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Numbers 30
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Numbers 30
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Vows Made by Women
30 Then Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the Israelites, saying, “This is what the Lord has commanded. 2 When a man makes a vow to the Lord or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.(A)
3 “When a woman makes a vow to the Lord or binds herself by a pledge while within her father’s house, in her youth, 4 and her father hears of her vow or her pledge by which she has bound herself and says nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand, and any pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. 5 But if her father overrules her at the time that he hears of it, no vow of hers and no pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand, and the Lord will forgive her because her father overruled her.(B)
6 “If she marries, while obligated by her vows or any thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she has bound herself,(C) 7 and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her at the time that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. 8 But if, at the time that her husband hears of it, he overrules her, then he shall nullify the vow by which she was obligated or the thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she bound herself, and the Lord will forgive her.(D) 9 (But every vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, by which she has bound herself, shall be binding upon her.) 10 And if she made a vow in her husband’s house or bound herself by a pledge with an oath 11 and her husband heard it and said nothing to her and did not overrule her, then all her vows shall stand, and any pledge by which she bound herself shall stand. 12 But if her husband nullifies them at the time that he hears them, then whatever proceeds out of her lips concerning her vows or concerning her pledge shall not stand. Her husband has nullified them, and the Lord will forgive her.(E) 13 Any vow or any binding oath to humble herself,[a] her husband may allow to stand or her husband may nullify. 14 But if her husband says nothing to her from day to day,[b] then he validates all her vows or all her pledges by which she is obligated; he has validated them because he said nothing to her at the time that he heard of them. 15 But if he nullifies them some time after he has heard of them, then he shall bear her guilt.”(F)
16 These are the statutes that the Lord commanded Moses concerning a husband and his wife and a father and his daughter while she is still young and in her father’s house.(G)
Numbers 30
Common English Bible
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.
Numbers 30
New International Version
Numbers 30
New International Version
Vows
30 [a]Moses said to the heads of the tribes of Israel:(A) “This is what the Lord commands: 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.(B)
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.(C) 5 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.
6 “If she marries after she makes a vow(E) 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(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)
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.(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
- Numbers 30:1 In Hebrew texts 30:1-16 is numbered 30:2-17.
- Numbers 30:13 Or to fast
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Common English Bible (CEB)
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.