Numbers 30
Legacy Standard Bible
The Statutes for Vows
30 Then Moses spoke to (A)the heads of the tribes of the sons of Israel, saying, “This is the word which Yahweh has commanded. 2 (B)If a man makes a vow to Yahweh or swears an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, he shall not violate his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.
3 “Also if a woman makes a vow to Yahweh and binds herself by an obligation in her father’s house in her youth, 4 and her father hears her vow and her obligation by which she has bound herself, and her father [a]says nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand, and every obligation by which she has bound herself shall stand. 5 But if her father should forbid her on the day he hears of it, none of her vows or her obligations by which she has bound herself shall stand; and Yahweh will pardon her because her father had forbidden her.
6 “However, if she should [b]marry while [c]under her vows or the rash statement of her lips by which she has bound herself, 7 and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her on the day he hears it, then her vows shall stand, and her obligations by which she has bound herself shall stand. 8 But if, on the day her husband hears of it, he forbids her, then he shall annul her vow which [d]she is under and the rash statement of her lips by which she has bound herself; and Yahweh will pardon her.
9 “But the vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, everything by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her. 10 However, if she vowed in her husband’s house or bound herself by an obligation with an oath, 11 and her husband heard it but said nothing to her and did not forbid her, then all her vows shall stand, and every obligation by which she bound herself shall stand. 12 But if her husband indeed annuls them on the day he hears them, then whatever proceeds out of her lips concerning her vows or concerning the obligation of herself shall not stand; her husband has annulled them, and Yahweh will pardon her.
13 “Every vow and every binding oath to humble herself, her husband may cause it to stand, or her husband may annul it. 14 But if her husband indeed says nothing to her from day to day, then he causes all her vows or all her obligations which are on her to stand; he has caused them to stand because he said nothing to her on the day he heard them. 15 But if he indeed annuls them after he has heard them, then he shall bear her guilt.”
16 These are the statutes which Yahweh commanded Moses, as between a man and his wife, and as between a father and his daughter, while she is in her youth in her father’s house.
Footnotes
- Numbers 30:4 Lit is silent to her, so in ch
- Numbers 30:6 Lit be to a husband
- Numbers 30:6 Lit her vows are on her
- Numbers 30:8 Lit is on her
Numbers 30
Expanded Bible
Rules About Special Promises
30 Moses spoke with the leaders of the ·Israelite tribes [L tribes of the sons/T children of Israel]. He told them these commands from the Lord.
2 “If a man makes a ·promise [vow] to the Lord or ·says he will do something special [swears an oath to bind himself to an obligation], he must ·keep his promise [L not break his word]. He must do what he said [Deut. 23:21; Ps. 50:14; Eccl. 5:4–5; Matt. 5:33–37]. 3 If a young woman still living at ·home [L the house of her father] makes a ·promise [vow] to the Lord or ·pledges to do something special [binds herself to an obligation], 4 and if her father hears about the ·promise [vow] or ·pledge [obligation by which she has bound herself] and says nothing, ·she must do what she promised [L all her vows stand]. ·She must keep her pledge [L All her obligations to which she has bound herself will stand]. 5 But if her father hears about the ·promise [vow] or ·pledge [obligation by which she has bound herself] and ·does not allow it [disapproves], then the ·promise [vow] or ·pledge [obligation] does not ·have to be kept [L stand]. Her father ·would not allow it [disapproves], so the Lord will ·free her from her promise [L forgive her].
6 “If a woman ·makes a pledge [binds herself to an obligation] or speaks a ·careless [rash; thoughtless] ·promise [vow] and then gets married, 7 and if her husband hears about it and says nothing, ·she must keep her promise [L her vow stands] ·or the pledge she made [L and the obligation by which she bound herself will stand]. 8 But if her husband hears about it and ·does not allow it [disapproves], he cancels her ·pledge [vow] or the ·careless [rash; thoughtless] ·promise [vow] ·she made [by which she bound herself]. The Lord will ·free her from keeping it [forgive her].
9 “If a widow or divorced woman makes a ·promise [vow], ·she must do whatever she promised [L all by which she bound herself stands].
10 “If a woman makes a ·promise [vow] or ·pledge [L binds herself in an obligation] ·while she is married [L in the house of her husband], 11 and if her husband hears about it but says nothing and does not ·stop her [disapprove], ·she must keep her promise [all her vows stand] ·or pledge [L and all that to which she bound herself will stand]. 12 But if her husband hears about it and cancels it, ·she does not have to do what she said [L her vow and all that which she bound herself do not stand]. Her husband has canceled it, so the Lord will ·free her from it [forgive her]. 13 A woman’s husband may make her keep or cancel any ·promise [vow] or ·pledge [obligation] she has made to ·deny [mortify] herself. 14 If he says nothing to her about it for several days, ·she must keep her promises [L her vows stand]. If he hears about them and says nothing, ·she must keep her promises [L the obligations by which she bound herself will stand]. 15 But if he cancels them long after he heard about them, he ·is responsible if she breaks her promise [L will bear her guilt].”
16 These are ·commands [statutes; ordinances; requirements] that the Lord gave to Moses for husbands and wives, and for fathers with ·daughters living at home [L his daughters in her youth in the house of her father].
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