Numbers 30

Laws about Vows

(Matthew 5:33–37)

¹Then Moses said to the heads of the tribes of Israel, “This is what the LORD has commanded: ²If a man makes a vow to the LORD or swears an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word; he must do everything he has promised.

³And if a woman in her father’s house during her youth makes a vow to the LORD or obligates herself by a pledge, ⁴and her father hears about her vow or pledge but says nothing to her, then all the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. ⁵But if her father prohibits her on the day he hears about it, then none of the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. The LORD will absolve her because her father has prohibited her.

⁶If a woman marries while under a vow or rash promise by which she has bound herself, ⁷and her husband hears of it but says nothing to her on that day, then the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. ⁸But if her husband prohibits her when he hears of it, he nullifies the vow that binds her or the rash promise she has made, and the LORD will absolve her.

⁹Every vow a widow or divorced woman pledges to fulfill is binding on her.

¹⁰If a woman in her husband’s house has made a vow or put herself under an obligation with an oath, ¹¹and her husband hears of it but says nothing to her and does not prohibit her, then all the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. ¹²But if her husband nullifies them on the day he hears of them, then nothing that came from her lips, whether her vows or pledges, shall stand. Her husband has nullified them, and the LORD will absolve her.

¹³Her husband may confirm or nullify any vow or any sworn pledge to deny herself. ¹⁴But if her husband says nothing to her from day to day, then he confirms all the vows and pledges that bind her. He has confirmed them, because he said nothing to her on the day he heard about them. ¹⁵But if he nullifies them after he hears of them, then he will bear her iniquity.”

¹⁶These are the statutes that the LORD commanded Moses concerning the relationship between a man and his wife, and between a father and a young daughter still in his home.