or pledges[c] herself[d] to an obligation while she still lives in her father’s house, 4 and her father hears her vow and the obligations that she had pledged[e] herself to fulfill, yet her father keeps silent about it, then all her vows and every obligation she pledged herself to are to stand. 5 But if her father disallows her on the same day that he hears what she has said, then all her vows and every obligation she had pledged herself to fulfill are not to stand. The Lord will forgive her, because her father has forbidden her.”
Vows by Married Women
6 “If she has a husband and she makes a vow that is binding on herself, or if she makes a hasty vow with her mouth that she pledges herself[f] to fulfill, 7 and her husband hears her vow, yet remains silent on the day that he hears it, then her vows are to stand and the obligation to which she had pledged herself is to stand. 8 But if, on the same day her husband hears and disallows her, then he has revoked her vows that she made for herself, along with any hasty vows that she spoke and to which she pledged herself to fulfill. The Lord will forgive her.”
Vows by Widows or the Divorced
9 “Everything that a widow or a divorced woman pledges herself to fulfill are to be binding on her.[g] 10 If, while she had been living in her late or former[h] husband’s house, she makes a vow or a promise that binds her with an oath, 11 and her husband hears it but remains silent, not disallowing it, then all her vows are to stand, along with every obligation that she has pledged to fulfill. 12 But if her husband disallowed them the very day that he heard her, everything that she spoke relating to her vows and her obligation to herself are not to stand, because her husband revoked them. The Lord will forgive her. 13 Her husband may confirm[i] or revoke every vow and binding obligation that afflicts her. 14 But if her husband remains silent about her from day to day, then he has affirmed all her vows or obligations that she has obligated herself to fulfill.[j] He has affirmed them because he remained silent from the day he heard her vows.[k] 15 But if he nullified them after he had heard, then he will be responsible for any resulting iniquity.”
16 These are the statutes that the Lord commanded Moses concerning a man and his wife and concerning a father and his young daughter while she still lives in her father’s house.
Footnotes
- Numbers 30:1 This v. is 30:2 in MT
- Numbers 30:2 Lit. words
- Numbers 30:3 Lit. binds; and so throughout the chapter
- Numbers 30:3 Lit. soul
- Numbers 30:4 Or bonded; and so throughout the chapter
- Numbers 30:6 Lit. soul
- Numbers 30:9 Lit. are to stand against her
- Numbers 30:10 The Heb. lacks late or former
- Numbers 30:13 Lit. make it stand
- Numbers 30:14 The Heb. lacks that she has obligated herself to fulfill
- Numbers 30:14 The Heb. lacks her vows
Numbers 30
Lexham English Bible
Laws for Vows
30 Then Moses spoke to the leaders[a] of the tribes concerning the Israelites,[b] saying, “This is the word that Yahweh commanded: 2 if a man makes a vow for Yahweh or swears an oath with a binding pledge on himself, he must not render his word invalid; he must do all that went out from his mouth.
3 “If a woman makes a vow to Yahweh, and she binds a pledge on herself in her father’s house in your childhood, 4 but if her father hears her vow or her pledge that she bound on herself and says nothing to her, then all her vows will stand, and every pledge that she binds on her life will stand. 5 If her father forbids her on the day he hears of it, all her vows or her pledges that she bound on herself will not stand, and Yahweh will forgive her because her father has forgiven her.
6 “If she has a husband[c] while bound by her vows or a rash promise of her lips, 7 and her husband hears of it and is silent on the day he hears it, her vows will stand, and her pledge that she bound upon herself will stand. 8 But if on the day her husband hears of it, he forbids her, then he will nullify her vow that she is under, and the rash promise of her lips that she bound on herself; and Yahweh will forgive her.
9 “But the vow of a widow or a woman who is divorced, all that she binds on herself will stand on her. 10 But if she made a vow in her husband’s house, or bound herself on a pledge with a sworn oath, 11 and her husband heard it but was silent to her, and he did not forbid her, all her vows will stand and every pledge that she bound on herself will stand. 12 But if her husband nullified them on the day he hears them, all her vows going out of her lips concerning her vows or the pledge on herself will not stand; her husband has nullified them, and Yahweh will forgive her.
13 “Any vow and any sworn oath of a pledge to inflict on herself, her husband can confirm it or her husband can nullify it. 14 But if her husband is completely silent from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or all her pledges that are on her; he confirms them because he was silent to her on the day he heard them. 15 But if he indeed nullifies them after he hears them, then he will bear her guilt.”
16 These are the decrees that Yahweh commanded Moses, as between a husband and his wife, and between a father and his daughter, while her childhood is in her father’s house.
Footnotes
- Numbers 30:1 Literally “the heads”
- Numbers 30:1 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Numbers 30:6 Literally “she is to a man”
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