Numbers 30
New King James Version
The Law Concerning Vows
30 Then Moses spoke to (A)the heads of the tribes concerning the children of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the Lord has commanded: 2 (B)If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or (C)swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall (D)do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.
3 “Or if a woman makes a vow to the Lord, and binds herself by some agreement while in her father’s house in her youth, 4 and her father hears her vow and the agreement by which she has bound herself, and her father [a]holds his peace, then all her vows shall stand, and every agreement with which she has bound herself shall stand. 5 But if her father overrules her on the day that he hears, then none of her vows nor her agreements by which she has bound herself shall stand; and the Lord will release her, because her father overruled her.
6 “If indeed she takes a husband, while bound by her vows or by a rash utterance from her lips by which she bound herself, 7 and her husband hears it, and makes no response to her on the day that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her agreements by which she bound herself shall stand. 8 But if her husband (E)overrules her on the day that he hears it, he shall make void her vow which she took and what she uttered with her lips, by which she bound herself, and the Lord will release her.
9 “Also any vow of a widow or a divorced woman, by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her.
10 “If she vowed in her husband’s house, or bound herself by an agreement with an oath, 11 and her husband heard it, and made no response to her and did not overrule her, then all her vows shall stand, and every agreement by which she bound herself shall stand. 12 But if her husband truly made them void on the day he heard them, then whatever proceeded from her lips concerning her vows or concerning the agreement binding her, it shall not stand; her husband has made them [b]void, and the Lord will release her. 13 Every vow and every binding oath to afflict her soul, her husband may confirm it, or her husband may make it void. 14 Now if her husband makes no response whatever to her from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or all the agreements that bind her; he confirms them, because he made no response to her on the day that he heard them. 15 But if he does make them void after he has heard them, then he shall bear her guilt.”
16 These are the statutes which the Lord commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, and between a father and his daughter in her youth in her father’s house.
Footnotes
- Numbers 30:4 says nothing to interfere
- Numbers 30:12 annulled or invalidated
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)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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.