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
1599 Geneva Bible
30 3 Concerning vows. 4 The vow of the maid, 7 Of the wife, 10 Of the widow or divorced.
1 Then Moses spake unto the children of Israel according to all that the Lord had commanded [a]him.
2 Moses also spake unto the heads of the tribes [b]concerning the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded,
3 Whosoever voweth a vow unto the Lord, or sweareth an oath to bind [c]himself by a bond, he shall not [d]break his promise, but shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.
4 If a woman also vow a vow unto the Lord, and bind herself by a bond, being in her father’s house, in the time of her youth,
5 And her father hear her vow and bond, wherewith she hath bound herself, and her father hold his [e]peace concerning her, then all her vows shall stand and every bond, wherewith she hath bound herself, shall stand.
6 But if her [f]father disallow her the same day that he heareth all her vows and bonds, wherewith she hath bound herself, they shall not be of value, and the Lord will forgive her, because her father disallowed her.
7 And if she have an husband when she voweth or [g]pronounceth ought with her lips, wherewith she bindeth herself,
8 If her husband heard it, and holdeth his peace concerning her, the same day he heareth it, then her vow shall stand, and her bonds wherewith she bindeth herself shall stand in effect.
9 But if her husband disallow her the same day that he heareth it, then shall he make her vow which she hath made, and that that she hath pronounced with her lips, wherewith she bound [h]herself, of none effect: and the Lord will forgive her.
10 But every vow of a widow, and of her that is divorced (wherewith she hath bound herself) shall stand in [i]effect with her.
11 And if she vowed in her husband’s [j]house, or bound herself straightly with an oath,
12 And her husband hath heard it, and held his peace concerning her, not disallowing her, then all her vows shall stand, and every bond, wherewith she bound herself, shall stand in effect.
13 But if her husband disannulled them the same day that he heard them, nothing that proceeded out of her lips concerning her vows or concerning [k]her bonds, shall stand in effect: for her husband hath disannulled them: and the Lord will forgive her.
14 So every vow, and every oath or bond, made to [l]humble the soul, her husband may stablish it, or her husband may break it.
15 But if her husband hold his peace concerning her from [m]day to day, then he stablisheth all her vows and all her bonds which she hath made: he hath confirmed them because he held his peace concerning her the same day that he heard them.
16 But if he [n]break them after that he hath heard them, then shall he bear her iniquity.
17 These are the ordinances which the Lord commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, and between the father and his daughter, being young in her father’s house.
Footnotes
- Numbers 30:1 Hebrew, Moses.
- Numbers 30:2 Because they might declare them to the Israelites.
- Numbers 30:3 Hebrew, his soul.
- Numbers 30:3 Hebrew, violate his word.
- Numbers 30:5 For in so doing he doth approve her.
- Numbers 30:6 By not approving or consenting to her vow.
- Numbers 30:7 Either by oath, or solemn promise.
- Numbers 30:9 For she is in subjection to her husband, and can perform nothing without his consent.
- Numbers 30:10 For they are not under the authority of the man.
- Numbers 30:11 Her husband being alive.
- Numbers 30:13 Hebrew, the bonds of her soul.
- Numbers 30:14 To mortify herself by abstinence or other bodily exercise.
- Numbers 30:15 And warn her not the same day that he heareth it, as verse 9.
- Numbers 30:16 Not the same day he heard them, but some day after, the sin shall be imputed to him and not to her.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
