Numbers 30 · Verse 2

Numbers 30:2

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.
Numbers 30:2, King James Version

Numbers 30:2 in other translations

BSBIf 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.
WEBWhen a man vows a vow to the LORD, 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.
ASVWhen a man voweth a vow unto Jehovah, or sweareth 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.
YLT‘When a man voweth a vow to Jehovah, or hath sworn an oath to bind a bond on his soul, he doth not pollute his word; according to all that is going out from his mouth he doth.
DARBYIf a man vow a vow to Jehovah, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word; according to all that hath gone out of his mouth shall he do.
BBEWhen a man takes an oath to the Lord, or gives an undertaking having the force of an oath, let him not go back from his word, but let him do whatever he has said he will do.
WebsterIf a man shall vow a vow to 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.

What does Numbers 30:2 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
2. If a man vow a vow unto the Lord--A mere secret purpose of the mind was not enough to constitute a vow; it had to be actually expressed in words; and though a purely voluntary act, yet when once the vow was made, the performance of it, like that of every other promise, became an indispensable duty--all the more because, referring to a sacred thing, it could not be neglected without the guilt of prevarication and unfaithfulness to God. he shall not break his word--literally, "profane his word"--render it vain and contemptible (Psa 55:20; 89:34). But as it would frequently happen that parties would vow to do things which were neither good in themselves nor in their power to perform, the law ordained that their natural superiors should have the right of judging as to the propriety of those vows, with discretionary power to sanction or interdict their fulfilment. Parents were to determine in the case of their children, and husbands in that of their wives--being, however, allowed only a day for deliberation after the matter became known to them; and their judgment, if unfavorable, released the devotee from all obligation [Nu 30:3-8].

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 2 If a man vow a vow - A vow is a religious promise made to God. Vows were of several kinds: - 1. Of abstinence or humiliation, see Num 30:13; 2. Of the Nazarite, see Numbers 6; 3. Of giving certain things or sacrifices to the Lord, Lev 7:16; 4. Of alms given to the poor, see Deu 23:21. The law in this chapter must have been very useful, as it both prevented and annulled rash vows, and provided a proper sanction for the support and performance of those that were rationally and piously made. Besides, this law must have acted as a great preventive of lying and hypocrisy. If a vow was properly made, a man or woman was bound, under penalty of the displeasure of God, to fulfill it.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Numbers 30:1-2

No man can be bound by his own promise to do what he is already, by the Divine precept, forbidden to do. In other matters the command is, that he shall not break his words, through he may change his mind.

Read the full comment on Numbers 30:1-2 →

Numbers 30:2 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

אִישׁ֩'isha manH376
כִּֽי\־ki-ifH3588
יִדֹּ֨רyi.Dorhe will vowH5087
נֶ֜דֶרNe.dera vowH5088
לַֽיהוָ֗הla.Yah.wehto YahwehH3068
אֽוֹ\־'ov-orH176
הִשָּׁ֤בַעhi.Sha.va'he will swearH7650
שְׁבֻעָה֙she.vu.'Ahan oathH7621
לֶאְסֹ֤רle'.Sorto bindH631
אִסָּר֙'i.Saran obligationH632
עַל\־'al-onH5921
נַפְשׁ֔וֹnaf.Shoself hisH5315
לֹ֥אlo'notH3808
יַחֵ֖לya.Chelhe will violateH2490
דְּבָר֑וֹde.va.Roword hisH1697
כְּכָל\־ke.khol-according to everyH3605
הַיֹּצֵ֥אhai.yo.Tze'<the> [thing which] has gone outH3318
מִפִּ֖יוmi.Pivfrom mouth hisH6310
יַעֲשֶֽׂה\׃ya.'a.Sehhe will doH6213

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Numbers 30:2

  • Psalms 50:14

    Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:

  • Psalms 116:14

    I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people.

  • Job 22:27

    Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows.

  • Ecclesiastes 5:4-5

    When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

  • Acts 23:12

    And 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.

  • Psalms 66:13-14

    I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows, Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble.

  • Nahum 1:15

    Behold 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.

  • Acts 23:21

    But 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.

  • Leviticus 5:4

    Or 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.

  • Psalms 22:25

    My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.

  • Matthew 5:33-34

    Again, 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: But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne:

  • Numbers 30:3-4

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

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
If a man.The preceding chapters had treated of sacrifices required by law; and in the laws here delivered in respect to vows must have been very useful, as they both prevented and annulled rash vows, and provided a proper sanction for the support and performance of those which were rationally made, and which were made to the Lord.
vow a vow.
21:2; Ge 28:20-22; Le 27:2-34; De 23:21,22; Jud 11:11,30,31,35,36
Jud 11:39; Ps 15:3; 56:12; 76:11; 119:106; Pr 20:25
swear.
Ex 20:7; Le 5:4; Mt 5:33,34; 14:7-9; Ac 23:12; 2Co 1:23; 9:9-11
to bind.
3,4,10; Mt 23:16,18; *Gr:
Ac 23:12,14,21
break. Heb. profane.
Ps 55:20; *marg:
he shall do.
Job 22:27; Ps 22:25; 50:14; 66:13,14; 116:14,18; Ec 5:4,5; Na 1:15

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Numbers 30:1

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

  • Numbers 30:2

    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.

  • Numbers 30:3

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

Read all of Numbers 30

Numbers 30:2 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y habló Moisés á los príncipes de las tribus de los hijos de Israel, diciendo: Esto es lo que Jehová ha mandado.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
*Et Moïse parla aux chefs des tribus des fils d’Israël, disant: C’est ici la parole que l’ Éternel a commandée:
German
Elberfelder 1871
Dies ist es, was Jehova geboten hat:
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Et locutus est ad principes tribuum filiorum Israël: Iste est sermo quem præcepit Dominus: