Numbers 30

And Moses spake unto the heads of the tribes concerning the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded.

1Moses spoke to the leaders of the tribes of Israel. He said, "This is what the LORD has commanded."

2If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.

2If a man makes a promise to the LORD, he must keep it. If he swears an oath to do something, he must do it. He must not break his word. He must do everything he said he would do.

NoteA vow is a serious promise made to God. An oath is a promise you swear to keep. Both mean the same thing here: you said you would do something, so you must do it.

3If a woman also vow a vow unto the LORD, and bind herself by a bond, being in her father’s house in her youth;

3Now think about a young woman who still lives in her father's house. She may make a promise to the LORD. She may swear to do something.

4And her father hear her vow, and her bond wherewith she hath bound her soul, and her father shall hold his peace at her: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand.

4Her father may hear about her promise. If he says nothing to her, the promise stands. She must do everything she said she would do.

5But if her father disallow her in the day that he heareth; not any of her vows, or of her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul, shall stand: and the LORD shall forgive her, because her father disallowed her.

5But her father may say no on the day he hears it. Then none of her promises count. She does not have to keep them. The LORD will not hold it against her, because her father said no.

6And if she had at all an husband, when she vowed, or uttered ought out of her lips, wherewith she bound her soul;

6Now think about a woman who is married. She may have made a promise before. She may have spoken words quickly, without thinking.

7And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her in the day that he heard it: then her vows shall stand, and her bonds wherewith she bound her soul shall stand.

7Her husband may hear about it and say nothing that day. Then her promises stand. She must do what she said.

8But if her husband disallowed her on the day that he heard it; then he shall make her vow which she vowed, and that which she uttered with her lips, wherewith she bound her soul, of none effect: and the LORD shall forgive her.

8But her husband may say no on the day he hears it. Then her promise does not count. The words she spoke do not count. The LORD will not hold it against her.

9But every vow of a widow, and of her that is divorced, wherewith they have bound their souls, shall stand against her.

9A widow is a woman whose husband has died. A divorced woman is one whose marriage has ended. If either of them makes a promise, it stands. She must keep it.

10And if she vowed in her husband’s house, or bound her soul by a bond with an oath;

10A married woman may make a promise while living in her husband's house. She may swear an oath to do something.

11And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her, and disallowed her not: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she bound her soul shall stand.

11Her husband may hear about it and say nothing. If he does not stop her, all her promises stand. She must do what she said.

12But if her husband hath utterly made them void on the day he heard them; then whatsoever proceeded out of her lips concerning her vows, or concerning the bond of her soul, shall not stand: her husband hath made them void; and the LORD shall forgive her.

12But her husband may cancel them on the day he hears them. Then nothing she promised counts. Her husband canceled them. The LORD will not hold it against her.

13Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void.

13Her husband may let any promise stand. He may also cancel it. This is true even for a promise to go without food or comfort.

Note"To afflict the soul" in the old wording means to give something up on purpose, like food. People sometimes promised to do this as part of praying to God.

14But if her husband altogether hold his peace at her from day to day; then he establisheth all her vows, or all her bonds, which are upon her: he confirmeth them, because he held his peace at her in the day that he heard them.

14Her husband may say nothing to her day after day. Then he has agreed to all her promises. He let them stand by staying quiet on the day he heard them.

15But if he shall any ways make them void after that he hath heard them; then he shall bear her iniquity.

15But he may cancel her promises later, after he has already heard them. Then he is the one who is guilty, not her.

16These are the statutes, which the LORD commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, between the father and his daughter, being yet in her youth in her father’s house.

16These are the rules the LORD gave Moses. They are about a man and his wife. They are also about a father and his young daughter still at home.