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Numbers 30
Expanded Bible
Numbers 30
Expanded Bible
Rules About Special Promises
30 Moses spoke with the leaders of the ·Israelite tribes [L tribes of the sons/T children of Israel]. He told them these commands from the Lord.
2 “If a man makes a ·promise [vow] to the Lord or ·says he will do something special [swears an oath to bind himself to an obligation], he must ·keep his promise [L not break his word]. He must do what he said [Deut. 23:21; Ps. 50:14; Eccl. 5:4–5; Matt. 5:33–37]. 3 If a young woman still living at ·home [L the house of her father] makes a ·promise [vow] to the Lord or ·pledges to do something special [binds herself to an obligation], 4 and if her father hears about the ·promise [vow] or ·pledge [obligation by which she has bound herself] and says nothing, ·she must do what she promised [L all her vows stand]. ·She must keep her pledge [L All her obligations to which she has bound herself will stand]. 5 But if her father hears about the ·promise [vow] or ·pledge [obligation by which she has bound herself] and ·does not allow it [disapproves], then the ·promise [vow] or ·pledge [obligation] does not ·have to be kept [L stand]. Her father ·would not allow it [disapproves], so the Lord will ·free her from her promise [L forgive her].
6 “If a woman ·makes a pledge [binds herself to an obligation] or speaks a ·careless [rash; thoughtless] ·promise [vow] and then gets married, 7 and if her husband hears about it and says nothing, ·she must keep her promise [L her vow stands] ·or the pledge she made [L and the obligation by which she bound herself will stand]. 8 But if her husband hears about it and ·does not allow it [disapproves], he cancels her ·pledge [vow] or the ·careless [rash; thoughtless] ·promise [vow] ·she made [by which she bound herself]. The Lord will ·free her from keeping it [forgive her].
9 “If a widow or divorced woman makes a ·promise [vow], ·she must do whatever she promised [L all by which she bound herself stands].
10 “If a woman makes a ·promise [vow] or ·pledge [L binds herself in an obligation] ·while she is married [L in the house of her husband], 11 and if her husband hears about it but says nothing and does not ·stop her [disapprove], ·she must keep her promise [all her vows stand] ·or pledge [L and all that to which she bound herself will stand]. 12 But if her husband hears about it and cancels it, ·she does not have to do what she said [L her vow and all that which she bound herself do not stand]. Her husband has canceled it, so the Lord will ·free her from it [forgive her]. 13 A woman’s husband may make her keep or cancel any ·promise [vow] or ·pledge [obligation] she has made to ·deny [mortify] herself. 14 If he says nothing to her about it for several days, ·she must keep her promises [L her vows stand]. If he hears about them and says nothing, ·she must keep her promises [L the obligations by which she bound herself will stand]. 15 But if he cancels them long after he heard about them, he ·is responsible if she breaks her promise [L will bear her guilt].”
16 These are ·commands [statutes; ordinances; requirements] that the Lord gave to Moses for husbands and wives, and for fathers with ·daughters living at home [L his daughters in her youth in the house of her father].
Numbers 30
New American Standard Bible
Numbers 30
New American Standard Bible
The Law of Vows
30 [a]Then Moses spoke to (A)the heads of the tribes of the sons of Israel, saying, “This is the word which the Lord has commanded: 2 (B)If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or takes an oath to [b]put himself under a binding obligation, he shall not break his word; he shall act in accordance with everything that comes out of his mouth.
3 “And if a woman makes a vow to the Lord, and puts herself under a binding obligation in her father’s house in her youth, 4 and her father hears her vow and her obligation under which she has put herself, and her father [c]says nothing to her, then all her vows shall [d]remain valid and every binding obligation under which she has put herself shall [e]remain valid. 5 But if her father expresses disapproval to her on the day he hears of it, none of her vows or her obligations under which she has put herself shall remain valid; and the Lord will [f]forgive her because her father has expressed disapproval to her.
6 “However, if she happens to [g]marry while [h]under her vows or the impulsive statement of her lips by which she has obligated herself, 7 and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her on the day he hears it, then her vows shall remain valid and her binding obligations under which she has put herself shall remain valid. 8 But if on the day her husband hears of it, he expresses disapproval to her, then he will annul her vow which [i]she is under and the impulsive statement of her lips by which she has obligated herself; and the Lord will [j]forgive her.
9 “But as for the vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, every binding obligation under which she has put herself, shall remain valid against her. 10 However, if a married woman vowed in her husband’s house, or put herself under a binding obligation with an oath, 11 and her husband heard it, but said nothing to her and did not express disapproval to her, then all her vows shall remain valid and every binding obligation under which she put herself shall remain valid. 12 But if her husband actually annuls them on the day he hears them, then no utterance from her lips concerning her vows or the obligation she put on herself shall remain valid; her husband has annulled them, and the Lord will [k]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 in fact says nothing to her from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or all her binding obligations which are on her; he has confirmed them, because he said nothing to her on the day he heard them. 15 However, if he actually annuls them [l]after he has heard them, then he shall bear the responsibility for her guilt.”
16 These are the statutes which the Lord commanded Moses concerning matters between a man and his wife, and between a father and his daughter while she is in her youth in her father’s house.
Footnotes
- Numbers 30:1 Ch 30:2 in Heb
- Numbers 30:2 Lit bind on his soul, and similarly throughout the ch
- Numbers 30:4 Lit is silent to her, and so throughout the ch
- Numbers 30:4 Lit stand, and so throughout the ch
- Numbers 30:4 Lit stand, and so throughout the ch
- Numbers 30:5 I.e., for not fulfilling them
- Numbers 30:6 Lit become a husband’s
- Numbers 30:6 Lit her vows are on her
- Numbers 30:8 Lit is on her
- Numbers 30:8 I.e., for not fulfilling them
- Numbers 30:12 I.e., for not fulfilling them
- Numbers 30:15 I.e., perhaps a long delay before he annuls them
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
Expanded Bible (EXB)
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New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.