Numbers 30
New Life Version
Laws about Agreements
30 Then Moses said to the heads of the families of the sons of Israel, “This is what the Lord has said. 2 If a man makes a promise to the Lord, or swears that he will keep his promise, he must not break his word. He must do all that he said he would do. 3 If a woman makes a promise to the Lord, and swears to keep her promise in her father’s house when she is young, 4 and if her father hears her promise and how she has sworn to keep it, and says nothing to her, then all her promises must be kept. She must keep every promise she has sworn to keep. 5 But if her father does not allow her to keep her promise on the day he hears of it, then she does not need to keep any of the promises she has sworn to keep. The Lord will forgive her because her father would not allow it.
6 “If she gets married and has promises to keep because of what she swore without thinking, 7 and if her husband hears of it and says nothing to her on the day he hears, then she must keep the promises she has sworn to keep. 8 But if on the day he hears of it, her husband does not allow her to keep her promise, then she will not have to keep the promise that she had sworn to keep when she was not thinking. The Lord will forgive her.
9 “A woman whose husband has died or left her must keep the promises she has sworn to keep. 10 But if she has made a promise in her husband’s house, and she has sworn to keep a promise there 11 and if her husband hears of it, and does not go against her or say anything to her, then she must keep all the promises she had sworn to keep. 12 But if her husband does not allow her to keep her promises on the day he hears of them, then she does not have to keep the promises she had sworn to keep. If her husband will not let her keep them, the Lord will forgive her.
13 “Her husband has the right to have her keep, or not keep, any promise she has sworn to keep. 14 But if her husband says nothing to her from day to day, then she must keep all her promises. He made her promises so they could not be changed, because he said nothing to her on the day he heard of them. 15 But if he will not allow her to keep her promises after he has heard of them, then her guilt will be on him.”
16 These are the Laws which the Lord told Moses, between a man and his wife, and between a father and his daughter, while she is young and in her father’s house.
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 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
Amplified Bible
The Law of Vows
30 Then Moses spoke to the leaders of the tribes of the Israelites, saying, “This is the thing which the Lord has commanded: 2 If a man makes a vow to the Lord or swears an oath to bind himself with a pledge [of abstinence], he shall not break (violate, profane) his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.
3 “Also if a woman makes a vow to the Lord and binds herself by a pledge [of abstinence], while living in her father’s house in her youth, 4 and her father hears her vow and her pledge by which she has bound herself, and he offers no objection, then all her vows shall stand and every pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. 5 But if her father disapproves of her [making her vow] on the day that he hears about it, none of her vows or her pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand; and the Lord will forgive her because her father has disapproved of her [making the vow].
6 “But if she marries while under her vows or if she has bound herself by a rash statement, 7 and her husband hears of it and says nothing about it on the day he hears it, then her vows shall stand and her pledge by which she bound herself shall stand. 8 But if her husband disapproves of her [making her vow or pledge] on the day that he hears of it, then he shall annul her vow which she is under and the rash statement of her lips by which she bound herself; and the Lord will forgive 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 a pledge with an oath, 11 and her husband heard it, but said nothing to her and did not disapprove of her [making the vow], then all her vows and every pledge by which she bound herself shall stand. 12 But if her husband absolutely annuls them on the day he heard them, then whatever proceeds from her lips concerning her vows or concerning her pledge shall not stand. Her husband has annulled them, and the Lord will forgive her.
13 “Every vow and every binding oath to humble herself, her husband may confirm it or her husband may annul it. 14 But if her husband says nothing to her [concerning the matter] from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or all her pledges which are on her. He has confirmed them because he said nothing to her on the day he heard them. 15 But if he indeed nullifies them after he hears of them, then he shall be responsible for and bear her guilt [for breaking her promise].”
16 These are the statutes which the Lord commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, and between a father and his daughter while she is a youth in her father’s house.
Copyright © 1969, 2003 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
