Every vow and every binding oath to afflict her soul, her husband may confirm it, or her husband may make it void.
Parallel translations
- WEB Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void.
- KJV Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void.
- BSB Her husband may confirm or nullify any vow or any sworn pledge to deny herself.
- NASB “Every vow and every binding oath to humble herself, her husband may confirm it or her husband may annul it.
- NLT So her husband may either confirm or nullify any vows or pledges she makes to deny herself.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The husband has authority to confirm or cancel any vow or binding oath his wife makes, including vows of self-denial.
Overview
This summarizes the husband's role: he may establish or void his wife's vows, including those involving fasting or affliction of the soul. The law balances genuine devotion with ordered authority in the home. It reflects God's design that worship and commitment flourish within, not against, the relationships He has established.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- 1 Cor 11:3But I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
- Lev 23:32It shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall deny yourselves. In the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall keep your Sabbath.”
- Lev 16:29“It shall be a statute to you forever: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and shall do no kind of work, the native-born, or the stranger who lives as a foreigner among you:
- Lev 23:27“However on the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement: it shall be a holy convocation to you, and you shall afflict yourselves; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
- Ezra 8:21Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a straight way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our possessions.
- Isa 58:5Is this the fast that I have chosen? A day for a man to humble his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under himself? Will you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to Yahweh?
- 1 Pet 3:1–6In the same way, wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; so that, even if any don’t obey the Word, they may be won by the behavior of their wives without a word;
- Num 29:7“‘On the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall afflict your souls. You shall do no kind of work;
- 1 Cor 11:9for man wasn’t created for the woman, but woman for the man.
- Ps 35:13But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth. I afflicted my soul with fasting. My prayer returned into my own bosom.
- 1 Cor 7:5Don’t deprive one another, unless it is by consent for a season, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer, and may be together again, that Satan doesn’t tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 30:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.