Men and Vows

30 Moses spoke to (A)the heads of the tribes of the people of Israel, saying, “This is what the Lord has commanded. (B)If a man vows a vow to the Lord, or (C)swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. (D)He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.

Women and Vows

“If a woman vows a vow to the Lord and binds herself by a pledge, while within her father's house in her youth, and her father hears of her vow and of her pledge by which she has bound herself and says nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. But if her father opposes her on the day that he hears of it, no vow of hers, no pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. And the Lord will forgive her, because her father opposed her.

“If she marries a husband, while under her (E)vows or any thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she has bound herself, and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her on the day that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. But if, on the day that her husband comes to hear of it, he opposes her, then he makes void her (F)vow that was on her, and the thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she bound herself. (G)And the Lord will forgive her. (But any vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, anything by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her.) 10 And if she vowed in her husband's house or bound herself by a pledge with an oath, 11 and her husband heard of it and said nothing to her and did not oppose her, then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she bound herself shall stand. 12 But if her husband makes them null and void on the day that he hears them, then whatever proceeds out of her lips concerning her vows or concerning her pledge of herself shall not stand. Her husband has made them void, and (H)the Lord will forgive her. 13 Any vow and any binding oath to afflict herself,[a] her husband may establish,[b] or her husband may make void. 14 But if her husband says nothing to her from day to day, then he establishes all her vows or all her pledges that are upon her. He has established them, because he said nothing to her on the day that he heard of them. 15 But if he makes them null and void after he has heard of them, then (I)he shall bear her iniquity.”

16 These are the statutes that the Lord commanded Moses about a man and his wife and about a father and his daughter while she is in her youth within her father's house.

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Footnotes

  1. Numbers 30:13 Or to fast
  2. Numbers 30:13 Or may allow to stand

Regulations about Vows

30 Moses told the leaders of the Israelite tribes,(A) “This is what the Lord has commanded: 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 whatever he has promised.(B)

“When a woman in her father’s house during her youth makes a vow to the Lord or puts herself under an obligation, and her father hears about her vow or the obligation she put herself under, and he says nothing to her, all her vows and every obligation she put herself under are binding. But if her father prohibits her on the day he hears about it, none of her vows and none of the obligations she put herself under are binding. The Lord will release her because her father has prohibited her.

“If a woman marries while her vows or the rash commitment she herself made are binding, and her husband hears about it and says nothing to her when he finds out, her vows are binding, and the obligations she put herself under are binding. But if her husband prohibits her when he hears about it, he will cancel her vow that is binding or the rash commitment she herself made, and the Lord will release her.

“Every vow a widow or divorced woman puts herself under is binding on her.

10 “If a woman in her husband’s house has made a vow or put herself under an obligation with an oath, 11 and her husband hears about it, says nothing to her, and does not prohibit her, all her vows are binding, and every obligation she put herself under is binding. 12 But if her husband cancels them on the day he hears about it, nothing that came from her lips, whether her vows or her obligation, is binding. Her husband has canceled them, and the Lord will release her. 13 Her husband may confirm or cancel any vow or any sworn obligation to deny herself. 14 If her husband says nothing at all to her from day to day, he confirms all her vows and obligations, which are binding. He has confirmed them because he said nothing to her when he heard about them. 15 But if he cancels them after he hears about them, he will be responsible for her commitment.”[a]

16 These are the statutes that the Lord commanded Moses concerning the relationship between a man and his wife, or between a father and his daughter in his house during her youth.

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Footnotes

  1. 30:15 Or will bear her guilt