Making a Vow

Moses told the leaders of the Israelite tribes, “This is what the LORD has commanded:

When a man makes a vow to the LORD or swears an oath to put himself under an obligation, he must not break his word; he must do whatever he has promised.

“If a woman marries while her vows or the rash commitment she herself made are binding,

and her husband hears about it and says nothing to her when he finds out, her vows are binding, and the obligations she put herself under are binding.

But if her husband prohibits her when he hears about it, he will cancel her vow that is binding or the rash commitment she herself made, and the LORD will release her.

“If a woman in her husband’s house has made a vow or put herself under an obligation with an oath,

and her husband hears about it, says nothing to her, and does not prohibit her, all her vows are binding, and every obligation she put herself under is binding.

But if her husband cancels them on the day he hears about it, nothing that came from her lips, whether her vows or her obligation, is binding. Her husband has canceled them, and the LORD will release her.

Her husband may confirm or cancel any vow or any sworn obligation to deny herself.

If her husband says nothing at all to her from day to day, he confirms all her vows and obligations, which are binding. He has confirmed them because he said nothing to her when he heard about them.

But if he cancels them after he hears about them, he will be responsible for her commitment.”

Better that you do not vow than that you vow and not fulfill it.

“Again, you have heard that it was said to our ancestors,  You must not break your oath, but you must keep your oaths to the Lord.

But I tell you, don’t take an oath at all: either by heaven, because it is God’s throne;

or by the earth, because it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King.

Do not swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black.

But let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes,’ and your ‘no’ mean ‘no.’ Anything more than this is from the evil one.

For example, a married woman is legally bound to her husband while he lives. But if her husband dies, she is released from the law regarding the husband.

Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “yes” mean “yes,” and your “no” mean “no,” so that you won’t fall under judgment.