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.
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.
- KJV 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.
- 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.
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 to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving. Pay your vows to the Most High.
- Ps 116:14I will pay my vows to Yahweh, yes, in the presence of all his people.
- Eccl 5:4–5When you vow a vow to God, don’t defer to pay it; for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay that which you vow.
- Job 22:27You shall make your prayer to him, and he will hear you. You shall pay your vows.
- Ps 66:13–14I will come into your temple with burnt offerings. I will pay my vows to you,
- Acts 23:12When it was day, some of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul.
- Prov 20:25It is a snare to a man to make a rash dedication, then later to consider his vows.
- Ps 116:18I will pay my vows to Yahweh, yes, in the presence of all his people,
- Acts 23:21Therefore don’t yield to them, for more than forty men lie in wait for him, who have bound themselves under a curse neither to eat nor to drink until they have killed him. Now they are ready, looking for the promise from you.”
- Lev 5:4“‘Or if anyone swears rashly with his lips to do evil, or to do good, whatever it is that a man might utter rashly with an oath, and it is hidden from him; when he knows of it, then he shall be guilty of one of these.
- Ps 55:20He raises his hands against his friends. He has violated his covenant.
- Num 30:3–4“Also when a woman vows a vow to Yahweh, and binds herself by a bond, being in her father’s house, in her youth,
- Ps 22:25Of you comes my praise in the great assembly. I will pay my vows before those who fear him.
- Matt 5:33–34“Again you have heard that it was said to them of old time, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall perform to the Lord your vows,’
- Nah 1:15Behold, on the mountains the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace! Keep your feasts, Judah! Perform your vows, for the wicked one will no more pass through you. He is utterly cut off.
- 2 Cor 1:23But I call God for a witness to my soul, that I didn’t come to Corinth to spare you.
- Ps 76:11Make vows to Yahweh your God, and fulfill them! Let all of his neighbors bring presents to him who is to be feared.
- 2 Cor 9:9–11As it is written, “He has scattered abroad, he has given to the poor. His righteousness remains forever.”
- Acts 23:14They came to the chief priests and the elders, and said, “We have bound ourselves under a great curse, to taste nothing until we have killed Paul.
- Ps 56:12Your vows are on me, God. I will give thank offerings to you.
- Matt 14:7–9Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatever she should ask.
- Num 30:10“If she vowed in her husband’s house, or bound her soul by a bond with an oath,
- Num 21:2Israel vowed a vow to Yahweh, and said, “If you will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.”
- Deut 23:21–23When you vow a vow to Yahweh your God, you shall not be slack to pay it; for Yahweh your God will surely require it of you; and it would be sin in you.
- Matt 23:16“Woe to you, you blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated.’
- Judg 11:11Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and chief over them. Jephthah spoke all his words before Yahweh in Mizpah.
- Ps 119:106I have sworn, and have confirmed it, that I will obey your righteous ordinances.
- Matt 23:18‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obligated?’
- Exod 20:7“You shall not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain, for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
- Lev 27:2–34“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘When a man consecrates a person to Yahweh in a vow, according to your valuation,
- Judg 11:39At the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed. She was a virgin. It was a custom in Israel
- Gen 28:20–22Jacob 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 clothing to put on,
- Judg 11:35–36When he saw her, he tore his clothes, and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you are one of those who trouble me; for I have opened my mouth to Yahweh, and I can’t go back.”
- Judg 11:30–31Jephthah vowed a vow to Yahweh, and said, “If you will indeed deliver the children of Ammon into my hand,
- Ps 15:3He who doesn’t slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his friend, nor casts slurs against his fellow man;
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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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