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
Evangelical Heritage Version
30 Moses also gave the heads of the Israelite tribes these commands from the Lord:[a]
Vows
2 When a man makes a vow to the Lord or swears an oath to put himself under an obligation, he must not break his word. He must do everything that has come out of his mouth.
3 When a woman, while living in her father’s house during her youth, makes a vow to the Lord and puts herself under an obligation, 4 and her father hears about her vow and her obligation which she has undertaken, but her father says nothing to her, then all her vows will stand, and every obligation which she has undertaken will stand. 5 But if her father forbids her on the same day that he hears about them, none of her vows nor her obligations which she has undertaken will stand. The Lord will forgive her, because her father has forbidden her.
6 If she marries a husband while she is obligated by a vow or something she spoke rashly, 7 and her husband hears about it but says nothing to her on the same day that he hears about it, then her vows will stand, and her obligations which she has undertaken will be binding. 8 But if her husband forbids her on the same day that he hears about it, he will nullify her vow which obligates her and her responsibility for the things she spoke rashly. The Lord will forgive her.
9 But the vow of a widow or a divorced woman, every obligation which she put herself under, will be binding on her.
10 If, while she is still in her husband’s house, she took a vow or put herself under an obligation with an oath, 11 and her husband hears about it but says nothing to her and does not forbid her, then all her vows will stand, and every obligation under which she has put herself will stand. 12 But if her husband does indeed nullify them on the same day that he hears about them, then whatever came from her lips concerning her vows or her obligation will not stand. Her husband has nullified them. The Lord will forgive her.
13 Her husband may allow or nullify every vow or every oath in which she undertakes an obligation to deny herself.[b] 14 But if her husband indeed says nothing to her from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or all her obligations, which are binding on her. He has allowed them, because he said nothing to her on the day that he hears about them. 15 But if he nullifies them later than the day he hears about them, then he will bear her responsibility.
16 These are the statutes which the Lord commanded Moses about vows pertaining to a husband and his wife, or a father and his daughter during her youth while she still lives at her father’s house.
Footnotes
- Numbers 30:1 In the Hebrew text, chapter 30 starts with English verse 29:40. In chapter 30, the remaining Hebrew verse numbers are one number higher than the corresponding English verse numbers.
- Numbers 30:13 Since this vow affects the husband, it likely includes abstaining from sex.
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.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.