Numbers 30

EasyEnglish Bible

Rules about promises

30 Moses said to the leaders of the Israelite tribes: ‘The Lord commands this: ² If a man promises to the Lord that he will do something, he must do everything that he has promised.

³ A young woman who still lives in her father's house might make a promise to the Lord. ⁴ If her father hears about her promise and he does not say anything, she must do everything that she has promised. ⁵ But her father may refuse to let her do it. Then she does not have to do what she promised to do. The Lord will understand why she does not do it.

⁶ But a young woman like that might make a promise to God and then marry a husband. She might have promised something when she had not thought carefully about it. ⁷ After she marries, if her husband hears about it but he does not stop her, she must do what she promised. ⁸ But her husband may say that he refuses to let her do it. He must say that on the day when he first hears about it. Then the woman does not have to do what she promised to do. The Lord will forgive her.

⁹ If a woman no longer has a husband, she must do whatever she has promised to the Lord. Maybe she is a widow, or she has become separate from her husband.

¹⁰ A woman who is living with her husband may make a promise to the Lord. ¹¹ If her husband hears about it but he does not say anything, she must do everything that she has promised. ¹² But her husband may say clearly that she must not do it. Then she must obey him. The Lord will understand why she does not do it.

¹³ The husband may let his wife do what she promised to do, or he may refuse. ¹⁴ If the husband does not say anything for many days about the promise, the woman must do what she promised. ¹⁵ The husband may wait for many days after he hears about his wife's promise. If he then refuses to let her do what she promised, he will be guilty. God will punish him instead of his wife.’

¹⁶ Those are the rules that the Lord gave to Moses. They say what must happen when husbands, wives or young women who still live at home make a promise to the Lord.