If 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.
Parallel translations
- WEB When a man vows a vow to Yahweh, or swears an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.
- BSB If 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.
- NKJV If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.
- NASB If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or takes an oath to 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.
- NLT A man who makes a vow to the Lord or makes a pledge under oath must never break it. He must do exactly what he said he would do.
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
A man who vows or swears an oath to the Lord must not break his word but must do all he has said.
Overview
Vows were voluntary, but once made to God they were binding, and the man was obligated to fulfill exactly what he promised. This taught Israel the gravity of words spoken before a faithful God who keeps His own word. The principle calls believers to integrity and warns against careless promises; Christ urges that our 'yes' be truly yes (Matthew 5:37).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 35
- Ps 50:14Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:
- Ps 116:14I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people.
- Eccl 5:4–5When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.
- Job 22:27Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows.
- Ps 66:13–14I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows,
- Acts 23:12And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.
- Prov 20:25It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy, and after vows to make enquiry.
- Ps 116:18I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people,
- Acts 23:21But do not thou yield unto them: for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, which have bound themselves with an oath, that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him: and now are they ready, looking for a promise from thee.
- Lev 5:4Or if a soul swear, pronouncing with his lips to do evil, or to do good, whatsoever it be that a man shall pronounce with an oath, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty in one of these.
- Ps 55:20He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him: he hath broken his covenant.
- Num 30:3–4If a woman also vow a vow unto the LORD, and bind herself by a bond, being in her father’s house in her youth;
- Ps 22:25My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.
- Matt 5:33–34Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
- Nah 1:15Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.
- 2 Cor 1:23Moreover I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth.
- Ps 76:11Vow, and pay unto the LORD your God: let all that be round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared.
- 2 Cor 9:9–11(As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.
- Acts 23:14And they came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul.
- Ps 56:12Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises unto thee.
- Matt 14:7–9Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask.
- Num 30:10And if she vowed in her husband’s house, or bound her soul by a bond with an oath;
- Num 21:2And Israel vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.
- Deut 23:21–23When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.
- Matt 23:16Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!
- Judg 11:11Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah uttered all his words before the LORD in Mizpeh.
- Ps 119:106I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.
- Matt 23:18And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.
- Exod 20:7Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
- Lev 27:2–34Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall make a singular vow, the persons shall be for the LORD by thy estimation.
- Judg 11:39And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,
- Gen 28:20–22And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
- Judg 11:35–36And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back.
- Judg 11:30–31And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,
- Ps 15:3He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.
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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 30:2 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
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