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Numbers 30
International Standard Version
Numbers 30
International Standard Version
Regulations Concerning Vows
30 [a]Later, Moses told the elders of the Israeli tribes, “This is what the Lord has commanded: 2 ‘When a man makes a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath—an obligation that is binding to himself—he is not to break his word. Instead, he is to fulfill whatever promise[b] came out of his mouth.’”
Vows by Unmarried Women
3 “When a young woman makes a vow to the Lord or pledges[c] herself[d] to an obligation while she still lives in her father’s house, 4 and her father hears her vow and the obligations that she had pledged[e] herself to fulfill, yet her father keeps silent about it, then all her vows and every obligation she pledged herself to are to stand. 5 But if her father disallows her on the same day that he hears what she has said, then all her vows and every obligation she had pledged herself to fulfill are not to stand. The Lord will forgive her, because her father has forbidden her.”
Vows by Married Women
6 “If she has a husband and she makes a vow that is binding on herself, or if she makes a hasty vow with her mouth that she pledges herself[f] to fulfill, 7 and her husband hears her vow, yet remains silent on the day that he hears it, then her vows are to stand and the obligation to which she had pledged herself is to stand. 8 But if, on the same day her husband hears and disallows her, then he has revoked her vows that she made for herself, along with any hasty vows that she spoke and to which she pledged herself to fulfill. The Lord will forgive her.”
Vows by Widows or the Divorced
9 “Everything that a widow or a divorced woman pledges herself to fulfill are to be binding on her.[g] 10 If, while she had been living in her late or former[h] husband’s house, she makes a vow or a promise that binds her with an oath, 11 and her husband hears it but remains silent, not disallowing it, then all her vows are to stand, along with every obligation that she has pledged to fulfill. 12 But if her husband disallowed them the very day that he heard her, everything that she spoke relating to her vows and her obligation to herself are not to stand, because her husband revoked them. The Lord will forgive her. 13 Her husband may confirm[i] or revoke every vow and binding obligation that afflicts her. 14 But if her husband remains silent about her from day to day, then he has affirmed all her vows or obligations that she has obligated herself to fulfill.[j] He has affirmed them because he remained silent from the day he heard her vows.[k] 15 But if he nullified them after he had heard, then he will be responsible for any resulting iniquity.”
16 These are the statutes that the Lord commanded Moses concerning a man and his wife and concerning a father and his young daughter while she still lives in her father’s house.
Footnotes
- Numbers 30:1 This v. is 30:2 in MT
- Numbers 30:2 Lit. words
- Numbers 30:3 Lit. binds; and so throughout the chapter
- Numbers 30:3 Lit. soul
- Numbers 30:4 Or bonded; and so throughout the chapter
- Numbers 30:6 Lit. soul
- Numbers 30:9 Lit. are to stand against her
- Numbers 30:10 The Heb. lacks late or former
- Numbers 30:13 Lit. make it stand
- Numbers 30:14 The Heb. lacks that she has obligated herself to fulfill
- Numbers 30:14 The Heb. lacks her vows
Numbers 30
New International Version
Numbers 30
New International Version
Vows
30 [a]Moses said to the heads of the tribes of Israel:(A) “This is what the Lord commands: 2 When a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.(B)
3 “When a young woman still living in her father’s household makes a vow to the Lord or obligates herself by a pledge 4 and her father hears about her vow or pledge but says nothing to her, then all her vows and every pledge by which she obligated herself will stand.(C) 5 But if her father forbids her(D) when he hears about it, none of her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand; the Lord will release her because her father has forbidden her.
6 “If she marries after she makes a vow(E) or after her lips utter a rash promise by which she obligates herself 7 and her husband hears about it but says nothing to her, then her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand. 8 But if her husband(F) forbids her when he hears about it, he nullifies the vow that obligates her or the rash promise by which she obligates herself, and the Lord will release her.(G)
9 “Any vow or obligation taken by a widow or divorced woman will be binding on her.
10 “If a woman living with her husband makes a vow or obligates herself by a pledge under oath 11 and her husband hears about it but says nothing to her and does not forbid her, then all her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand. 12 But if her husband nullifies them when he hears about them, then none of the vows or pledges that came from her lips will stand.(H) Her husband has nullified them, and the Lord will release her. 13 Her husband may confirm or nullify any vow she makes or any sworn pledge to deny herself.[b] 14 But if her husband says nothing to her about it from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or the pledges binding on her. He confirms them by saying nothing to her when he hears about them. 15 If, however, he nullifies them(I) some time after he hears about them, then he must bear the consequences of her wrongdoing.”
16 These are the regulations the Lord gave Moses concerning relationships between a man and his wife, and between a father and his young daughter still living at home.
Footnotes
- Numbers 30:1 In Hebrew texts 30:1-16 is numbered 30:2-17.
- Numbers 30:13 Or to fast
International Standard Version (ISV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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